Our School

We have changed our logo at Grove!

Last school year, we reached out to Jon Colwell, an artist with an Indigenous background to come up with a new logo that best represents Grove, the students we serve, and the teachers that support them. 

Wiidookdaaking: A place of helping

This "yin and yang" concept with a porcupine and otter in a den is a great representation of what we do at Grove School.

The otter represents the teachers/a safe space in the sense that the otter has been known to share its den with other animals that need shelter temporarily as they are distressed or misplaced.

The porcupine on the other hand, represents the students. The porcupine is a warrior and doesn’t have any enemies except for one, the marten. This can be interpreted by each student differently and the hurdles that they are getting over to get the education they deserve is “the marten”.

The otter “Grove teachers” is welcoming to the porcupine “students” into their home “Grove School” while they deal with whatever it is they need to do to complete their time there.

Grove School’s Education and Community Partnership Programs (ECPPs) provide critical support to meet the needs of children and youth who cannot attend school due to their primary need for care, treatment and/or rehabilitation services in Durham Region.

Education and Community Partnership Programs are voluntary collaborative partnerships between the district school board and government-approved facilities such as children’s mental health agencies, hospitals or youth detention centres. The Durham District School Board provides the educational component (“Education Program”) while agencies or facilities provide the care and/or treatment or rehabilitation services.

Children and youth enrolled in these programs may have:

• one or more exceptionality and represent the highest needs with the exceptionality
• physical or mental health needs requiring them to be hospitalized
• be in conflict with the law or at risk of being in conflict with the law
• possible or diagnosed mental health or psychiatric needs
• severe emotional and behavioral needs and/or
• addictions

Although these children and youth have primary needs other than education, the Ministry of Education recognizes that maintaining continuity of education during periods of care, treatment and/or rehabilitation compliments and supports treatment objectives and improved life outcomes for these children and youth.

Educators who work in Education Programs are expected to consider the care, treatment and/or rehabilitation needs of the children and youth and work jointly with ECPP Services staff. Joint planning and multi-disciplinary teams are used to ensure consistent and continuous support for children and youth in Education Programs to assist them in achieving their education and care, treatment and/or rehabilitation outcomes. 

ECPPs are designed to recognize the primacy of care, treatment and/or rehabilitation. These partnership programs are based on a collaborative model for sharing responsibilities between the school board and the ECPP Agency or Facility. The school board through Grove School provides the educational programming and the ECPP Agency or Facility provides the care, treatment and/or rehabilitation services. The Education Program becomes interwoven with the treatment services provided by the ECPP Services staff. This collaborative approach, informed by the strengths and needs of the child or youth, enhances both education and care, treatment and/or rehabilitation outcomes. 

Some Grove School Education Programs are partnered with a community-based youth justice agency or facility. These correctional youth justice programs are subject to legislation and are governed by the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) and the Provincial Offences Act (POA). The YCJA and the POA generally prohibit the identification of young persons or release of any other information pertaining to youth in conflict with the law. This is intended to promote rehabilitation by avoiding stigmatization or premature labelling of the young person. 

ECPPs support children and youth with their education during times of need for care, treatment or rehabilitation. These programs provide intensive services that are clinical in nature and are not considered to be Special Education placements within the school board. The profile of children and youth served, admission processes, referral sources, geographic area to be serviced, pupil teacher ratio, total number of spaces in the Education Program, and the nature and frequency of treatment and/or rehabilitation services to be provided during the hours of instruction in the Education Program are all components of agreements between the school board and an ECPP agency or facility according to each service agency or facility partner fulfilling its mandate by their funding Ministry.

Treatment-oriented classrooms address child and youth mental health, functional behaviour, or youth justice. ECPPs are multifaceted intensive services that are a form of therapeutic intervention or treatment along a continuum of services from outpatient therapy through to residential or inpatient placements. Grove programs address a certain level of severity for child and youth mental health or behavioral issues that are persistent and need to stabilize to maintain proper functioning at school. When a student’s mental health needs or behaviours diminish and functioning improves, a return to less intensive or intrusive school placement is the ultimate goal.

Grove School and ECPP Services staff of each agency or facility must plan and facilitate effective transitions so that children and youth receive both continuous education and treatment or rehabilitation services with minimal disruption when they enter or exit ECPPs. Transitions are a normal part of the ECPP and may include the child or youth transitioning back to a community day school, an alternative education program, community pathways, or another ECPP with Grove School or an ECPP in a different jurisdiction other than Durham Region. Transitions may take a few weeks or a few months. Students may also transition into and out of ECPPs on more than one occasion.

Features of a treatment-oriented classroom may include varying combinations of academic instruction, classroom support, therapeutic intervention, and specialized consultation services. Some ECPPs use evidence-based treatment practices that incorporate specialized components that are specific to the diagnosis and/or developmental needs of the children and youth. 

• To provide equity of access, opportunity, hope, and outcomes through the provision of Education Programs delivered in partnership with community agencies and facilities in Durham Region
• To promote well-being by creating safe, welcoming, inclusive learning spaces conducive to mentally healthy classrooms, schools, and workplaces
• To provide mental health resources and support to ensure all students reach their full potential every year
• To provide instruction and intervention, assessment, evaluation and reporting on educational achievement, and transition planning for children and youth in Education Programs

All children and youth in ECPPs at Grove School are provided with tailored and personalized learning environments to better meet their needs and improve educational outcomes. Individualized instruction within the Education Program can lead to the reintegration of students into a variety of pathways including community schools, post secondary education, employment, or community-based continuing education programs.