Who to Contact

School Work: If it is a general question, approach your child’s homeroom teacher or Educational Assistant. If it is about a specific course, approach your child’s subject teacher.

School-related Issue: Speak first with your child’s homeroom teacher, and they will help; they may also suggest you speak to Mr. Horton, Ms. Barber or Ms. McLean. This could also lead to a discussion about additional services, such as arranging a referral to psychological services for your child to see a counsellor, occupational therapist, or speech-language pathologist.

Student-related Issue: Speak first with your child’s homeroom teacher, and they will help; they may also suggest that you speak to Mr. Horton, Ms. Barber or Ms. McLean.

Out of School Issue: Speak with your child’s homeroom teacher, or with Mr. Horton, Ms. Barber or Ms. McLean.

Assistive Technology: Speak with your homeroom or subject teacher about assistive technologies offered in class, and they will arrange for your child to meet with Jamie Anton, our Assistive Technology Specialist if more supports are needed with the technology your child is using.

A Request to Join or Form a Team or a Club: Speak directly to the teacher who runs the club, or a teacher who you think would be interested in supporting your child to start a new club. For information about current clubs being offered, refer to the Extracurricular and Clubs page in the Foothills Student section.

Post-Secondary Planning/Guidance: Mrs. Braun teaches a large majority of our senior school CALM and Learning Strategies courses and is our most up to date and informed staff member who can assist with career planning, post-secondary options, applications, Learning Disability transitioning and scholarships. Even though programming concerning these areas are offered to our students, you are invited to contact her for specific inquiries about your child’s future aspirations and post-secondary programming. More information can be found in our Guidance & Graduation section.

Empowering Families' Understanding of Learning Disabilities: Foothills Academy's Community Services Parent & Community Education department offers monthly in-person Parent workshops throughout the school year that are open to school families and the general community. They are very informative and also provide an opportunity to connect with other parents. Online courses are also offered and are accessible whenever it is convenient for you. Both in-person workshops and online courses are a great way to learn more about current understandings and practices to support children with Learning Disabilities. In the Parent Education section, you will also find articles about topics related to learning and attention issues written by Foothills Academy staff. More information about Parent & Community Education can be found in the Community Services section of our website.

Receiving Communications from the School: During the school year, Foothills Academy sends out a weekly e-news that updates you on everything going on in the school. If you are not receiving e-news or have other issues with receiving communications from Foothills Academy, contact the School Receptionist.

Tuition and Bursary: If you have questions about tuition or bursary-related matters, contact Dave Bolink who is the Director of Business Management.

For a breakdown of our school administrators' areas of responsibility, see the charts below:

Visiting the School
Foothills Academy has an Open Door policy and welcomes parents and visitors into the school. To ensure that the timing of visits enables the teacher and parent the opportunity to communicate, we ask that parents follow this procedure when they wish to visit the teacher or a classroom:

• Whenever possible, phone ahead to arrange a mutually agreeable time for your visit with the teacher.
• Always check-in at the office when you arrive at the school. The receptionist will contact the teacher and let him/her know you are here, and you will be asked to sign in. If you are volunteering, you will also be asked to wear a visitor’s badge.
• Following this procedure will ensure that our teachers provide their full attention to your children during instructional time, and their full attention to you, the parent, through a pre-arranged meeting time. We thank you for your support on this.
   

Animal Visits
At times therapy dogs or classroom pets may be at Foothills Academy, however, all animals in the building must be approved by the Executive Directors or School Program Coordinators. Decisions will be based on considerations of therapeutic or educational needs, as well as concerns for allergies, safety, and phobias.

Addressing Parental Concerns
In the case where there is a parental concern regarding a matter of a staff member’s actions, methods, procedures or program the School Administrators will:

1. Refer the parent to the team or the staff member who they have the concern with for an initial discussion.
2. Be involved if requested by either party or by administrative decision of the School Administrators in a mediation role
3. Inform the staff member of any further meetings with a parent/guardian that concerns the staff member and they will be invited to attend.
4. Be involved in the carrying out or monitoring of any decisions made.

If the concern remains following the above procedure, the Executive Directors may become involved at the request of any party.

If the concern remains following a meeting with the Executive Directors, the issue/concern should be summarized in writing and the issue will be referred to the Board of Governors for their review in a timely fashion. The parent and/or the staff member(s) may be invited by the Executive Directors to attend a special Board of Governors meeting if it is deemed necessary. A written decision will be provided by the Board of Governors to the concerned party following a review of the concerns. The Decision of the Board of Governors of Foothills Academy Society will be binding and final.