Alberta mother says province’s complexity funding is too little, too late
CBC
When a provincewide teachers' strike ended in October, Caleb Meadus didn't return to his classroom when more than 730,000 other Alberta students did.
Instead, April Meadus says the education of her 13-year-old autistic son was disrupted by uncertainty and inconsistent in-classroom support.
“He’s home with me right now, 85 per cent of the day,” said April, a mother of six living in Cold Lake, Alta., about 290 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
She said she believes the provincial government's $143-million plan to create school complexity teams isn’t a solution. The teams will go to K-6 schools, which won’t help Caleb get back into his Grade 8 classroom.
“I spend multiple mornings right now sitting in the parking lot, bawling my heart out,” April said.
“It’s not the teachers. It’s not even the principal — they’ve cried with me. This is much higher up.”
Caleb was diagnosed with autism at age three and has a medical certificate diagnosis requiring a full-time educational assistant (EA) at school along with additional supports like speech therapy.
April said Caleb is enrolled at the Assumption Junior Senior High School in Cold Lake, operated by the Lakeland Roman Catholic Separate School Division. The school division declined to comment on Caleb’s specific situation.
Up until 2020, the family lived in B.C., and his mother said Caleb attended school with the necessary resources. His first few years in elementary school in Alberta were good, April said, although the support was less consistent than before.
“Everybody within the local school board, and teachers and staff — ever since he started — have gone above and beyond and done their best,” April said.
Since October, she said Caleb’s ability to attend school regularly has been limited. Some days, he can attend for short periods when supports are available. Other times, he has to leave early or stay home entirely, according to his mother.
Some weeks, Caleb is only getting a few hours in class, depending on the availability of classroom support, April said.
“My son shuts down as soon as he hits the school doors because he’s been pushed away so many times,” she said.
“My son thinks that nobody loves him.”
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