Oyster Bay P.S. receives funding from the government for a Support Teacher Learning Assistance (STLA) one day a week. We are very fortunate to receive extra P&C funding for another day in the Infants and a half day in the primary. The STLA program involves ongoing consultation with class teachers and the school counsellor; assessing students with learning difficulties, planning programs and reviewing progress.

A learning difficulty is identified by the fact that a child has scattered skills and is not learning at the same rate as his or her peers. The cause will not usually be easily identified and may be due to a number of factors. Sometimes difficulties can be overcome in a short period of time with a specific remediation program. Difficulties for other students may present ongoing problems.

All children have different styles and rates of learning. It is important that children are accepted without blame or shame, and that we focus on their strengths, helping them to avoid failure. We withdraw small groups for intensive instruction; use team-teaching strategies; operate the volunteer tutor reading program; and design specific programs for individual students. The sooner a difficulty is identified, the sooner it can be dealt with. Remember: learning difficulties does not equal low intelligence.