2017/18 - GRIT Program€¦ · THE GRIT PROGRAM 12852—141 Street NW Edmonton, A . T5L 4N8...
Transcript of 2017/18 - GRIT Program€¦ · THE GRIT PROGRAM 12852—141 Street NW Edmonton, A . T5L 4N8...
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THE GRIT PROGRAM
12852—141 Street NW Edmonton, AB. T5L 4N8
780.454.9910 780.455.1806
www.gritprogram.ca The GRIT Program
@theGRITprogram
Charity No. 131527723RR0001
2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT
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CONTENTS 3 Message from the President
4 Mission & Values
5 Accomplishments
6 About GRIT
8 A Great Place to Work
10 Financial Highlights
12 Looking Ahead
13 Community Based Research
14 Partners
15 Board of Directors
- The GRIT Program is jointly funded by the Ministries of Alberta Education and Human Services
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BOARD OF DI-RECTORS Morine Bolding Rossi, Past-President
Morine is a GRIT alumni parent and mother of three. She is a secondary teacher, but currently stays at home with their young children. Morine is fully committed to the health and happiness of her family.
Roger Cable, President Roger is the principal owner of Veyron Projects Inc. who developed GRIT’s new home. Roger loves to travel. He has lived and worked in Australia, volunteered in Japan (with Samaritan’s Purse after the tsunami), and in Ecuador (“Children of Ecuador”). Roger has great respect for what GRIT’s vision can accomplish.
Tara Irwin, Director As a mother of three grown children, Tara is thankful for the life lessons her children have taught her. Tara is a proud entrepreneur of several grass roots companies. Her current focus is to enrich her leadership experience and skills to support others. Tara looks forward to working with champions that stew-ard equality in our communities.
Grace Knight, Director In her 10 years as an Early Childhood Professional teaching preschool, Grace had the opportunity to work with GRIT. She is an advocate for inclusion in schools, communities, and business. As a partner with Three Knights Investments Inc. Grace enjoys supporting passionate entrepreneurs across Western Canada.
Debbie Green, Treasurer
Kandice Pace, Vice-President, Parent
Kandice is a stay at home mom to three adorable children under the age of 7, two who have been supported by GRIT. Kandice expresses gratitude for the learning she has gained over the last four years and cannot imagine where her family would be without the guidance received from GRIT.
Rajesh Kumar, Director, Parent Rajesh is an Information Technology and Management Professional and has his Bachelor of Engineering degree from India and Master of Business Administration from University of Alberta. He has lived and worked in India, United States, and Australia. Rajesh's main aim is to contribute towards improvement in GRIT's program efficiency and financial accountability.
Lorraine Stewart, Secretary Lorraine is enjoying the opportunities that retirement provides! In addition to her role on the GRIT board, she supports many other organizations. Lorraine continues to be connected to the educational community through her role as an educational consultant. She and her husband are fortunate to be close with their two adult children, their partners, and six grandchildren.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Susan Lynch, Director Susan is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta. She has worked in Early Childhood Education in many capacities for the past 50 years. Most recently, Dr. Lynch directed the Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap), a five year study of early childhood development in Alberta.
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Thank you to everyone who donated financially, sponsored events, provided items and volunteered their time.
You have made a remarkable difference and have paved the way for inclusive futures of all our children.
Dennis Schmidt
For information on how you can make a difference: www.gritprogram.ca
OUR MAJOR SUPPORTERS
L & V Bilodeau
Titan Flooring Interior Design Ltd. Bi-Annual Charity Golf Tournament chose GRIT as one of their charities of choice raising over $8,000.00! Thank you to Titan Flooring and all
those that were apart of a very special day!
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Dear GRIT Friends,
Another year of GRIT, another year of Growth! We have much to celebrate as GRIT continually proves to be a dynamic and progressive champion for inclusive early learning. We celebrate, because as we grow we are able to support more children and families along their journey.
I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight a couple of exciting things going on at GRIT:
When I joined the board, our ASaP Project (Access, Support and Participation) was working with 8 centers in Edmonton. Now, we will be involved with about 160 centres across the province by January 2019. This amazing growth in the last 6 years is a real testament to the wonderful staff at GRIT, who work together to keep this rapid expansion successful.
The Board initiated a fund development committee and our members are hard at work planning our major fundraising event for next spring. As a board, we have amped up our focus on intentional fundraising in alignment with GRIT’s ever expanding presence in the community. We are so grateful to all those who continue to support and share our vision, and we look forward to new partnerships in the year to come.
In order to embrace growth, you have to embrace change…and it has been a year of major change at GRIT. I look around the office and see new faces, faces in new seats and seats in new offices. I am honored, as Board President, to be involved with a team that always puts GRIT’s vision, mission, and best interests at the forefront of our planning.
GRIT is fortunate to have such amazing staff and is well poised for another year of exciting growth.
Best wishes,
Roger Cable GRIT Board President
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GRIT’s Vision: Communities embrace diversity and uphold the value and rights of all children and their families.
GRIT’s Mission: GRIT provides family centered and inclusive early learning experiences to support the meaningful participation of children with disabilities in home, community and school.
OUR VALUES GRIT embodies our values in all aspects of our organization:
Family Centered Practice
Family is the constant in a child’s life Active participation enhances parent
decision making Families hold a vision for their child’s future
Community Inclusion
We all belong Participation is the key to learning Independence and friendships are fostered
Learning through Play
Play nourishes each child’s development Child’s strengths and interests are
celebrated Play builds curiosity and wonder
Learning Community
People are our most valuable asset Research guides our practices Through teaching, learning and dialogue,
people and ideas grow
OUR MISSION
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GRIT has had the pleasure of a long-term partnership with the
University of Alberta to engage in Community Based Research.
It can be difficult to capture the impact of GRIT’s vision to create high quality early learning settings
that support the inclusion and meaningful participation of ALL children.
The benefit of research is to inform what is working, and how we can apply learning to strengthen
GRIT’s three program areas: early childhood services (PUF), specialized services (GRIT +), and ASaP
(Access, Supports and Participation).
Over the past 6 years, we have completed research in areas of:
1. Educators—Increase educator’s use of evidence-based practices to support the inclusion of all
children
2. Practice Based Coaching —monitoring the extent to which staff apply coaching skills to
collaboratively support the learning of others.
3. Well-Being — Connections between well-being and educator’s sense of how well they do their
job.
Appreciation to Dr. Veronica Smith and her colleagues at the U of A for their
continued interest and commitment to our research questions and learning.
For more information, visit www.gritasap.ca
COMMUNTY BASED RESEARCH
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For Children:
Our commitment to ensure every child has access to a meaningful way to communicate.
For Families:
Increase the number of families who have a written vision statement to share with others.
Increase awareness and understanding of cultural diversity.
For Community:
Build our ability to provide high quality professional learning to community partners.
Addressing the challenges to access the right supports for individual children in child care.
For GRIT Staff:
Engage in leadership development, valuing the skills and strengths across all staff.
Strengthen the well-being in our workplace.
LOOKING AHEAD
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DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES
GRIT staff member advocating for inclusion is invited to sit on City of Edmonton committee to explore inclusive recreation.
Launched Mental Health in the
Workplace series. Contracted by Alberta
Children’s Services to deliver coaching training to all Licensing Officers in Alberta.
Participated in focus group at
Norquest College to guide curriculum for future diploma program in Disabilities Studies
Responded to multiple requests
to provide professional develop-ment workshops/or conferences (including Alberta, BC and Ontario).
A WELL-KNOWN LEADER IN INCLUSIVE LEARNING
Nominated for the Laurel Awards for non-profit innovation and creativity (Duncan Craig LLP).
Giving Every Child a Voice
Project providing leadership in augmentative Assistive Communication to ensure every child has access to the best communication device.
RAISED—training provided to
staff to increase our aware-ness of the unique needs of immigrant and refugee families.
Hosted visitors from
Community Living Assoc. Kingston, Ontario who loved our model.
Alberta Children’s Services—invited to attend round table discussion with Minister of Children’s Services, Danielle Larivee, about quality and inclusive child care.
Expanded our work to create
inclusive child care environments in all Early Learning and Child Care Centres ($25.00/day child care).
Collaborated with the Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto, Ont.) to support their implementation of the Pyramid Model (birth to 3 years).
What GRIT Offers: .
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
GRIT Early childhood programming to children with developmental
disabilities and family support.
GRIT Plus Enhanced support to families enrolled with GRIT who
access Specialised Services funding through Family Support for Children with
Disabilities (FSCD).
ASaP (Access, Support, and Participation) Provides selected child care pro-
grams across Alberta with access to support needed to ensure the meaning-
ful participation and inclusion of all children
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WHO WE SERVE
Total Children
CHILDREN
94 59 Boys 35 Girls
Type of Disabilities
43 Developmental Disability (e.g. Down Syndrome)
28 Physical or Medical Disability (e.g. Cerebral Palsy, Autism) 15 Speech/Language Delay 6 Emotional/Behavioral Challenges 2 Vision/Hearing Loss
FAMILIES
63% English only 37% English & one other language
Language Spoken in Home
Family Structure
79% Two parent families 19% One parent families 2% Foster families
Parents born outside of Canada
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FINANCIAL Statement of Operations Year Ended August 31, 2018 Revenue Alberta Education (PUF) $3,154,179
ASaP $1,327,138
GRIT Plus $324,323
Grants $110,656
Donations $46,994
Fundraising $96,009
Investment Income $38,962
TOTAL REVENUE $5,127,975 Expenses Instructional
Education team salaries $3,800,369
Parent resources, instructional supplies, outside contracts, staff training, transportation $854,591
Administration $229,165
Building & Operations $81,356
Fundraising $13,350
Amortization of Capital Assets $28,957
TOTAL EXPENSES $5,007,788 NET SURPLUS FOR 2017/18 **Due to fundraising efforts** $120,187
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2017/18 Expenses $5,007,788
*Building /Operations 2%
People /Resources 92%
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Administration 5%
Fundraising/ Events 1%
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GRIT engages families as active team members participating in all aspects of program planning
SCHOOL
COMMUNITY
HOW WE HELP
HOME Every child is unique. Each child’s abilities and interests are celebrated.
Play nourishes development. Children’s learning is achieved through play and participation in everyday routines.
Learning happens everywhere. The GRIT team aims for all children to experience the joy of childhood.
Educator’s skills and confidence are enhanced to ensure all children are valued members of their community.
All families are welcomed and experience belonging in their extended community.
GRIT nurtures collaborative partnerships with schools to provide each child and family with the right supports, at the right time.
Parents experience active participation and learning. Each family gains confidence in their ability to positively influence their future.
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NEW CREATIVE INITIATIVE
GRIT is a Great Place to Work! Each year GRIT staff complete an engagement survey. Here is a sample of the great
things staff say about working at GRIT:
100% of staff would recommend employment at GRIT to a friend
97% of staff feel they are contributing to our Mission 95% of staff have confidence in our Leadership team
HERE’S WHY... GRIT is committed to being a Wellness Leader. We have identified four areas of continued development as a organization:
LEADERSHIP &
INNOVATION
CULTURE &
ENGAGEMENT
REWARDS &
RECOGNITION
PERSONAL GROWTH
Healthy Workplace Strategy
Wellness Committee (Spirit at Work)
Community Partnerships
Brenda Skirrow Education Fund
Long Term Service awards
Promotion from within
HR Leadership Training
DA Mentorship
Mental Well-Being Toolkit
Mental Wellness Workshop
Effective Decision Making
Professional Development
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STAFF FEATURE
Developmental Assistants
The Role of the Developmental Assistant (DA)
GRIT is committed to family centered practice, inclusion and learning through play. These values are lived everyday in our work with children and families. DAs are at the forefront of our work providing support to children, families and community programs on a daily basis. DAs work in homes, pre-schools and kindergartens focusing on the unique goals and needs of each child. GRIT is deeply indebted to the commitment and skills of each of our DAs Thank you!
“I came to GRIT to learn. The fact that GRIT is on the cutting edge and continually advancing as a learning organization keeps me here”
Staff engagement survey respondent
The Numbers—Did You Know?
Growing within — 14 staff started as a DA and are now in a different role (Specialized Services Coaches, ASaP Coaches, Managers, Supervisors,
AND even our Executive Director!)
101 Total # of GRIT staff
52 # of DAs
23 # of DAs
with GRIT for 3+ yrs
10 # of of DAs with GRIT for 6+ yrs