Blessed Kateri

Blessed Kateri School is located in the Doon Pioneer Park area of Kitchener and is one of four schools in the St. Aloysius Parish community. Blessed Kateri opened in 1992 serving almost 200 families from various socio-economic backgrounds. There are presently 410 students from JK – Grade 8 attending the school. The population is considered to be culturally homogeneous and the numbers have remained fairly stable since it opened. The school shares space with Little Pause YMCA Childcare Centre. There are presently 18 classroom teachers, 2 of which are combined grades. There are 1.5 planning time teachers for JK- grade 3 and 1.5 FSL teachers from grades 4 – 8. There are 1.5 full time Special Education Teacher and 4 Educational Assistants servicing approximately 15% of the student population who are on IEP’s. There is one full time secretary, 2 full time custodians and one full time librarian technician.

Blessed Kateri has assisted students with literacy through the All Star Reading program for approximately five years using community volunteers. In addition, the Special Education teacher has implemented Remediation Plus with struggling grade 2 readers as well as through the Empower program. In addition, the Corrective Reading and Skills Builder program is offered to students in grade 6 who struggle with Reading. For students who have been identified as needing assistive technology Kurzweil and Dragon are being used. The 2007 KPS results indicate that a significant number of parents are actively involved in their child’s learning prior to them beginning kindergarten (90.5% Read a story, 85.7% Worked on sound of letters, 57.1 Taught simple Math). EDI results indicate that the vast majority of children enter kindergarten ready to learn (16.6% “not ready” – 2007). Mean EDI scores for Blessed Kateri School, in all categories (Physical health and well-being, Social competence, Emotional maturity, Language and cognitive, Communication skills and general knowledge), are all significantly higher than the Waterloo Region scores (2007); indicating that the vast majority of students entering Blessed Kateri school are well equipped for success at school.

The community’s parents are also active within the school through volunteering on various committees, fundraising for the school, and working within the classroom to help promote literacy. Most parents within the community work within the region. The staff at the school is also considered to be relatively stable in the history of the school. The school staff has been committed to improving student literacy and performance for some time. The staff use a number assessment measure such as EQAO assessment, CASI and the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test, Balanced Literacy Measures (BLAM), and Running Records in setting targets and planning in order to meet student needs.