Inuvik (Sep 03/04) - An Inuvik resident is worried her son's education rights won't be recognized this school year.

Worse yet, Gerri Sharpe-Staples says the Education Act may force her and her son Joshua to move from their community.

Gerri Sharpe-Staples with her son Joshua Staples, 11. Joshua requires a full-time aide at school, something he may not have this year. - Dorothy Westerman/NNSL photo

The Education Act states "every student is entitled to have access to the education program in a regular instructional setting."

Joshua Staples has a condition known as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). This disorder causes auditory signals from the ears to be processed incorrectly by the brain.

"'Don't hit your sister' turns into, 'hit your sister,'" says Sharpe-Staples.

The condition manifests itself most in a classroom setting when the noise causes "sensory overload" for Joshua, often causing him to act out, said Sharpe-Staples.

"(His condition requires) significant modifications to the curriculum, and considerable one-to-one teaching assistance," said child psychiatrist Dr. Gary Hnatko in a letter.

"The complexity of classroom life would make it next to impossible for Joshua to succeed without individual support and help," said Hnatko, who has worked with Joshua. "At the minimum, he should have a full-time aide."

Sharpe-Staples has appealed to the Beaufort Delta Education Council (BDEC) in an effort to get a full-time aide for Joshua.

Sharpe-Staples is concerned Joshua may only have access to a full-time aide in a school outside Inuvik.

"I'm not going to move. I refuse to move," she said.

In the past, the BDEC has paid for an Inuvik resident's schooling outside the community in a case involving a deaf student, said Beaufort Delta superintendent of schools James Anderson, but this is not preferred.

"The thrust is to try to offer services in the home community," Anderson said.

A common problem

"Program support assistance is the greatest need in the education system," said Judy Harder, chair of the Inuvik District Education Authority (DEA).

Harder estimates more than 120 children out of about 450 students require program support assistance at Sir Alexander Mackenzie school. The school has five program support assistants to meet the need.

Harder agrees Joshua needs a teachers aide.

"But what about all the other students at SAM school?" Harder asks.

When students are young they're "teachable and pliable," and giving them the proper attention and education in school puts them on their way to becoming happy adults, Harder said.

Currently the teachers do not have enough time or resources to accommodate all the students needs.

"The teachers are asked to do an impossible task with the resources they have," Harder said.

Anderson agrees.

"I would say we need much more assistance than is currently available to us," Anderson said.

He cites teachers aides and resource personnel as areas to be addressed in the Inuvik region.

Under their contract with the BDEC, the Inuvik DEA cannot ever be in a deficit position, said Harder. Hiring more teachers aides would require cuts to spending in other areas.

"There's simply no funding for the one-on-one," Harder said. "We're on a starvation diet with funding."