​Families of ASD-W,

 I wish to share with you the ASD-W plan to  gain access to your school based Education Support Services (ESS) Teams and Guidance Staff.  In these unsettling times, we know that these teacher professionals can be of great support and they want to be there for their students and their families.  Staying connected is an important part of staying healthy.

 Effective Friday, April 3, there will be three ways to reach out to these teams of teachers for support.  Please see the document titled “Connecting for Supports in ASD-W” where you will find descriptions for calling the school phone line, submitting a request for support online or calling a district number for a referral.  Please note that the response from these ESS teams and guidance staff will need to be within the scope of their work, credentials and responsibilities.  Other numbers are listed for safety and mental health emergencies and mental health support.  A second document titled “Mental Health Supports for Students Families and Staff” is also provided. 

 Any ASD-W student or parent can access this support.  The connection from the ESS team member or guidance staff will be via the telephone (an email may be used to schedule the telephone connection).

 The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has also created a one-page support document titled “EmotionalWellBeing_SocialDistancing” that can be helpful and worth sharing with your child/ren.  There are many documents on our ASD-W website (asd-w.nbed.nb.ca) under the COVID-19 tab, including the documents within this email.  I encourage you to visit it regularly.

 While the focus of this message is ESS and guidance supports for your child/ren, I recognize that there may be many questions after today’s announcement on the continuity of learning.  Please know that I will continue to reach out to you in the days and weeks ahead to keep you informed.

 All the best to you and your family.

 Sincerely,