Accessibility Act
The Accessible British Columbia Act provides organizations, including school districts, a framework to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility. The Provincial Government created legislation as an important step to making BC a more accessible province for all.
Our Accessibility Commitment
The District is committed to fostering a welcoming, safe, and inclusive culture that benefits both learning and work environments for all members of the community. Our Board of Education has clearly articulated in their Strategic Plan that our schools are inclusive of everyone. Our mission is to empower students to become confident, curious, and caring individuals who thrive in their learning, relationships, and community. Our vision is to prepare our students to become educated citizens who contribute to a dynamic, sustainable, and diverse world. The mission and vision are supported by the values of belonging, respect, reconciliation, empathy, equity, and perseverance. These values compel us to ensure accessibility continues to improve throughout the District.
Our Accessibility Committee
SD83 has established an internal working group and is in the process of consulting with community stakeholders to gather information about accessibility and assist in identifying barriers in the District.
Michelle Guillou, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources, chair
Travis Elwood, Director of Operations
Kristina Baker, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Kelly Manduca, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments
Wyona Maddigan – Teacher English Language
Eline den Boer, District School Physiotherapist
Cindy Ursulak, District Occupational Therapist
Aaron Fredborg, Youth and Family Worker
Leah-Ann Cochrane – Human Resources Specialist – Instructional Staff
You may contact the committee at accessibility@sd83.bc.ca.
SD83 Accessibility Plan
Your Feedback
We recognize that barriers and challenges exist within our District and we seek to identify and remove (ideally) or reduce them. We value and respect everyone’s contributions, and we encourage our Rightsholders, learners and their families and the greater district community to communicate honestly and openly to us about their accessibility experiences in our teaching and learning environments, workplaces, and community spaces.
Our approach is designed to identify and recognize the gaps and opportunities to improve accessibility in our communities. Through thoughtful planning, meaningful engagement, training, and direct action, we aim to deliver lasting accessibility improvements for all members of our community.
Accessibility is defined as the state of having programs, services, and environments that allow all individuals to participate fully in society without encountering barriers.
A barrier is defined as anything that hinders the full and equal participation in society of a person with a disability caused by environments, attitudes, practices, policies, information, communications, or technologies, and affected by intersecting forms of discrimination
You can submit your feedback in a variety of ways:
Online:
Email:
Email your feedback to: accessibility@sd83.bc.ca in the format that works best for you: text, voice recording, drawing, video (including using American Sign Language (ASL), photos, other as works for you.
Phone:
Please call us at (250) 832-2157.
By Mail:
Accessibility Committee
School District No. 83 (K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw)
341 Shuswap St. SW, Salmon Arm, BC PO Box 129, V1E 4N2
Thank you for collaborating with us about accessibility in our District!