AIRDRIE, Alta — Wendy Woodrow says her daughter, who just completed the first grade, was denied the ability to return to the Footprints For Learning Academy after a privately conducted assessment determined she has a learning disability.
Footprints For Learning is a private school offering instruction from kindergarten to Grade 12 and is a not-for-profit organization in southeast Airdrie.
When she did not receive a confirmation of enrolment for the upcoming school year from the private learning academy, Woodrow was asked to discuss her daughter's academic future at the school with the principal, which was when Woodrow said she was informed her daughter was not allowed back for the 2022-23 school year.
“I already had kind of figured that was what was going to happen,” Woodrow said. “I have been warned by other parents.”
The government of Alberta does legally allow private schools the right to deny students with disabilities admission to their schools. However, schools that do allow students with disabilities, which include learning disorders as well as physical disabilities, can access grants to fund special programs and services for children coded with serve disabilities that the students may need.
According to a statement provided by Footprints For Learning principal Lianne McMullin, the academy receives 70 per cent of its operational funding from the government of Alberta, but no allotted capital spending.
“Although the funding we receive enables us to obtain the resources and staff required to meet the learning needs of most students, substantial additional funding is required to establish support systems for students with complex learning or behavioural needs,” reads McMullin's statement.
When asked how it made her feel that the Alberta government allows private schools this legal right, Woodrow said she felt “horrible.” According to Woodrow, she underwent the learning disability assessment with her daughter upon a teacher’s recommendation from the academy.
“The teacher said that it would help her to get an assessment done because that could open up more resources,” she added.
Instead, Woodrow claims her daughter was turned away by the school after the assessment determined she had a learning disability.
McMullin said Footprints for Learning recommends students with disabilities attend a different school – typically a public school – that receives funding to provide their additional necessary supports. Unlike private schools, public institutions receive funding for students coded as mild/moderate as well as having serve disabilities.
“At [Footprints For Learning Academy], we will not accept any student unless we believe we can meet their needs,” McMullin said in her statement. “To do so would be irresponsible of us and would not be in the best interest of the student.
“Our priority will always be ensuring that the students in our system are able to thrive in the learning program we offer,” she added.
Woodrow asked the school for a letter outlining why her daughter was no longer accepted at the school, and she said she waited three months for an explanation. When she did receive a letter, it explained the academy no longer had space and that her daughter was being placed on a waiting list – a reason Woodrow disputed.
“That’s not the reason why she’s not allowed to come back, [I asked] ‘can you please put in the proper reason?’ And [the principal] said ‘I’ll get that to you.’ I still haven’t gotten it,” Woodrow said.
Woodrow initially chose to enrol her daughter in Footprints For Learning because her daughter has a rare allergy to the cold – a rare skin reaction called cold urticaria. With Woodrow’s daughter attending the Magic Mountain Day Care, which is in the same building as Footprints For Learning, she would not have to leave the building, avoiding an allergic reaction during the winter months.
“I always wanted her to be in private school because of smaller class sizes, more teachers, and stuff like that, and I heard good things about Footprints,” she added.
According to Woodrow, her daughter did not demonstrate any behavioural issues in class and had near-perfect attendance.
Woodrow also added that her family is in the top 10 family fundraisers for the school and her daughter was granted a tuition credit for the 2022-23 school year due to the family's successful fundraising.
“I feel like we’re being discriminated against,” she said.
