About
The Center for Excellence for Inclusive Schools Network helps Quebec's English School Boards to develop effective service frameworks for today's inclusive schools, offering information, professional development, and complementary classroom resources.
Mission
ISN's focus is on supporting "students at academic risk" in regular education classrooms.
ISN collaborates with Quebec's Anglophone school boards to promote inclusive education practices, highlight and support the implementation of preventative measures, and best practices for at-risk students.
ISN also strives to improve the school boards' capacity to identify and support at-risk students in both elementary and high school settings. This includes exploring and utilizing tools to identify at-risk students, as well as determining and implementing appropriate evidence-based interventions to help get them back on track.
Overall, ISN is dedicated to helping students who are struggling academically receive the support they need to succeed in school and beyond.
Vision
For every student to have access to enriching learning environments that provide expert instruction, targeted support, and a strong sense of belonging and purpose.
Meet the Team
Joanna McKay, M.Ed.
Joanna McKay is the coordinator for the Inclusive Schools Network, where she collaborates with the ten English School Boards of Quebec to develop effective service frameworks for today's inclusive schools. Her role involves providing information, expertise, professional development, and complementary resources. Joanna is a strong advocate for inclusive education and firmly believes that education should be accessible to all students.
With over ten years of experience as an educator, Joanna initially started her career as a teacher in the Work Oriented Training Path. Currently, she serves as a special education consultant. Her unwavering drive and passion for inclusive education led her to pursue a master's degree in Educational Psychology, Special Education from the University of Alberta. Her studies focused on reading, writing, and oral language difficulties. Joanna possesses extensive expertise in spearheading consulting projects, delivering professional development sessions, developing curriculum materials, providing insights into Quebec education policy, and conducting research and analysis of academic studies.
Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Joanna graduated from high school in the United Arab Emirates. She identifies as a nêhiyaw-iskwêw (Plains Cree) and belongs to the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 territory.
Courtney Paul, M. Sc. (A), SLP
Courtney Paul is a Speech-Language Pathologist, collaboratively working with other professionals to support the Inclusive Schools Network. Her role involves supporting language and literacy development for students of all ages. This includes in-class support, modeling and collaborating with teachers and other professionals, providing professional development, and designing creative and tailored solutions to reach all types of learners.
Courtney started her career over 15 years ago with Riverside School Board, where her interest and passion in the intersection between language and literacy skills has grown. As a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist, she evaluates and provides individual, small-group, and whole class intervention. She believes it is essential to provide students with the skills needed to access the language-based curriculum. This has led to a strong devotion to teaching students and teachers about the English orthography system.
Her drive to support communication throughout the lifespan led to her obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Concordia, with a Major in Linguistics and a Minor in Psychology, and ultimately to a master’s degree from McGill in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Rebecca Dorner, M. Sc. (A), SLP (C)
Rebecca Dorner is a Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP) at the Riverside School Board and has been involved in the Inclusive School Networks (ISN) since 2023. Through her role at ISN, Rebecca hopes to broaden the ways S-LPs can offer support to students struggling academically. Her day-to-day role includes assessing and providing direct and indirect services to students with language and literacy difficulties at the elementary and high school level.
Prior to joining the team at the Riverside School Board in 2017, Rebecca held positions as an S-LP in the private sector working in the Chassidic Jewish Community in Outremont, Quebec, as well as at a daycare servicing the Kanien:keha'ka Mohawk community in Kahnawake, Quebec. Along her path to become an S-LP, with a master’s from McGill University, Rebecca taught English as a second language in Guadalajara, Mexico, and completed an Undergraduate degree in Spanish (Literature and Society) at Concordia University. Rebecca’s diverse employment and academic background provide her with a broad perspective when supporting students and a drive to offer/deliver effective, evidence-based support to all types of learners.
Although originally from London, Ontario, Rebecca considers herself as much a New Zealander as a Canadian, having moved there when she was eight. However, she now finds herself living in the multi-cultural city of Montreal, Quebec, with her husband and two children, happily speaking English, Spanish and French daily.