Policies & Procedures

Attendance Policy

Attendance is mandatory. If a student is attending Pathways as part of a program developed by another agency, we will be required to monitor and report attendance. There are absences that are considered acceptable and those that are not. In accordance with various agencies’ requirements, the attendance standards of Pathways Educational Services Inc. are as follows:

1. If you will not be attending classes due to illness or intolerable pain, please call Pathways Educational Services at 772-1477 and your employer or caseworker as soon as possible.
   
2. If you know that your car is not working the night before, please make alternate transportation plans. You will be expected to attend classes.
   
3. Please try to schedule doctor’s appointments outside of class time. If your appointment conflicts with class time, we expect that you will attend the opposite class. For example, you will come in the morning if your class is normally in the afternoon and visa versa. This does not include out of town appointments or those that may run all day.
   
4. Frequent Monday and/or Friday absences will be reported.
   
5. If you are more than 30 minutes late, you can make up the time in collaboration with your instructor.
   
6. If local radio stations indicate that local colleges, universities, and school boards are canceling their programs because of inclement weather, we will also cancel our programs. Otherwise, you may assume that we are open.

Human Rights

Pathways is a multicultural learning establishment. We abide by Canada’s Constitution including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We value free and open expression because we understand that this is the path to true understanding. However, we do not allow, nor do we value, any language or activity that denigrates another person’s race, religion, sexual orientation and/or his/her physical or psychological makeup - this is harassment. Harassment creates a hostile environment and it negatively affects Pathways’ students and staff.

We do not allow harassment of any form at Pathways; physical, verbal or sexual. We define sexual harassment as unsolicited, unwanted sexual advances; requests for, or offers of sexual favours; unsolicited, unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature; and unsolicited, unwanted written, oral or visual material of a sexual nature. If a student does not comply with these guidelines, we will work with all necessary parties to mediate any conflict or misunderstanding. If the offending student continues to ignore our policy, we will inform his/her employer and then we will conduct an arbitration session with the student and employer. If the student cannot or will not follow these guidelines, we reserve the right to terminate his/her attendance at Pathways.

Pathways’ Prohibitions: What we do not allow?

1. Non-consensual sexual or physical contact.
2. Physical abuse or threats to the safety of any Pathways’ students or employees.
3. Any speech that denigrates another person’s race, religion, sexual orientation and/or his/her physical or psychological makeup.
4. Harassment at any level including sexual, physical or verbal harassment.

Academic Probation

Pathways will place a student on academic probation, if he/she fails to meet our academic standards and/or violates our codes of conduct. At Pathways, we provide an academic environment that nurtures the true potential of every student and promotes academic excellence. All students have an obligation to act in a manner compatible with Pathways’ function as an educational institution. Pathways will give a two- week probationary period to any student who violates our academic and/or our codes of conduct. If the student fails to comply with the requirements of the probation, we will terminate his/her program at Pathways.

Students will be placed on probation, if they breach any of the following standards:

Academic

1. Students are expected to consistently complete all homework as assigned.
2. Students are expected to perform to the best of their ability and work towards their individual goals.

Conduct

1. No Student shall disrupt a class in such a way that interferes with the normal process of the session or the learning of other students.
2. No Student shall use words that incite others to behaviour that is inappropriate.
3. Students shall follow all of our human rights codes of conduct and, therefore, they should not violate any of prohibitions.

Pathways’ Prohibitions: What we do not allow?

• Non-consensual sexual or physical contact.
• Physical abuse or threats to the safety of any Pathways’ students or employees.
• Any speech that denigrates another person’s race, religion, sexual orientation and/or his/her physical or psychological makeup.
• Harassment at any level including sexual, physical or verbal harassment.

Cell Phones

Cell phones are prohibited in class unless the student gets prior permission from their instructor. An instructor will give permission to a student to use their cell phone, if they are in a state of emergency or in a family crisis. However, if a student is in a crisis situation, it is preferable that they give their loved ones Pathways telephone number and we will transfer the call to the student. Otherwise, students can use their cell phones during their breaks in a quiet area away from other students.

Weapons

Pathways is a safe learning environment and, therefore, weapons are never allowed inside our building. If a student brings a weapon inside Pathways, we will ask the person to remove it and, if he/she refuses to do so, we will notify the police.

Photocopying & Supplies

We, at Pathways, encourage students to practice using our equipment. Using our equipment not only makes them an active participant in their learning process, it also gives them real-world experience in an office environment. We give students access to all office equipment from pens to the photocopier. Our equipment and supplies are the property of Pathways, and should not be removed from the building.

Parking Policy

At Pathways Educational Services Inc. parking is at a premium. In order to accommodate our facility neighbors who have high volume and high turnover parking needs, Staff members and Students will not be allowed to park in the front row facing the store and business fronts. However, there are no parking restrictions involving the rest of the designated parking spaces.

Emergency Evacuation Plan

All students/clients and staff are to be aware of the following procedures that will allow the safe and orderly evacuation of the premises in the event of a fire.

IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE ON THE PREMISES FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE IN THE ORDER DETAILED BELOW:

1. The person discovering a fire shall make all people in the facility aware of the fire by announcing in a loud and clear voice that a fire is occurring in a particular area. For example the person can shout,
   
   “ATTENTION PLEASE, THERE IS A FIRE IN THE LOUNGING AREA, EVERYBODY PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SAFEST EXIT ROUTE.”
   


2. All persons shall immediately stop what they are doing and calmly walk to the safest escape route. The safest escape route is to an exit that does not require walking past the fire. For example, if you are in the computing area and the fire is in the kitchen, you must exit through the front door. If you are in the lounging area and the fire is in the kitchen, then you must proceed to the rear exit. Once everybody is outside they are to proceed to the designated mustering area where a head count will be conducted by the most senior staff member present. Mustering area ‘A’ is located at the far end of the building which is parallel to Courtland Avenue (see Drawing #1 by clicking here). If that end of the building is on fire then the Mustering Area (‘B’)(see Drawing #1 by clicking here) will be on the Iron Horse Trail at the same end of the building. Be sure to stay out of any routes that may be used by fire trucks or other motorized vehicles.
   


3. If the fire is small and can be controlled, the procedure described above will be followed, although a staff member who is familiar with the use of fire extinguishers may extinguish the fire once they are assured that all others are on route to safety. If the fire is uncontrollable then the following procedures will apply.
   


4. Once all people are out of the facility, a staff member will telephone the fire department ( call 911) with the use of an available cell phone or phone that may be accessed in a neighboring facility that is not experiencing a fire emergency.
   


5. As Step #4 is being conducted, another staff member will be designated to approach all neighboring facilities in the plaza to give them notice of the fire threat.
   


6. In the case of an uncontrollable fire, the facility shall not be re-entered until the Fire Authorities have given permission to do so. In all other cases, people shall not re-enter the facility until the Director has given authorization.

PLEASE ASK A STAFF MEMBER TO EXPLAIN ANY PART OF THIS PROCEDURE THAT MAY BE UNCLEAR.

Suicide Policy

The school committee recognizes the seriousness of this issue. It also acknowledges its obligation to deal effectively with the issue of suicide. Any school employee who may have knowledge of a suicide threat must take the proper steps to report this information to the Program Director and/or Caseworker who will, in turn, notify the appropriate public officials and/or agencies. To ensure the most effective approach to this issue, the following procedures are completed:

Prevention is the key!
When a student threatens suicide, has attempted suicide or manifests the signs of his/her intent, Pathways will immediately intervene by engaging in the four steps below:

Lethality Investigation

This investigation might include interviewing the referring person about their concerns: what
behavior changes he/she has noticed and any other relevant information he/she may have. It might also include interviewing the staff person who knows the student best. All interviews should be done on the same day the referral is made. The Program Director subsequently will determine who should complete the suicide risk interview or the ‘lethality assessment’ with the student by considering the following factors:

Lethality Assessment
The staff member conducting the assessment will remove the student from class and will question the student using the form in Appendix A. Staff shall perform the lethality assessment in a consistent manner and shall provide a thorough report to the Program Director upon completion of the interview. Family/Caseworker Consultation The Program Director and/or designee must inform spouse/family if a student threatens suicide and a real risk has been indicated. While relaying this information to the student’s family, Pathways will actively seek additional information from the spouse/family about whether the student has threatened or attempted suicide earlier or whether there are significant risk factors. If the threat looks serious, the Program Director and/or designee may consult the Caseworker for an opinion and recommendation. The Caseworker should be given all information. If the student is already in therapy, the Program Director and/or designee should contact the therapist as soon as possible for a recommendation as to how the school should proceed.

Appropriate Notification/Referrals
For the most part, schools are not equipped to do the necessary in-depth counseling, but schools are in the position and have the duty to make appropriate referrals and to secure such assistance. These include, but are not limited to the caseworker, adjudicator, student’s spouse, and law enforcement officials.

Note: Documentation
All steps in the above described process should be documented.

When all else fails…POSTVENTION PROCEDURE

In the event of a suicide, Pathways will perform the following steps to assist in the recovery process of staff and students:

• Discuss crisis response with staff team.
• Verify report of suicide.
• Disseminate information to faculty, students and family
• Arrange for counseling rooms.
• Provide counseling or discussion opportunities for
• Make home visit.
• Respond to media inquiries.
• Link with community as appropriate.
• Arrange for students and faculty to attend funeral.

PRIVACY POLICY

For the purpose of this policy, personal information will be defined as all information, in any
form, about an identifiable individual, which includes: ID numbers, income, personal address, e-mail address, credit card number, evaluations, opinions and comments, and employee files. Personal information does not include business contact information.

Pathways Educational Services Inc. is committed to the protection of personal information of
its employees, stakeholders and customers. On January 1, 2004, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Data Act (PIPEDA) began to apply to provincially regulated organizations that collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activity. In addition to informing individuals of our continuing commitment to the protection of their personal information, Pathways Educational Services Inc. has developed the following Privacy Policy in order to ensure compliance with PIPEDA.

Pathways Educational Services Inc. is responsible for all personal information under its control and will identify the purposes for the collection of personal information at or before the time the information is collected.

Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law and will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.

Personal information will be accurate, complete and up to date as is necessary for the purpose intended and security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information will protect personal information.

When requested, an individual will be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or
her personal information and will be given access to that information. An individual will be provided the opportunity to challenge the accuracy and completeness and have it amended as appropriate.

Pathways Educational Services Inc. will supply specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information upon request and individuals are encouraged to direct all concerns and questions to Pathways Educational Services Inc.
Chief Privacy Officer.

"The secret of education is respecting the pupil."

Ralph Waldo Emerson