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THE GRIT PROGRAM

12852—141 Street NW Edmonton, AB. T5L 4N8

780.454.9910 780.455.1806

gritprog@gritprogram.ca

www.gritprogram.ca The GRIT Program

@theGRITprogram

Charity No. 131527723RR0001

2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT

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CONTENTS 3 Message from the President

4 Mission & Values

5 Accomplishments

6 About GRIT

8 A Great Place to Work

10 Financial Highlights

12 Looking Ahead

13 Community Based Research

14 Partners

15 Board of Directors

- The GRIT Program is jointly funded by the Ministries of Alberta Education and Human Services

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BOARD OF DI-RECTORS Morine Bolding Rossi, Past-President

Morine is a GRIT alumni parent and mother of three. She is a secondary teacher, but currently stays at home with their young children. Morine is fully committed to the health and happiness of her family.

Roger Cable, President Roger is the principal owner of Veyron Projects Inc. who developed GRIT’s new home. Roger loves to travel. He has lived and worked in Australia, volunteered in Japan (with Samaritan’s Purse after the tsunami), and in Ecuador (“Children of Ecuador”). Roger has great respect for what GRIT’s vision can accomplish.

Tara Irwin, Director As a mother of three grown children, Tara is thankful for the life lessons her children have taught her. Tara is a proud entrepreneur of several grass roots companies. Her current focus is to enrich her leadership experience and skills to support others. Tara looks forward to working with champions that stew-ard equality in our communities.

Grace Knight, Director In her 10 years as an Early Childhood Professional teaching preschool, Grace had the opportunity to work with GRIT. She is an advocate for inclusion in schools, communities, and business. As a partner with Three Knights Investments Inc. Grace enjoys supporting passionate entrepreneurs across Western Canada.

Debbie Green, Treasurer

Kandice Pace, Vice-President, Parent

Kandice is a stay at home mom to three adorable children under the age of 7, two who have been supported by GRIT. Kandice expresses gratitude for the learning she has gained over the last four years and cannot imagine where her family would be without the guidance received from GRIT.

Rajesh Kumar, Director, Parent Rajesh is an Information Technology and Management Professional and has his Bachelor of Engineering degree from India and Master of Business Administration from University of Alberta. He has lived and worked in India, United States, and Australia. Rajesh's main aim is to contribute towards improvement in GRIT's program efficiency and financial accountability.

Lorraine Stewart, Secretary Lorraine is enjoying the opportunities that retirement provides! In addition to her role on the GRIT board, she supports many other organizations. Lorraine continues to be connected to the educational community through her role as an educational consultant. She and her husband are fortunate to be close with their two adult children, their partners, and six grandchildren.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Susan Lynch, Director Susan is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta. She has worked in Early Childhood Education in many capacities for the past 50 years. Most recently, Dr. Lynch directed the Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap), a five year study of early childhood development in Alberta.

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Thank you to everyone who donated financially, sponsored events, provided items and volunteered their time.

You have made a remarkable difference and have paved the way for inclusive futures of all our children.

Dennis Schmidt

For information on how you can make a difference: www.gritprogram.ca

OUR MAJOR SUPPORTERS

L & V Bilodeau

Titan Flooring Interior Design Ltd. Bi-Annual Charity Golf Tournament chose GRIT as one of their charities of choice raising over $8,000.00! Thank you to Titan Flooring and all

those that were apart of a very special day!

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Dear GRIT Friends,

Another year of GRIT, another year of Growth! We have much to celebrate as GRIT continually proves to be a dynamic and progressive champion for inclusive early learning. We celebrate, because as we grow we are able to support more children and families along their journey.

I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight a couple of exciting things going on at GRIT:

When I joined the board, our ASaP Project (Access, Support and Participation) was working with 8 centers in Edmonton. Now, we will be involved with about 160 centres across the province by January 2019. This amazing growth in the last 6 years is a real testament to the wonderful staff at GRIT, who work together to keep this rapid expansion successful.

The Board initiated a fund development committee and our members are hard at work planning our major fundraising event for next spring. As a board, we have amped up our focus on intentional fundraising in alignment with GRIT’s ever expanding presence in the community. We are so grateful to all those who continue to support and share our vision, and we look forward to new partnerships in the year to come.

In order to embrace growth, you have to embrace change…and it has been a year of major change at GRIT. I look around the office and see new faces, faces in new seats and seats in new offices. I am honored, as Board President, to be involved with a team that always puts GRIT’s vision, mission, and best interests at the forefront of our planning.

GRIT is fortunate to have such amazing staff and is well poised for another year of exciting growth.

Best wishes,

Roger Cable GRIT Board President

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GRIT’s Vision: Communities embrace diversity and uphold the value and rights of all children and their families.

GRIT’s Mission: GRIT provides family centered and inclusive early learning experiences to support the meaningful participation of children with disabilities in home, community and school.

OUR VALUES GRIT embodies our values in all aspects of our organization:

Family Centered Practice

Family is the constant in a child’s life Active participation enhances parent

decision making Families hold a vision for their child’s future

Community Inclusion

We all belong Participation is the key to learning Independence and friendships are fostered

Learning through Play

Play nourishes each child’s development Child’s strengths and interests are

celebrated Play builds curiosity and wonder

Learning Community

People are our most valuable asset Research guides our practices Through teaching, learning and dialogue,

people and ideas grow

OUR MISSION

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GRIT has had the pleasure of a long-term partnership with the

University of Alberta to engage in Community Based Research.

It can be difficult to capture the impact of GRIT’s vision to create high quality early learning settings

that support the inclusion and meaningful participation of ALL children.

The benefit of research is to inform what is working, and how we can apply learning to strengthen

GRIT’s three program areas: early childhood services (PUF), specialized services (GRIT +), and ASaP

(Access, Supports and Participation).

Over the past 6 years, we have completed research in areas of:

1. Educators—Increase educator’s use of evidence-based practices to support the inclusion of all

children

2. Practice Based Coaching —monitoring the extent to which staff apply coaching skills to

collaboratively support the learning of others.

3. Well-Being — Connections between well-being and educator’s sense of how well they do their

job.

Appreciation to Dr. Veronica Smith and her colleagues at the U of A for their

continued interest and commitment to our research questions and learning.

For more information, visit www.gritasap.ca

COMMUNTY BASED RESEARCH

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For Children:

Our commitment to ensure every child has access to a meaningful way to communicate.

For Families:

Increase the number of families who have a written vision statement to share with others.

Increase awareness and understanding of cultural diversity.

For Community:

Build our ability to provide high quality professional learning to community partners.

Addressing the challenges to access the right supports for individual children in child care.

For GRIT Staff:

Engage in leadership development, valuing the skills and strengths across all staff.

Strengthen the well-being in our workplace.

LOOKING AHEAD

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DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

GRIT staff member advocating for inclusion is invited to sit on City of Edmonton committee to explore inclusive recreation.

Launched Mental Health in the

Workplace series. Contracted by Alberta

Children’s Services to deliver coaching training to all Licensing Officers in Alberta.

Participated in focus group at

Norquest College to guide curriculum for future diploma program in Disabilities Studies

Responded to multiple requests

to provide professional develop-ment workshops/or conferences (including Alberta, BC and Ontario).

A WELL-KNOWN LEADER IN INCLUSIVE LEARNING

Nominated for the Laurel Awards for non-profit innovation and creativity (Duncan Craig LLP).

Giving Every Child a Voice

Project providing leadership in augmentative Assistive Communication to ensure every child has access to the best communication device.

RAISED—training provided to

staff to increase our aware-ness of the unique needs of immigrant and refugee families.

Hosted visitors from

Community Living Assoc. Kingston, Ontario who loved our model.

Alberta Children’s Services—invited to attend round table discussion with Minister of Children’s Services, Danielle Larivee, about quality and inclusive child care.

Expanded our work to create

inclusive child care environments in all Early Learning and Child Care Centres ($25.00/day child care).

Collaborated with the Centre

for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto, Ont.) to support their implementation of the Pyramid Model (birth to 3 years).

What GRIT Offers: .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP

GRIT Early childhood programming to children with developmental

disabilities and family support.

GRIT Plus Enhanced support to families enrolled with GRIT who

access Specialised Services funding through Family Support for Children with

Disabilities (FSCD).

ASaP (Access, Support, and Participation) Provides selected child care pro-

grams across Alberta with access to support needed to ensure the meaning-

ful participation and inclusion of all children

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WHO WE SERVE

Total Children

CHILDREN

94 59 Boys 35 Girls

Type of Disabilities

43 Developmental Disability (e.g. Down Syndrome)

28 Physical or Medical Disability (e.g. Cerebral Palsy, Autism) 15 Speech/Language Delay 6 Emotional/Behavioral Challenges 2 Vision/Hearing Loss

FAMILIES

63% English only 37% English & one other language

Language Spoken in Home

Family Structure

79% Two parent families 19% One parent families 2% Foster families

Parents born outside of Canada

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FINANCIAL Statement of Operations Year Ended August 31, 2018 Revenue Alberta Education (PUF) $3,154,179

ASaP $1,327,138

GRIT Plus $324,323

Grants $110,656

Donations $46,994

Fundraising $96,009

Investment Income $38,962

TOTAL REVENUE $5,127,975 Expenses Instructional

Education team salaries $3,800,369

Parent resources, instructional supplies, outside contracts, staff training, transportation $854,591

Administration $229,165

Building & Operations $81,356

Fundraising $13,350

Amortization of Capital Assets $28,957

TOTAL EXPENSES $5,007,788 NET SURPLUS FOR 2017/18 **Due to fundraising efforts** $120,187

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2017/18 Expenses $5,007,788

*Building /Operations 2%

People /Resources 92%

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Administration 5%

Fundraising/ Events 1%

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GRIT engages families as active team members participating in all aspects of program planning

SCHOOL

COMMUNITY

HOW WE HELP

HOME Every child is unique. Each child’s abilities and interests are celebrated.

Play nourishes development. Children’s learning is achieved through play and participation in everyday routines.

Learning happens everywhere. The GRIT team aims for all children to experience the joy of childhood.

Educator’s skills and confidence are enhanced to ensure all children are valued members of their community.

All families are welcomed and experience belonging in their extended community.

GRIT nurtures collaborative partnerships with schools to provide each child and family with the right supports, at the right time.

Parents experience active participation and learning. Each family gains confidence in their ability to positively influence their future.

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NEW CREATIVE INITIATIVE

GRIT is a Great Place to Work! Each year GRIT staff complete an engagement survey. Here is a sample of the great

things staff say about working at GRIT:

100% of staff would recommend employment at GRIT to a friend

97% of staff feel they are contributing to our Mission 95% of staff have confidence in our Leadership team

HERE’S WHY... GRIT is committed to being a Wellness Leader. We have identified four areas of continued development as a organization:

LEADERSHIP &

INNOVATION

CULTURE &

ENGAGEMENT

REWARDS &

RECOGNITION

PERSONAL GROWTH

Healthy Workplace Strategy

Wellness Committee (Spirit at Work)

Community Partnerships

Brenda Skirrow Education Fund

Long Term Service awards

Promotion from within

HR Leadership Training

DA Mentorship

Mental Well-Being Toolkit

Mental Wellness Workshop

Effective Decision Making

Professional Development

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STAFF FEATURE

Developmental Assistants

The Role of the Developmental Assistant (DA)

GRIT is committed to family centered practice, inclusion and learning through play. These values are lived everyday in our work with children and families. DAs are at the forefront of our work providing support to children, families and community programs on a daily basis. DAs work in homes, pre-schools and kindergartens focusing on the unique goals and needs of each child. GRIT is deeply indebted to the commitment and skills of each of our DAs Thank you!

“I came to GRIT to learn. The fact that GRIT is on the cutting edge and continually advancing as a learning organization keeps me here”

Staff engagement survey respondent

The Numbers—Did You Know?

Growing within — 14 staff started as a DA and are now in a different role (Specialized Services Coaches, ASaP Coaches, Managers, Supervisors,

AND even our Executive Director!)

101 Total # of GRIT staff

52 # of DAs

23 # of DAs

with GRIT for 3+ yrs

10 # of of DAs with GRIT for 6+ yrs