River East Transcona School Division Shifts Focus to Enhance Student Success Through Universal Classroom Supports

River East Transcona School Division (RETSD) is launching an exciting professional learning initiative for staff in Fall 2025, focusing on strengthening universal supports available to all students directly within the classroom to meet student needs, develop essential skills, and build strong foundations for future learning and engagement.

The core of this initiative represents a fundamental shift in how the challenges some students face in meeting expectations are viewed. Instead of seeing a mismatch between teacher expectation and student ability as a willful act of defiance, the understanding to be embraced is recognizing a skill not yet fully developed that is getting in the way and requires support. This perspective draws support from key thinking in education, such as Dr. Ross Greene’s philosophy that "Kids Do Well if They Can" – emphasizing that students need the skills to do well, they don’t just do well when they want to.

This lens encourages educators to "See a Child Differently and You See a Different Child," a concept that Dr. Stuart Shanker highlights. By changing perspectives, we look beneath the surface to identify the cause of the problem and focus on supporting skill-building, moving away from approaches that blame, shame, or punish the child.

We are targeting professional learning towards student services staff in a ‘Train the Trainer’ model. Student Services staff will then bring the training back to their school teams to provide school-based professional learning. Guest speakers will also be part of the learning process. Learning occurs early in the fall, so that staff can apply strategies throughout the year. However, the overall topic will be woven into all learning opportunities, including a variety of formats, like in-person and online sessions, for both large and smaller targeted groups. 

This focus on strengthening Tier One, or universal practices for all students is crucial because, as indicate by Student Services Director, Lindsay Lawrence, "We cannot intervene our way out of tier one practices that are not making a difference." 

This means that even with extra resources, personnel, or specialized interventions (Tier Two - Targeted, or Tier Three - Intensive supports), their effectiveness is limited if the basic, universal supports available to all students in the classroom are not strong. A solid foundation in the classroom is essential for meeting student needs, developing skills, and providing strong foundations for future learning and engagement.