Special Education Services - Kitiganik Kinamagewin

Meet our team

Behind every service we provide is a dedicated team of professionals, each bringing their unique expertise and enthusiasm to our business.

Shirley Whieduck

Special Education Coordinator

MAY 13TH, 2026

My name is Shirley Whiteduck and for the past two years, I have been working as the Special Education Co-ordinator & Vice-Principal at Kitiganik Elementary & Jr. High school in Rapid Lake, Qc.

The Special Education Services, which is a new addition to the school, now supports the students from K-5 to Gr. 5 inclusively. Should there be needs in the higher grades, then we step to support the teacher and the student. To offer the services, we have, myself as the Co-ordinator, a Clinical Technician who is an ABA Specialist, (Applied Behaviour Analysis), Occupational Therapist, and a Speech Language Specialist along with ABA training as well.

Once the school year begins, teachers fill in a Referral Form for the students who require support in Literacy & Math. Following this, the Specialists are called upon to figure out which support the student requires. There may be Classroom Assistants who are asked to work with individual students in and out of the classroom. All Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are in the Coordinator’s office for confidentiality.

During the school year, the Specialists work one-on-one with students, and they work in small or large group activities.

This school year 2025-26, we were fortunate enough to work with CAS (Specialized Learning Clinique) from Gatineau. The students worked on Literacy & Math via Zoom sessions twice a week with their Specialists. This was a success and will continue for our next school year 2026-27.

Field trips are organized for all the Learning Needs students throughout the year. A Celebration dinner/gifts for students and prizes for parents were done as well on May 12th. Great turnout! Very proud of all of attended: students & parents!

The Specialists also go to classes to provide hands-on activities with the groups after-school. They have also helped with our Cross-Country Skiing which began in 2025-26.

Overall it has been a successful year and looking forward to begin a new school year 2026-27!

Shirley Whiteduck, Special Education Co-ordinator/Vice-Principal

Michelle Jones

Kitganik Kinamagewin Consellor

Michelle Jones is a youth mental health counsellor who has been working in Rapid Lake with youth and their families since 2021. Michelle trained as a psychotherapist in Ontario. Before that she was a teacher for many years. She has particular experience and training working with trauma, anxiety, and neurodiversity. Working at Kitiganik school, with all the courageous, creative, and wonderful youth there, is one of the great joys of her life. You can find her at the school most Wednesdays. Parents and guardians are always welcome to reach out if they have questions.