PRINCE ALBERT — The Prince Albert and Area Community Threat Assessment and Support Protocol is an important part of the work of the Prince Albert Catholic School Division.
Because of this, the board of education received an update on the protocol during their regular meeting on March 24 from Superintendent Charity Dmytruk.
The biggest change involved a screener, which became necessary because several different agencies can be involved in the protocol.
Another addition is new guidelines about supporting individuals who are neurodivergent, which the administration also wanted to inform the board about.
“We always were working with that in mind, but they've given guidelines on how to manage that neurodivergence in a situation, because it adds a layer of complexity to the story,” Education Director Lorel Trumier said.
“If there are special accommodations that have to be made or special understandings that come from understanding what the person is going through, including they may have been influenced by a trauma in their past, we have to take that in consideration about how it'll predict their behavior for future behavior,” she added.
Trumier explained that the division was one of the few in the province to work with CTIP executive director Kevin Cameron on the model for understanding neurodivergent modelling. The division hosted a seminar on the new guidelines earlier in March.
“I think it puts us and our community in a very good place in terms of having that protocol and guidelines to follow so that we're all better poised to support the safety of the individuals around us,” Trumier said.
The protocol is based on the Centre for Trauma Informed Practice’s (CTIP) Assessment for risk to others model. It’s a prevention model that promotes a multi-disciplined and multi-agency approach to threat assessments and interventions.
The protocol was originally signed in November 2013 and re-signed in January 2015, and March 2024.
The committee is made up of organizational leads from each protocol partner. The committee meets regularly to discuss current trends.
Cameron has worked with the division in the past. Cameron's vision of trauma comes from his experience working on traumatic events like the Taber School shooting. Through this, he created the Violent Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) protocol.
The committee has revised and updated the local protocol to reflect the most current model in risk assessment.
Trumier said the protocol is an evolving document and changes as society shifts.
The protocol supports collaborative planning among the partners to reduce violence and reflect safe, caring and restorative approaches. It also includes area experts that respond to the diversity of Prince Albert. It fosters the timely sharing of information about individuals in the community who pose a risk for violence towards themselves or others and promotes the development of supportive and preventative plans.
Training in the division also took place on March 25 and 26.
Trumier said the training is for administration and others as they work in school to support the role of ensuring safety at all times.
The current partners include the Catholic Division, Saskatchewan Rivers School Division, Prince Albert Police Service, Ministry of Corrections and Policing, Child and Family Services, Prince Albert Fire Department, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and Parkland.
Ambulance, Ministry of Education, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, YWCA Prince Albert, SIIT, Catholic Family Services and Conseil des ecoles Fransaskois.
Trumier added that it is impressive how many community partners have become involved.
"That means our community partners that had signed on that agreement, see the value,” she said. “That's the key message here when you see that many people sign up and support the work.
“They value the messages of Kevin Cameron. It's practical. It's something that we can do. It's something we need to understand, and with the added complexity of neurodivergence, it's better positioning our community for a safe community.”
SUBHEADLINE: Clean inspection record according to transportation report
The Prince Albert Catholic School Division board of education received an update on the division’s transportation services during the board's regular meeting on March 22.
The Bus Contractor Review and Statistics report is a periodic review of First Student compliance with its internal processes and policies, along with pertinent statistics. Chief Financial Officer Greg McEwen reported at the board’s meeting on March 24. It featured data from Sept. 1, 2024, to January 25, 2025.
As of 2025, the average bus age is 13 years old. Around 1,500 students were transported. There were no routes cancelled due to mechanical issues, three routes cancelled due to weather, four routes cancelled due to having no driver available and no routes cancelled for unspecified reasons.”
The inspection documentation portion shows that there are currently 30 drivers and no spare drivers. First Student operates 34 vehicles in the division.
The compliance report concludes that there is nothing to indicate that First Student is not compliant with their training and inspection process.
The average capacity of buses utilized is 70 per cent. The average one-way bus ride is 35 minutes, and the longest one-way bus ride is 90 minutes. There were no accidents reported in the period.
The report is compiled in consultation with the local First Student manager.
