For Families

This policy addendum is in place of the attendance policy section of our program policies. It applies to our summer programs 2023, including RISE and Shine, Academic Intensive, Summer School Success, Summer Camps and Tutoring (online or some limited in-person spots).

Our programs are offered in our East Vancouver locations (Learning Centre or LDS Access). If your child is sick, we require that you keep them home to avoid spreading germs and creating further service disruption. We will do our best to provide an online alternative, but we cannot guarantee the possibility of this (e.g. social programming for camps and the afternoons of RISE and Shine cannot be moved online).

We cannot offer refunds or take-home study packages for missed days or hours of programming. If an instructor cannot attend a session, we will do our best to provide a substitute instructor. If we are unable to run the session or program, we will inform the family as soon as possible. The family will be reimbursed appropriately and on a prorated scale at the discretion of the Executive Director.

Other sections of LDS program policies continue to apply, including exceptions that may be granted in extenuating circumstances.

All programs at LDS start with an application so we can ensure a great fit between learners and instructors, and programs. An application does not guarantee a placement; it does start a thorough individualized intake process: 

• Complete an application online via the Programs link on our site (feel free to give us a call if you have issues navigating our application form). In the application, you’ll provide information on location (including online), timing and other preferences. 
• You will be asked to book an intake meeting to review your application and supporting educational documents about the learner. 
• Our team then meets to find the best instructor match to meet the needs of the learner as well as meet the scheduling and location needs of the learner and family. 
• We send you a placement offer that will be open for a certain period of time. You will confirm the placement and sign off that you’ve reviewed our policies and procedures. 
• Your program schedule will be accessible in your Teachworks account.  
• Once you begin the program, you’ll receive Session Snapshots, mid and end-of-year reports, and information about learning goals and objectives sent via your learner’s case manager. See more here about what’s included in our one-to-one program. 

• If your child is unwell, please do not bring them to an in-person session. If your child stayed home from school that day, they should also be staying home from LDS. 
• If a session can be moved online and completed that way, we will facilitate this. 
• If a student is too unwell to do a session online or the student needs to miss the session for another reason, we will create a custom Take-Home Study Package for them so that learning and progress are not interrupted.  
• LDS must receive at least one hour’s notice that a session cannot be attended in person or online. If LDS does not receive this notice, the session is a no-show and cannot be credited. A Take-Home Study Package is not created for a no-show. 

Because our instructor’s schedules are full and set for the year, we typically need to cancel the session and credit you the amount you would have paid. 

In some circumstances, we may be able to offer a make-up session at an alternate agreed-upon date and time.  

Structured, regular and repetitive academic interventions are critical to helping students with learning disabilities thrive. Continuity of service and regular exposure to the learning methods crafted for each student are crucial in ensuring maximum benefit is realized from our programs. 

As with many other activities and specialized programs you may enroll in, we match you with a specific instructor who is best suited to work one-to-one with your child based on their learning needs. We plan our staffing and programming around commitments for the entire academic school year and require families to make that commitment too. 

Please see this post for detailed information on how we aim to build fairness and equity into our fee structure. https://ldsociety.ca/2023-update-equity-fee-structure/ 

The calendar for the 2023-24 academic year, including statutory holidays, professional development days, and other breaks is live on our site. Access LDS calendar online or download a PDF calendar for the year on our Families page.

We’ve endeavoured to balance days and holidays throughout the year as best we can (challenging this year, given when some statutory holidays, as well as winter and spring breaks, fall) so that student session schedules even out throughout the year.

Monthly payments in September, March and June will be proportionally reduced to recognize start dates and the irregularity of the calendar in 2023-24 and ensure fees reflect that. Please note monthly payments are averaged throughout the school year to allow for predictable budgeting, they do not map to the actual number of sessions in any particular month.