Kelly Devenish, Director
B. Ed., M.A., OCT
My passion to help students and families was the driving force behind all that I achieved and continue to seek out in education. Educational Leadership was a goal of mine to be able to impact positive change and help more students and families and while that experience helped me understand how greater educational systems support students and families, I learned that my passion is still working with young people to help them discover and unleash their inner potential to be able to navigate their future with confidence, build resilience and understand that success in school and in life comes from understanding who they are, how they learn, what resources are available and how to harness them for maximum benefit.
My aim with Devenish Educational Consulting is to provide the best support in 4 main areas:
1. Executive Functions Skills and Strategies
2. Post-Secondary Exploration and Applications
3. Career Exploration
4. Education Advocacy
It is no longer acceptable for any of us to expect young folks to figure out how they learn best on their own. Many students need explicit strategies, direction and guidance every step of the way. If this is provided, it pays off in dividends with increased resilience, independence, problem-solving skills and confidence.
Beyond high school, there are more options available to young people than ever before and while this choice is exciting, it can also be very overwhelming. I work with young people to understand what they value in a post-secondary experience, what they understand about where their post-secondary education can lead them to in the world of work, and how to use targeted research strategies to get all of their questions answered so they can proceed with post-secondary applications with excitement rather than anxiety. I understand what post-secondary institutions are looking for in applicants and how to express those nuances through supplementary applications.
Understanding the world of work can be tricky from the perspective of a teenager. Many young people I meet still list what we understand to be flagship careers (teacher, doctor, engineer, firefighter, lawyer etc.) as careers they have considered. These options are great however, like an iceberg, there are far more opportunities, experiences and fields than ever before. The ongoing world of work continues to favour those who can demonstrate a variety of skills and competencies. Understanding these skills will benefit young people no matter what career field they embark upon.
Parents of students with unique learning needs often still have to rely on our schools to lead the way in meeting those needs and still helping our children to progress and achieve. While parents are the experts and knowing their children, I help bridge the gap between parents and schools to help everyone understand the specific strategies that do and do not work for the child, tools that the child might need to help them learn equitably, and systems and processes schools can adopt to ensure the child is supported consistently and in ways that promote ongoing transparency and communication with families. Creating learning profiles, transition plans and processes that help the school, the parents and the child feel supported during the child's education.
Devenish Educational Consulting is all about supporting individual needs of each child. That is why we keep class sizes extremely small (6 students) and why we offer one-on-one coaching both in person and virtually. Reach out today, to find out how I can help your child elevate their approaches to learning.
