Home

Our Mission

Membership

Donations

Contact Us

Resource Library

Programs & Events

Lisa Mitchell was a groundbreaker in kindergarten and she hasn’t slowed down since.

When she began in kindergarten at Chancellor School, she was one of the first students with Down syndrome to attend regular classes in the then Fort Garry School Division.

Now 27, she’s beginning a new chapter as a student at the University of Manitoba.

“I love school,” said Lisa in a recent interview in her family’s Waverley Heights home.

Lisa’s parents, Roberta and Les, both teachers, decided to enrol Lisa in their neighbourhood school versus the school with special needs programming at the time.

It hasn’t been an easy path.

“(School administration) didn’t say no, but they weren’t highly convinced that it would be a success.  But she ends up convincing people,” said Roberta of her daughter.

Lisa made friends in elementary school, a few who have remained friends to this day.

And there were the children who were not kind, remembers Lisa as she talks of classmates who put mud in her shoes, and gave her a “face wash” with snow and ice that left her face raw.

But just as the family has worked to build on Lisa’s strengths, they have also chosen to focus on the positive.

“There were good days, and there were lots of not good days. But even if things weren’t rosy for Lisa, I would think of the doors she’s opened for other kids,” said Roberta.

Her junior high years at Arthur A. Leach were great, said Lisa, full of sleep-overs with friends, dances, and happy times.

While other students don’t give a second thought to moving on to the high school of their choice, the Mitchells faced another fight.

The principal of Vincent Massey Collegiate the time told the Mitchells there was no place in the school for Lisa.

But as adamant as the principal was, the family was equally adamant that she belonged. “I tried to be nice,” said Roberta, but when the principal didn’t yield, they went to the school board.

Blunt Assessment

Lisa is more blunt in her assessment of the situation.  “It was full of crap.”

The special ed program wasn’t what I thought was right for Lisa,” said Roberta,

Other Newspaper Articles

who was asked to write a letter to the school board about what she saw in her daughter’s future.

Composing the letter resulted in sleepless nights and many prayers, said Roberta.

“I didn’t want to wreck things for her,” she said. Then the family hit on an answer, asking for what amounted to the continuation of an integrated program for their daughter that began when she was in kindergarten.

Roberta likens the request to students in French immersion insisting they continue their education in French.

“Reasonable Request’

“The superintendent thought it was a perfectly reasonable request,” said Roberta.

High school was a difficult and often lonely time for Lisa.

“(Other students) set her up, using her for their own entertainment,” recalls Roberta.

Lisa turned to writing as an outlet, her feelings flowing out in her poetry.

With the help of a supportive teacher, she also found an outlet in the school’s drama program.

“Mrs. Gibson had expectations,” said Roberta.

Lisa had roles in the school musicals and her love of drama was nurtured. Lisa remains connected to the theatre, both as an actor and as a senior usher at Rainbow Stage, a job she’s held for 10 years.

She recently performed a three-act play with the theme of living with disabilities, performing in the city and touring rural Manitoba.

Now Lisa is preparing for the start of university in January.

She’s enrolled at the U of M through Campus Life, a new opportunity for students with disabilities to attend university. She’ll audit regular courses and be able to earn a diploma.

“University is the next step,” said Roberta. And, “it’s the first time I haven’t had to fight.”

For Lisa it means her dreams can come true.  She still gets sad when people make fun of her, and she would like to have a boyfriend and a family of her own someday.

“But I have an exciting life,” she said.

“You can have a disability and have an interesting life.  I have parents who love me, and lots of friends who love and care for me.”

Home