Integrated School Support Program

ISSP began in 2014 as a two-school pilot designed to support elementary students’ physical, emotional, psychological, nutritional, and academic needs. By delivering wraparound supports directly within the school environment, barriers to access are reduced and students can more easily receive the help they need.

These supports include a positive police presence, on-site mental health professional, daily physical education, nutrition programs, and after-school programming. Integrating services into the school day helps normalize support, reduce stigma, and allows students to focus more fully on their learning.

Following the success of the pilot, ISSP has since expanded across Alberta and is now operating in twenty-nine communities, across forty schools and supporting circa fourteen thousand students. Funding for fourty-two Mental Health Professionals is provided by the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction.

Program Highlights

Communities Supported by the Provincial Integrated School Support Program

14K Students Supported by the Provincial Integrated School Support Program in 2025

Mental Health Professionals Available to Students at School

Lives Changed

Jacob Gerbrandt

Jacob Gerbrandt

The 2022 Chief Youth Courage Award recipient for the Integrated School Support Program (ISSP) is Jacob. Jacob is an eleven year old student who attended Patrick Airlie Elementary School from...

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Giovanni Friestad

Giovanni Friestad

When Giovanni moved to Calgary four years ago from Brandon, Manitoba, he began attending Patrick Airlie Elementary School, one of two schools in Calgary supported by the ISSP program. While at...

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Dylan Mundy

Dylan Mundy

This year’s ISSP Chief Youth Courage Award recipient is Dylan, a grade five student at Holy Trinity Elementary School. When ISSP and MASST first began working with Dylan, he had difficultly building...

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