About us
Our Story
Seeing first hand the effects of minimal resources in schools on children in need of learning support, AFIT was created. By alleviating the constraints of evaluation time and cost, AFIT Learning seeks to allow more students to get the support they need.
Our Team
Jared Froese | Founder
Jared is a husband and father of three, he completed his undergraduate from Graceland University in Iowa and his graduate studies at the University of Saskatchewan. He has been a Registered Psychologist in Central Alberta since 2004. Jared’s parents were teachers in Manitoba who instilled in him the importance of education. Through his passion in math and humanities, Jared approaches behavioural science through the lens of logic and metrics. His studies have focused primarily on measurement, evaluations and clinical/school psychology. Jared founded Froese Psychological Services in 2010, through his work he has been heavily involved in traditional evaluation methods in schools and has witnessed firsthand that there is room for improvement. To address the issue of students' needs being unaddressed due to situational lack of resources, Jared developed AFIT in 2021. Working closely with teachers and psychologists, Jared has developed the assessment tool to not only offer metrics and insights into student aptitude but to support teachers while also addressing students' needs.
Heather Boone | Co-Founder
Heather Y. Boone is a psychometrist and educational consultant. She also teaches English Language Arts at E'Cole Olds High School and specializes in supporting students with individualized learning needs. Through these multiple roles, Heather strives to optimize learning for students by personalizing supports, providing innovative accommodations and offering practical school-based solutions to achieve success. Heather is a passionate educator who has an interest in enriching the school experience for students and increasing knowledge about learning challenges in the classroom.
Dana Keith | Registered Provisional Psychologist
Dana is a Registered Provisional Psychologist with a passion for psychoeducational assessments. She is married with two young boys, and was born and raised in central Alberta. Dana graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology and Science Psychology and with a Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology. Dana has worked in the schools for the past 6 years completing Level B assessments, Level C assessments, as well as in a consultative role. Dana has a passion for supporting the educational growth of all students and strives to make the educational system a success for all.
Erin Kosola | Learning Assistance Teacher
Erin Kosola obtained a Bachelor of Education degree in 2009 and Master of Science in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology degree in 2020. Erin has been a teacher and Vice Principal, with over 13 years of experience with students in Kindergarten to Grade 9 - in both French Immersion and English programming. With a particular interest in the holistic development of children, Erin is also a Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist, is certified in Trauma-Informed Expressive Art Therapy and trained in Play Therapy for Children and Adolescents. Erin was born and raised in Red Deer and has two daughters.
How does it work?
What is AFIT Learning?
Thanks to years of experience in the school system, the developers of AFIT also understand that frustration plays a critical role in helping to identify the underlying academic challenges that can be key indicators of lagging skills and even learning disorders. Unlike other assessments, AFIT takes the frustration level of students as they engage in academic tasks into account. This strategy enables AFIT to better assess students, avoiding misunderstanding their learning needs and subsequent incorrect or lack of programming. As our educational environment continues to evolve, and students' needs continue to change, it is vital we provide teachers with the resources they need in order for them to provide students with the utmost learning experience. AFIT strives to provide easy, quick assessments that teachers can perform themselves and use to create immediate, individualized recommendations for students that enable them to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Ready to Get Started?
Register for an account and get started with evaluations today.
.png?width=1914&height=1000&name=Presentation%20Graphics%202023%20(5).png "Presentation Graphics 2023 (5)")
FAQ's
Who can use AFIT?
AFIT was designed to be administered by any educational professional who is working to support the academic needs of a student in a classroom setting. This could include teachers, administrators, and learning support staff. However, we also encourage parents to subscribe to our emails and follow us on social media, as we will be launching an evaluation tool for parents in the future.
Who would benefit from an AFIT evaluation?
AFIT is designed to explore a student’s literacy, numeracy, academic frustration, and general learning in the classroom. It can be used with any student from elementary school to high school and with students as young as six-years-old. While it can be used as a universal tool for educators and can be administered with each student in a classroom, students who are presenting with academic concerns will benefit the most from an evaluation.
How long does it take to complete a student evaluation using AFIT?
On average, a student evaluation is completed in approximately 15-20 minutes. However, it may take an educator more time to complete their first evaluation.
Do you need special permission or consent from parents to complete an AFIT evaluation on a student?
Possibly.
When completing an evaluation, if a teacher chooses to input and store both the first and last name of the student in the database, it is recommended that a consent form be sent out to parents as some personal information will then be stored within the AFIT learning platform.
If a teacher chooses to include only the first name of the student when completing an evaluation, then there is no personal information stored within the AFIT learning platform. Consequently, a consent form is not required. However, we still encourage educators to have dialogue with parents about the rationale behind completing an AFIT evaluation with their child. This will be especially important if the Home-Based Interventions from the report will be sent home to parents.
*You can download a consent form using the button below the FAQ*
Is there any specialized training needed before I complete my first evaluation?
No. AFIT was designed to be user-friendly and easy to complete. Questions rely on your observations of the student only. As a result, there is no formal training required.
Is there a way to share an evaluation if I need help from a colleague to answer some of the questions?
Yes. You can share the entire evaluation with multiple colleagues to help you complete the evaluation. This is an effective approach in schools that have teachers hired for specific courses (i.e. high school) or have teachers working with students for specialized supports.
Can AFIT be used with students who are English Language Learners?
Yes. However, if a student is an English Language Learner it will be important to interpret their results with caution as their ongoing development of the English language may still have an impact on their academic progress at school.
Can AFIT be used with a student in a French Immersion program?
Yes. Although AFIT was originally developed with the English language in mind, the questions can also apply to French Immersion students. However, we encourage that educators be clear in their communication with parents and colleagues when discussing the AFIT results that the evaluation was completed with consideration of the student’s abilities in the French Language.
How much does AFIT cost to use?
A monthly fee of $200 CAD is required to use AFIT Learning. Registered organizations can sign up unlimited teachers within their organization using their school's email and get started evaluating students right away.