Alberta’s government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) share the same goal: providing a world-class education to Alberta’s next generation. It’s a goal I am proud to work on alongside the ATA. Read More
Alberta’s government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) share the same goal: providing a world-class education to Alberta’s next generation. It’s a goal I am proud to work on alongside the ATA. Yet in a recent op-ed, ATA president Jason Schilling says he believes Alberta’s government is “playing politics with education rather than focusing on
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Alberta’s government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) share the same goal: providing a world-class education to Alberta’s next generation. It’s a goal I am proud to work on alongside the ATA.
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Yet in a recent op-ed, ATA president Jason Schilling says he believes Alberta’s government is “playing politics with education rather than focusing on what matters.” I strongly disagree with that characterization, as I believe our investments into Alberta’s education system present a much different reality.
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Many of the challenges our education system is facing today stem directly from the dramatic increase of people who moved to Alberta in recent years. In 2020-21, Alberta had roughly 735,000 students, and some school boards were even looking at closing schools due to lack of enrolment. As of today, there are nearly 826,000 students and counting.
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Our solutions: $8.6 billion to build and renovate more than 130 schools, creating 200,000 more student spaces. Thirty-three of those school construction projects have been sped up through our new innovative funding model. This is on top of the millions we have invested to build prefabricated classrooms to address the need for more classroom space now. I find it hard to characterize these investments as a “failure to fund public education for growth,” as Mr. Schilling put it.
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I have heard loud and clear that something needs to be done to ensure the growing needs of students are met in classrooms, such as tailored programing for students with increased learning needs or supports for students that are learning English as a second language. My response: an historic $9.9 billion for Alberta’s education system. This generational investment includes $1.6 billion for schools to address increasingly complex classrooms and will help ensure each student is supported as they engage with Alberta’s world-class education system.
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Alberta’s government is making significant investments in education to support student success. We’re expanding school spaces and addressing the complex learning needs of students. To reduce distractions, we’ve banned cellphones in classrooms. We’re also responding to the concerns of parents and protecting young students by ensuring they aren’t exposed to inappropriate sexual content in school libraries.
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Our updated funding model ensures school boards receive the resources they need, and we’re refocusing the curriculum on essential skills like reading, writing, and financial literacy. But rather than just talk about it — let’s have the results speak for themselves
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In a recent Programme for International Student Assessment report, Alberta’s students excelled in all areas of testing in math, reading, science and creative thinking. In Canada, Alberta ranked first in reading and science, and second in math. Internationally, Alberta ranked second in reading and science, and seventh in math. In financial literacy, Alberta students received the highest score in Canada and internationally. In creative thinking, Alberta students received the highest score in Canada. Internationally, Canada was only outperformed by Singapore.