On heels of Education Minister’s visit, one Jasper school board will pilot, one won’t

Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, the school board that Jasper’s École Desrochers belongs to, will pilot parts of the Alberta government’s draft K-6 curriculum next school year. 

Tanya Saumure, chair of the board of school trustees for the Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, said piloting the curriculum gives teachers and trustees the opportunity to be involved in its development.

“Piloting gives us the opportunity to keep giving feedback,” Saumure said. “That’s very important to us.”

École Desrochers won’t pilot the new subjects, but will teach the new, mandatory curriculum in K-3 math and K-6 Phys-Ed and Health. Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord is one of four francophone school divisions in the province. All four authorities will pilot parts of the widely-criticized draft curriculum, according to Alberta education Minister Adriana LaGrange.

“We took their collaboration, worked very hard and refined [the curriculum],” LaGrange said.

LaGrange was in Jasper on June 8 to complete a province-wide tour of Alberta’s school divisions that she said had started in 2020 but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“A tour shows me on the ground what a district’s needs are, where the challenges are,” she said. 

Last spring, when LaGrange debuted the proposed draft K-6 curriculum, teachers, school boards and education experts were quick to pan it as age-inappropriate and regressive. The social studies component, in particular, was skewered for being backwards-looking, racist in tone and mired in rote memorization-style minutiae. 

“The draft we saw in March 2021 was such a backwards-looking curriculum,” said Carla Peck, a Professor of Social Studies Education in the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta. “It did not reflect the research about what we know about how kids learn,” she said.  

At that time, Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord was one of 56 school divisions (out of a total of 61) that elected not to pilot the draft curriculum, suggesting it did not have a strong enough focus on francophone culture and identity-building. Through revisions, those concerns have been addressed, Saumure said.

“We like like the progress that’s been made,” Saumure said. “We look forward to giving that feedback.”

Jasper parent Paula Cackett, who has two children enrolled at École Desrochers, cited an Alberta Teachers’ Association poll that shows 97 per cent of teachers lack confidence in the draft curriculum.

“This is an alarming statistic,” Cackett said. “As I parent I am appalled that our teachers are not being heard. If the majority of teachers and Albertans have not expressed support, why are they continuing to move forward?”

LaGrange has stated time and time again her government is fulfilling an election promise to replace an outdated curriculum. On June 8 she said the draft has been received favourably by the 360 teachers and more than 7,000 students who have piloted it thus far.

“We got great feedback from them,” LaGrange said. “What I heard from these piloting teachers is this has been a very positive experience.”

Fort Vermillion School District, in High Level, was one of only five school boards across the province that agreed to pilot the curriculum last year. FVSD Superintendent Mike McMann defended the decision at the time, maintaining that “piloting is not endorsement,” and that his board wanted a seat at the table. Now that his district has piloted English/Language Arts, Math and Phys-Ed/Wellness in 2021/22, he said the government is in fact listening to teachers.

“I would say 80 per cent of the changes we suggested were accepted,” McMann said. “That’s fantastic to see.”

Dr. Peck suggested that the school boards which elected to pilot the curriculum were located in UCP-friendly jurisdictions, and said LaGrange’s sample size is far too small to suggest there is adequate buy-in. She said that by not including teachers in the writing of the curriculum, opening up the ability for more charter schools in Alberta and by making massive cuts to the Edmonton Public School Board, for example, the government continues to attack public education.

“There’s a clear pattern to me about this government’s views on public education,” Peck said. “It’s the classic ‘if you wreck the system from the inside then the private sector can come in to save the day,’” she said. 

LaGrange, who also met with Jasper Jr./Sr. High School teachers and trustees during her visit, said more than 40 school authorities have put forward an expression of interest to pilot the next K-6 draft curriculum components next year, which will include Science, French First Language and French Immersion.

Grande Yellowhead Public School Division will not be among those authorities. Although its curriculum working group will support K-6 educators who will teach the mandatory subjects being implemented in September, board chair and trustee Dale Karpluk said GYPSD will not pilot the new subjects and has continued to advocate for the delay of implementation.  

“Our Board  has written twice to the Minister this past year with our concerns,” Karpluk said. “Our stance supports the position of the Alberta School Boards Association.”

The government has set aside $6.5 million to help teachers plan lessons during the piloting process and participate in feedback sessions.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com