New plan for province’s education system
Posted Jan 10, 2012 10:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk outlined his department’s 10-point plan for the education system Tuesday morning.
The government spent from November 26 to December 6 last year, consulting with over 1,100 Albertans including students, parents, teachers and education assistants, aides or support staff.
“Parents, teachers, students and others have given me two types of advice: philosophical approaches that are best addressed in legislation, and practical solutions to the challenges students face every day. Legislation will come forward in the spring, and work on practical steps will begin immediately,” said Lukaszuk.
The initiatives will come into effect over the next few months, some will be trial-based while others will need policy consideration by the government.
“Our intent for the consultation was to hear from those who may not have had an opportunity to share their vision for the Alberta education system. I want to extend my appreciation and a personal thank-you to everyone who participated,” said Lukaszuk. “The feedback from parents, students and teachers leaves me no doubt that this review was the right thing to do.”
CBE Board Chair Pat Cochrane welcomes the plan, but says more details are needed. She can’t think of anything that was missed, but is concerned with wifi on buses wondering who is going to install and maintain it and who is going to monitor the devices and monitor the kids on the devices.
She says the plan is just info for them and has had no direction from the province on what to do.
Here are the plan’s highlights:
*Reducing travel time for students who spend more than one hour on a bus and enabling students to better use technology when they travel
*Creating more opportunities for students to earn credits in high school and post-secondary at the same time
*Updating school design specifications to better support communities
*Coordinating building playgrounds and new schools
*Reducing the administrative burden for charter schools
*Supporting First Nations students by working more closely with the federal government
*Creating a stronger voice for parents in the education system
*Providing better information to increase the transparency, clarity and accountability of the education system
*Reviewing provincial achievement tests
*Examining the operational requirements of full-day kindergarten
