The new, draft Alberta K-6 curriculum, which was unveiled by Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange in March 2021 has been met with criticism from the Alberta Teachers Association, school districts, and parents.
Local school divisions are currently considering whether to pilot the curriculum, in whole or in part, as feedback from Albertans continues to come in via the online survey.
“At this time, Prairie Land will critically and systemically investigate this document in its entirety. We want to make sure that as a school division Prairie Land collectively finds our spot at the ministry table in an effort to provide intentional, accurate, and meaningful feedback,” said Prairie Land School Division Superintendent Cam McKeage.
He noted the school division has a “working group of 17 K-6 teachers” who will investigate and review the draft curriculum. Feedback will be presented to Alberta Education following this review to guide PLSD’s “actions and position” regarding piloting the curriculum.
“As a public jurisdiction, we do have concern with this document and by intentionally exposing this draft document, we are exercising our due diligence and opportunity to voice our concern to Alberta Education before we consider our next steps with the piloting phase,” McKeage says.
Locally, Christ the Redeemer Catholic School Division will also be reviewing the curriculum before making any decisions regarding piloting.
Christ the Redeemer Superintendent Scott Morrison told the Mail, “Christ the Redeemer is considering piloting the math curriculum.”
Morrison noted changes to the elementary curriculum have been in discussions at the provincial level for some time, but a complete overhaul will be a “huge undertaking.”
Should Christ the Redeemer proceed with the pilot, Morrison says teachers will be given the opportunity to participate and given two weeks of professional development during the summer to help them prepare for the new material. The decision to participate in the pilot will be driven by a focus on students and the benefits or disadvantages to their learning imposed by the draft curriculum.
Feedback on the curriculum will also be forwarded to Alberta Education.