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School divisions welcome curriculum revamp

education

The province is taking on the ambitious project of revamping Alberta’s school curriculum.

Over the next six years curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will be redeveloped in six subject areas in both English and French: arts, language arts, mathematics, social studies, sciences, and wellness.

“This government is committed to developing curriculum - including the fundamentals of reading, writing and math - that ensures children have the best possible start in life to prepare them for rewarding careers in a diversified economy,” said David Eggen, Minister of Education.

“Critical subject areas have not been updated in many years, so this work is long overdue. This new process will allow us to fulfill our commitments to educate our students about the history, perspectives and contributions of our Francophone, First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and communities.”

Bevan Daverne, superintendent of schools for Golden Hills School Division says it is still very early in the process and much needs to be hammered out.

“It is a very large-scale revamp, and it is an aggressive schedule,’ said Daverne. “We have seen the announcement, and other than that we don’t have too many details.”

The process will begin and will be developed for K-4 by late 2018, and then Grade 5-8 will be completed in late 2019, with high school following in 2020-2022. Daverne says he is looking forward to working with the province and recognizes some areas that could use renewal.

Christ the Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools superintendent Scott Morrison welcomes the revamp.

“It’s been some time since existing curriculums were reviewed and updated, so CTR Catholic welcomes the move,” he said. “We are pleased to see a focus on curriculum infused with literacy, numeracy, math, and cross-curricular competencies such as critical thinking and problem solving. CTR Catholic has had an intentional literacy focus for 5 years and we are embarking on a numeracy and mathematics focus next year, so we feel we’re ahead of the curve in terms of preparation.”

Morrison says it is great to see a focus on the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students. One area he would like to see more attention is an international focus to help English language learners who are new to Canada. He also recognizes that online and distance programs will need to be redeveloped and will require a lot of front-end work.

“Distance education course development needs to be largely completed in its entirety before implementation,” he explains.

While the timelines are aggressive, he feels the phased approach will allow the divisions to distribute and focus their professional development. He also welcomes division involvement.

“We are told that the experiences of the school boards that began prototyping curriculum in the last cycle of curriculum redesign will inform this new effort. In that regard, there has already been quite a bit of involvement. There are also face-to-face and online engagement sessions planned with Albertans,” he said.

Born to be freed, students release butterflies at senior lodges

greentree butterflies peter friesen butterflies

Grade 3s from Greentree School travelled to the Sunshine and Hillview Lodges Monday to release dozens of painted lady butterflies they had raised this year. Above, Jack Lau, Kayley Lefferson, and Reese Hatch coax on an injured butterfly to spread its wings, and lodge resident Peter Friesen admires a painted lady, whose colouring imitates that of the monarch butterfly, which apparently tastes bad to predators.

Asset management system puts Drumheller ahead of the curve

Town of Drumheller Crest

   Work is near completion on the town’s asset management system and officials say the digital catalogue allows for better management of their assets, while giving Drumheller a step up in securing provincial funding.
   The system unifies all the town’s assets across different departments into one searchable, user-friendly program for managing and evaluating infrastructure assets such as transportation, storm water, facilities, and equipment. An individual asset’s origin, lifespan, condition, cost, and other information will be on a file that is compatible across different departments and even other municipalities.
   “From an administrative point of view, and a political one, too, it’s an excellent document,” said Mayor Terry Yemen.
   The asset management system will provide a tool to council to set service expectations as well as provide transparency on decision making to the public.
   “It will help to communicate to the public that the assets are managed to the best of council’s ability under the current constraints, as well as raise the community’s awareness as to what the real costs are for maintaining service standards,” said CAO Ray Romanetz.
   Romanetz said the system places emphasis on determining the true cost of the town’s existing infrastructure, as well as understanding the level of effort required to maintain a reasonable level of service.
   The system will be available to the public via the town’s website, www.dinosaurvalley.com, once the final version has been approved by council in the coming month. Council has already received versions of the system but has been given time to evaluate it.
   The Asset Management Plan was initiated by a mandate from the federal government to prepare asset management plans to qualify for funding. The town received a grant of $250,000 from the province’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative fund, and Stantec Inc. started work on the program last year.
   “From our information, we’re ahead of a lot of other municipalities, who have been sitting on their project,” said Yemen.
   “It’s a huge undertaking.”

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