Education
With school starting in Alberta this week we thought we would repost this.
This week we will break down Nicolaides’ impact on the Education Portfolio
The Alberta Government passed a bill about pandemic response in Schools Bill 27 that also talks about pronouns, and name changes in school. This bill added sections 3.1, 3.2 and 11.1 to amend in person learning regulations.
https://www.alberta.ca/supporting-alberta-students-and-families
Nicolaides pandemic response interview
https://x.com/i/status/1863954132416999622
Curriculum
Demetrios Nicolaides became the Education Minister in October 2023, just in time to implement the new curriculum. Here is the history and links to the latest curriculum.
Here is the original curriculum rewrite from the UCP after they got rid of the work started by the Conservative party and completed under the NDP.
Note: In the past Alberta Education would stagger the introduction of new curriculum so those coming into a new grade would have the curriculum background and one subject at a time - Usually it would roll out in Grade 1 and Grade 4 - this Government did all the grades and all at once - except SS which was so awful they had to redo it. Their original curriculum had students in Grade 1 learning about the difference between the sounds of Big Ben and the Peace Tower - Compare different sounds that tell the time: compare recordings of the UK and Canadian Parliament clock tower chimes: the effect is a kind of magical sense that time passes and is inevitable and important. Grade 2 learning Students create a very simple timeline with a few historical dates, carefully illustrated The Past: 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Today - including dates of Champlain 1497, Jacques Cartier 1535, Alberta became a province in 1905.
This is a link to the 2022 Proposed SS curriculum K - 2
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7273491/2020-07-31-Social-Studies-K-to-2-Champion.pdf
This is a link to the 2022 Proposed SS curriculum 3-4
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7273495/Social-Studies-Grade-3-4-Champion-PDF.pdf
Critique of the 2020 draft document
https://cha-shc.ca/teachers-learning-bl/albertas-curriculum-controversy/
This Social Studies Curriculum was quickly taken off the table and reworked into this:
Draft Social Studies Curriculum piloted 2024-25
https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/c/sssk?s=SSS
** if you are a curriculum curious person - here is the Draft of the 2018 Social Studies curriculum so you can compare it to what the current government has put out
https://education.alberta.ca/media/3772373/social_studies_draft_k-4_curriculum-en.pdf
At one time Alberta Curriculum was used by the NWT and other jurisdictions. They have left Alberta and are now using BC’s curriculum. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/nwt-alberta-kindergarten-grade-12-school-curriculum-1.6289214
During LaGrange’s tenure as Education Minister they shut down Alberta Distance Learning which was a world renowned Distance Learning Program. It was funded by the Alberta government and created curriculum materials that could be used to offer programs for home schooling, small high schools that could not offer a variety of programing. It was shuttered to give both public and private online schools less competition.
LaGrange was also responsible for cutting the funding grants in 2020 for AHS to provide specialized services for Alberta Schools. Now there is not enough services to meet the needs of students in the classroom as each district is stretched in meeting the basic needs of their population.
COVID-19 Layoffs
In March of 2020 LaGrange fired Educational Assistants via Twitter. The next year not everyone returned to schools for in-school learning
Testing tied to funding
So teachers/schools were faced with introducing new curriculum all grade all subjects except Social all at once. They also faced new testing protocol in order for them to qualify for fund for at risk students.
In 2022/23, literacy and numeracy screening assessments became mandatory for students in grades 1 to 3, ensuring that students are receiving essential foundational learning in the critical early years of their education. School authorities must use screening tools provided or approved by Alberta Education. They now have to test Kindergarten on these concepts in January and again in June.
This is newlearnAlberta hub page. Early Years Assessment Page that outlines the timing and expectations of the tests.
Funding
In previous years the government funded education based on the number of students that were registered and attending your districts’ schools on September 3oth of that year.
The government has used the Weighted Moving Average funding model since 2019 and continues to use this funding model that is based on previous enrollments. It looks like this:
For 2025-2026 it would look like this:
2024 enrollment x 20%
2025 enrollment x 30% Estimate
2026 enrollment x 50% Projection
The two largest schoolboards in Alberta have had major growing pains and funding has not kept pace.
The total enrolment in Edmonton Public Schools has risen almost 50 per cent in Robertson’s 12-year tenure, spiking to more than 121,000 students from 81,500.
Calgary Board of Education
For the 2024-25 school year, total student enrolment as of Sept. 30, 2024 reached 142,402 students, the highest K to 12 enrolment anywhere in western Canada. This represents a year-over-year increase of 4,158 students, or three per cent. While lower than last year’s growth of 7,029 students, the increase exceeds the average annual growth of 2,300 students seen between 2010 and 2019. Since September 2021, enrolment has surged by over 17,000 students.
https://cbe.ab.ca/news-centre/Pages/enrolment-surge-reflects-calgarys-growth.aspx
Page 31
They then offer various grants that districts have to apply for and meet the criteria to receive.
Alberta is the lowest k-12 funding of all Provincial schools based on the Fraser Institute and the ATA. Here are some tables comparing Alberta and Quebec (Yes Quebec gets equalization payments - but they invest money in education and healthcare)
You may wonder why this is 2021-22 $$. It’s because that is the most recent year that the data has been released for:
Spending on public schools
2013-2021
2012/13 2021/22 Nominal Change % change
Alberta $7,775,000 $9,066,000 1,292,000 16.6%
Quebec $12,660,000 $21,653,000 $8,993,000 71%
The student population increased 14.2% funding went up 2.1% 2012-13 to 2021-22
Per student spending In 2022 $
Province 2012/13 2017/18 2021/22 % change
Alberta 13,146 13,923 13,421 2.1%
Quebec 10,758 12,430 17,374 61.5%
Canada 12,191 13,798 15,771 29.4%
Total Enrolment in Public Schools
Province 2012/13 2017/18 2021/22 % change
Alberta 591,399 665,877 675,504 14.2%
Quebec 1,176,849 1,216,803 1,246,335 5.9%
Canada 5,047,059 5,159,952 5,230,002 3.6%
Spending ($2022) per student in public schools adjust for price changes- School districts are spending less/student in the classroom. (This is important to note when the Premier keeps saying they are funding students appropriately! They are not!
Province 2012/13 2017/18 2021/22 % change
Alberta 16,206 15,736 13,421 -17.2%
Quebec 12,994 13,372 17,374 33.7%
Canada 15,010 15,639 15,771 5.1%
Operational Spending ($2022) per student in public schools - adjusted for price change
Province 2012/13 2017/18 2021/22 % change
Alberta 15,654 14,545 12,854 -17.9%
Quebec 11,635 12,587 14,759 26.9%
Canada 13,805 14,300 14,239 3.1%
Actual and adjusted spending on Public schools 2021-22
Province Actual Adjusted Difference % difference
Alberta 9.066 billion 10.431 billion 1.365 billion 15.1%
Quebec 21.653 billion 15.294 billion -6.359 billion -29.4%
Canada 82.482 billion 74.185 billion -8.297 billion -10.1%
This doesn’t make sense given that Alberta has decreased spending per student over the 10 year period, unless they are including capital spending for building more schools.
Staff Costs for all of Canada (millions
2012 to 2013 2021 to 2022 2012-2013 2022-2023
Spending Share Spending Share Spending Share Growth%
total% total% total%
Compensate 45,588 74.1% 58,363 70.8% 12,775 61% 28%
Salaries/Wage 36,736 59.7% 46,590 56.5% 9,855 47% 26.8%
Fringe Benefits 5,460 8.9% 7,849 9.5% 2,389 11.4% 43.8%
Pensions 3,393 5.5% 3,924 4.8% 531 2.5% 15.7%
Capital 4,940 8.0% 8,010 9.7% 3,070 14.7% 62.1%
Other 11,001 17.9% 16,109 19.5% 5,108 24.4% 46.4%
Total 61,529 82,482 20,953 34.1%
“ 2012/13 to 2021/22. Our results indicate that compensation remains the largest and costliest aspect of education spending and has contributed the largest portion to the growth in total education spending in Canada. Capital spending has also increased over the years and has grown as a share of overall spending.”
Fraser institute blames wages and pensions for the high cost of education.
Conclusion of the report
“It is clear from the data presented that from 2012/13 to 2021/22 inflation-adjusted per-student education spending in public schools has increased nationally and in seven of the ten provinces. Only Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Newfoundland & Labrador saw decreases in their inflation-adjusted per-student spending over the ten-year period. Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia all increased education spending in public schools beyond what was required to account for enrolment and price changes from 2012/13- 2021/2022.”
If you compare Alberta to schools in the US - Alberta comes in 45/50 schools, near the bottom.
School funding by province/territory (2021 - 2022)
Alberta. $13,421
New Brunswick. $17,172
Saskatchewan. $15,216
British Columbia. $14,767
Ontario. $15,702
Newfoundland & Labrador. $14,307
Nova Scotia. $16,045
Prince Edward Island. $16,800
Manitoba. $16,186
Quebec. $17,374
Canada average $15,699
https://teachers.ab.ca/news/alberta-ranks-last-education-spending-0
Alberta spends 85% of the Canadian average. $3,953 less than Quebec pays. Alberta spends 77% of what Quebec spends.
Public vs Private/Charter Schools
Charter Schools - Charter schools receive 100% of the funding for each student. On top of that they also charge a fee. They can accept students that they want to attend their schools. An eg. a school in Red Deer denied a student already attending because she was tested and had a learning disability. They have a specific focus - academics, music, science, technology, sports etc. They offer smaller class sizes and specialized programming. The province also funds the building of these schools. The teachers are not part of the ATA and can be paid lower wages.
Alberta is also going to fund the building of these Charter schools. Yes and the Alberta Government is paying to build Private schools.
Private Schools - Private schools receive 70% of the funding for each student. They also charge fees. They can accept students who want to attend their schools but can also deny students from attending. They have specialized programming. The teachers are not part of the ATA and can be paid lower wages. They teach their own curriculum depending on the focus of the schools. Alberta pays the most to private schools in all of Canada.
Three types of private schools
Registered private schools are not eligible for government funding. Registered private schools are not required to use certificated teachers or to teach the Alberta programs of study (curriculum). Registered private schools choosing not to follow the Alberta programs of study must maintain a list of subjects to be offered and an outline of the major skills and knowledge areas to be learned by the students. These must be consistent with the requirements for student learning established by the Minister of Education.
Accredited (non funded) private schools must use certificated teachers but are not required to teach the Alberta programs of study. Accredited private schools choosing not to follow the Alberta programs of study must maintain a list of subjects to be offered and an outline of the major skills and knowledge areas to be learned by the students. These must be consistent with the requirements for student learning established by the Minister of Education.
Accredited funded private schools must:
use certificated teachers
teach the Alberta programs of study
have a principal who is a certificated teacher
They also must meet the criteria in the funding manual - teach the Alberta Curriculum. They are funded 70% of regular schools. The operator of an accredited private school shall (a) ensure that students enrolled in the school have the opportunity to meet the requirements (b) use the provincial assessments under programs established by the Minister, and (c) provide the Alberta Programs of Study, if the accredited private school is a funded private school.
Info on Private schools
https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=2022_127.cfm&leg_type=Regs&isbncln=9780779840052
Building New Schools
100’s of school are full or over capacity
List of new schools being approved by Ab Ed. Each year they approve projects for that year for Public and Catholic schools. Charter schools and Independent schools as well. (All new school builds are going to be owned by Alberta Infrastructure so if they are not being used appropriately or have low enrollment, the government can step in and transfer the schools leases to another group, much like the Hospitals and health care centers that formerly fell under Alberta Infrastructure.
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/educ-approved-school-capital-list-2024.pdf (Calgary 2 Edmonton Public 1 Edmonton Catholic 4)
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/educ-approved-school-capital-projects-list-2023.pdf (Calgary 2 Calgary Catholic 1 Edmonton Public 1)
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/edc-approved-school-capital-projects-list-2022.pdf (Calgary 1 Calgary Catholic 1 Edmonton Public zero - Edmonton Catholic 2)
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/edc-approved-school-capital-projects-2021.pdf (Calgary 0 Calgary Charter 2 Edmonton Public 0 - Edmonton Catholic 1) Foundations for the Future Charter School got funding
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/edc-approved-school-capital-projects.pdf (Calgary 0 Edmonton Public 1 Edmonton Catholic 1)
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/ed-approved-school-capital-projects.pdf (Calgary 3 Edmonton Public 2 Edmonton Catholic 2)
The building of schools is not keeping pace with student enrollment. In the last 6 years - Calgary got 8 new schools, Calgary Catholic got 2, Edmonton got 5 new schools and Edmonton Catholic got 10 - EPSB desperately need a new high school - none on the list so far. (I will update this in another post)
Nicolaides said he's considering whether charter schools, which are granted approval to operate for up to five or 15 years at a time, could be deemed permanent.
This huge policy shift makes Alberta the first and only province to build private schools with public funding. Furthermore, the plan also intends to create 12,500 new charter student spaces by 2027-28. This rapid privatization will only exacerbate the public education crisis by diverting much-needed public resources to private entities.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/10763554/alberta-private-school-funding/amp/
Since then we have book banning, Collegiate schools to teach the trades from Grade 9 - 12, Junior High curriculum finally being released in the spring of 2025 to be piloted in 2026 (with very little or no authorized resources) and parents having to opt into to sex education portion of the health and wellness curriculum.
So, between LaGrange and Nicolaides Public Education is under fire by this government. They have cut funding, thrown a new curriculum at teachers with no supports, refuse to pay a living wage to Education Assistants, and have testing tied to funding. They also are taking public dollars and giving them to Charter and Private schools. Are they trying to privatize education? Given the evidence what do you think?