Despite their tense negotiations, one thing stayed top of mind for both the Alberta government and teachers, the well being of students.
For Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides, getting students back in the classroom, where they belong, was the reason Bill 2: The Back to School Act, was necessary.
After a 20-day teachers’ strike, students are negatively harmed academically, psychologically and socially, said Nicolaides, citing studies from Ontario and the United States.
“Students should not pay the price for this strike action, which unfortunately they are. Obviously, that has to be the paramount consideration in everything that we do,” he said.
Now that students are back in class, Nicolaides said his ministry is looking into multiple curriculum adjustments, including altering or cancelling achievement tests, all in hopes of minimizing the strike’s impact on learning.
“If we want school boards to meet all of the learning outcomes that have been identified for this school year, we might have to look at canceling (Provincial Achievement Tests) PATs and Diploma (exams in January) as teachers would need to take time away from the classroom to prepare students for those exams,” he told LWC.
“If we want students to go ahead with those exams, we may need to adjust the learning outcomes that we would expect school divisions to meet. There’s a little bit of a balance and trade-off there, which we’re currently evaluating.”
A decision from Alberta Education on these tests will be announced in the coming days, according to Nicolaides. November diploma exams were made optional on Oct. 17.
“The number one priority as I talk with our school boards and other partners, is to make sure that we’re able to make up for the learning that students have lost as a consequence of the strike.”
Learning cascades through grades, with some material building more directly than others. When making choices moving forward, a balance must be found, according to Nicolaides.
“We may not be that concerned with meeting all of the learning outcomes in social studies, but we absolutely need to meet the learning outcomes in math or science,” he said, as an example.
Changing or adjusting school calendar is on individual school boards: Nicolaides
Curriculum and exam changes aside, Nicolaides said that any decisions on school-calendar alteration, like limiting professional development days or school vacations, will be made by individual school districts, not the ministry.
“We set the parameters, we identify what students should learn and know, and we leave it up to the school divisions to determine the calendar. I anticipate there will be, for example, a school division might decide to add some extra time to the school day or use some predetermined break to make up for lost time, but that will be dependent on individual school boards,” he said.
“They have complete control over their calendar, so I would encourage parents who have additional questions to reach out to their direct school board to get some more answers around that.”
In a statement, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said that the Nov. 8-12 fall break will continue as planned.
“After careful consideration, it was decided that changing the school calendar at this time would impact staffing, transportation, as well as staff and family plans already in place,” the statement reads.
Similarly, the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) said calendars are planned several years in advance and they are not making any changes at this time.
However, the district will be extending the high school first quarter from October 30 to November 12, allowing high school teachers time to assess and complete 3-credit courses, a CCSD-issued statement says.
The second quarter will be shortened and start on November 13.
“Changing the overall district calendar would have significant impacts on union contracts, staffing, transportation and family and staff plans already in place. We also recognize the importance of our teachers’ Professional Growth (PG) and Faith days,” the statement reads.
“Now more than ever, these days are essential for our teachers to support ongoing learning, collaboration and growth to directly benefit students in the classroom.”
Both districts are committed to notifying families as early as possible if adjustments to their respective calendars are necessary.
