In another attempt to address Alberta’s classroom complexity issues after tense and unsuccessful negotiation with the province’s teachers, the Alberta Government is creating the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee.
The cabinet committee will help guide government policy and deploy resources to deal with class sizes and classroom complexity, according to a government issued press release.
“This committee will include the Premier and I (the Minister of Education and Childcare), the Minister of mental health and addictions, the Minister of assisted living and social services and the Minister of Child and Family Services,” said Alberta’s Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides.
“Non voting members of the committee will include the superintendents of Edmonton Catholic schools and Calgary public, the President of the College of Alberta Superintendent, Dr. Corsi from the Alberta Teachers Association and others, the Committee will also invite other participants as needed to leverage their expertise and views.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that throughout the month of November, government will work with school boards to collect data on class size and composition. Nicolaides will use the data to allocate resources to classrooms and to inform the work related to reducing classroom complexity, she said.
“Solving these challenges will not be a simple task, but I have every reason to believe that we will find solutions, and we will only do so by working together with teachers and educational assistants for students,” Smith said.
School boards province-wide will be expected to submit classroom data by Nov. 24.
Nicolaides said the committee’s priority will be to make decisions quickly and will not spend months deliberating just to provide recommendations.
“The time for recommendations has passed and the time for actions is now. More specifically, the committee will work to set rules for tracking and reporting class size and classroom makeup and invest $300 million over the next three years that will include hiring 1,500 education assistants and hiring 3,000 teachers where they are needed the most.
The committee will also create new policy for inclusive education and implement the recommendations of the aggression and complexity action team and give advice on adding modular classrooms and special spaces.
Calgary Board of Education (CBE) Chief Superintendent Joanne Pitman is one of the committee’s 11 founding members, and was in attendance for the official provincial announcement.
Pitman was joined by CBE Board Chair Laura Hack, though neither officially spoke during the conference.
In a statement, Pitman said that she appreciated the cross-ministry approach to addressing the impact of student growth and classroom complexity.
“Through a collaborative approach, we can work together to help improve classroom conditions to support teachers and help achieve student success,” her statement reads.
Teachers are cautiously optimistic: ATA
After months of tense negotiation, Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) President Jason Schilling said that teachers may feel mistrust or hesitancy with the new committee.
“I understand where my members are coming from, and it’s justified, rightfully so based on the last couple of weeks, and especially on (Oct.) 27 when the notwithstanding clause was used against teachers,” he said.
“What happened from the strike is that teachers, supporters and community members have forced the hand of government on this, they can’t ignore the fact that there was several rallies across this province with over 20,000 people saying that we believe what teachers are saying needs to happen in our classrooms, and so we will have to make sure that government doesn’t put forward a committee that is empty words.”
Schilling said that Friday’s announcement isn’t just a policy shift, it is proof that teachers were heard during their strike.
“It’s proof that collective action works, and it’s proof that this government knows that Albertans are now holding it to account.”
