ST. PAUL - St. Paul Education is encouraging parents to take part in a survey regarding the K-6 draft curriculum.
In the spring, the provincial government released its draft K-6 curriculum, which immediately received criticism from a number of stakeholders, including school divisions, teachers, parents, and more.
St. Paul Education is not piloting the draft curriculum this year.
"The Department of Education has mandated that the draft curriculum be implemented in September of 2022 in all subject areas for all K-6 students across the province," according to information from St. Paul Education. "This curriculum is intended to bring a renewed focus to literacy, numeracy, citizenship and practical skills."
The Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) is holding conversations with board chairs to get feedback on the draft curriculum and its implementation. Information gathered will be shared with the Government of Alberta.
"It's been a very long discussion," said board chair Heather Starosielski, during the Oct. 13 board meeting. "We'd appreciate any feedback."
She reminded those listening that the curriculum will still be implemented for the next school year, and parents need to ensure the curriculum is one they want for their children.
It was noted that while the survey has been shared to the public, there has been limited responses to date. The survey will stay open until Nov. 11 and can be accessed on the St. Paul Education website.
"We encourage everyone to please participate," said Starosielski.
ATA report
In late September the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) released a report called A Professional Curriculum Analysis and Critique of Alberta Education’s 2021 Draft K-6 Curriculum.
The report was created in response to the release of the draft curriculum in the spring.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Curriculum Committee "initiated an extensive study to collect, gather and analyze feedback from teachers related to the draft curriculum. This study included an online survey open to all Alberta teachers, written submissions from specialist councils and a one-day curriculum circle of 120 classroom teachers who gathered together virtually... to participate in discussions," according to the ATA.
"The conclusion of teachers: the draft curriculum does not even meet the government’s own standards," stated a media release dated Sept. 29.
Other findings of the report show that the new curriculum has a variety of shortcomings, according to the ATA. The organization says the curriculum is not logically sequenced and not appropriately designed for teacher use.
The report found the draft curriculum had "developmentally inappropriate learning outcomes that lack high academic standards and do not adequately describe what students must know and be able to do."
"Inclusion of Indigenous content that is not authentic and appears as tokenism," according to the ATA. The report also found there was inadequate inclusion of Francophone histories, contributions and perspectives.
The draft curriculum also fails to address "racism, sexism and other forms of bigotry," according to the ATA.
