It's back-to-school season in Alberta for many students, and the provincial government has provided extra funding to schools this year.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides released a statement on August 28th on the provincial government's education funding this year.
"Education is the foundation of our province’s prosperity, and we remain as focused as ever on providing Alberta’s youth with a truly world-class education," Minister Nicolaides explained in the media release. "As we start this new school year, I am incredibly proud of our continued collaboration with education partners and all the exciting things we are doing together to support student success in the classroom and beyond."
This year, over 1,700 teachers will be piloting the Kindergarten to Grade 6 social studies curriculum the government developed with input from the public, in which 12,800 people responded via an online survey.
Under this new curriculum, the provincial government says students will be equipped with the knowledge and critical thinking skills to thrive in the world.
The provincial government introduced mandatory literacy and numeracy screening assessments back in the 2022/2023 school year for grades one to three.
For the 2024/2025 school year, the government has extended the literacy and numeracy screening assessments to include kindergarten, and all mandatory screening assessments will take place in January of each school year.
This, according to the Education Minister, will give those who need a helping hand a boost as early into their education as possible, as they help teachers identify the students who need additional support and intervention during this critical part of their early education.
These assessments will also provide a way of monitoring growth over time.
In the media release, Minister Demetrios talks about how having positive mental health is fundamental to a student's success, and how they are extending the school mental health pilot program.
This pilot project saw over $50 million to support 79 mental health pilot projects, with the final projects being completed by the end of this upcoming school year.
"Positive mental health is fundamental to students’ success, which is why we are extending the school mental health pilot program to ensure they continue to have access to in-school mental health supports. We’re also making sure students can focus on learning rather than texts and social alerts by limiting the use of personal mobile devices and social media in the classroom," Minister Demetrios said.
But, recently, Premier Smith announced that she will introduce legislation on school pronouns this fall after the school year has started.
That legislation would require transgender youth under the age of 16 to receive parental consent to change their name or pronouns and restrict trans youth aged 17 and younger from getting gender-reaffirming health care.
When this legislation was first announced back in January, it was immediately met with backlash and concern, including from a Social Worker from Kindred Roots Therapy Inc. in Okotoks who warned that delaying gender-affirming care to youth who are experiencing things like gender dysphoria has a negative mental health outcome for affected youth.
Minister Demetrios brought up the additional $215 million the government recently announced that will go towards the school system.
This money will help the schools to hire more teachers and educational staff, and help cover operating costs.
"This all builds on the record $9.3 billion we are investing in education this year, and it is all made possible by the dedicated teachers, teacher leaders, support staff, parents and guardians who show up every day to help students receive the world-class education they deserve," Demetrios said in the media release.
"With our record investments in education, continued collaboration with education partners and Alberta’s talented and hardworking students, I am confident we have all the ingredients for another amazing school year."