Province announces curriculum review panel

“The curriculum advisory panel will review the curriculum work done to date, globally endorsed practices, jurisdictional research and previous engagement feedback and then provide me with the advice on next steps,” said LaGrange.

Angus McBeath, a former supeintendent of the Edmonton Public School Division, is chairing the panel. A release from the province states the panel will draft an updated ministerial order on student learning later this year that will serve as a starting point for discussion on further curriculum development discussions next year. A full list of panel members, which include representatives from colleges and former teachers in Alberta, are listed below.

However the Alberta Teachers’ Association says there is concern for teachers going forward into the school year,

“Given the fact that we don’t have a budget yet for education, and now we have this uncertainty around when the curriculum will be implemented, it comes with a little bit of angst within the system,” said Jason Schilling, the president of the ATA. “Teachers are going back to school within the next two weeks, and it’s always good to go back within the context of some continuity.”

Schilling notes curriculum implementation is complex, and notes there is no current teacher on the panel.

“You have to look at how it affects the grades, how they scaffold or build on top of one another,” he said. “You also have to look at the professional development needs of teachers. You need to look at preparation time it takes to prepare for a new curriculum, as well as resources, and assessment. Without having somebody with that contextual knowledge of how curriculum works in a classroom is really a missed opportunity.”

Last week, the provincial government cancelled a memorandum of understanding with the ATA about the development of new curriculum. Schilling adds the ATA will continue to help where they can with the development of the new curriculum.

The United Conservative Party stopped a roll out of new curriculum earlier this year. A new kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum was set to be field tested this year. There are no changes to the curriculum this school year.

Panel members

A full list of panel members, provided by the provincial government, is below.

-Angus McBeath (chair), former superintendent, Edmonton Public Schools

-Jen Panteluk (vice-chair), former president and CEO, Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories

-Sharon Carry, former president & CEO, Bow Valley College

-Glenn Feltham, president & CEO, NAIT

-Paulette Hanna, associate vice-president academic, Red Deer College and former superintendent, Red Deer Catholic School Division

-Keray Henke, former deputy minister, Alberta Education

-Martin Mrazik, professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta

-Andy Neigel, CEO, Careers: the Next Generation

-Miles Smit, co-founder, Petrarch Institute

-Amy von Heyking, associate professor, Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge

-Nhung Tran-Davis, founder, Children of Vietnam Benevolent Foundation, family doctor

-Ashley Berner, deputy director, Institute for Education Policy John Hopkins School of Education

by Charles Lefebvre

Province announces curriculum review panel

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