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By Chris Brown

Province announces more curriculum rollouts for fall

Mar 17, 2023 | 11:58 AM

More parts of Alberta’s new education curriculum are ready to be introduced into classrooms this fall.

The province says students in kindergarten to Grade 3 will learn from the new French first language and literature, French immersion language arts and literature, and science curriculums at the start of the next school year.

Local school authorities will also have the option to implement the new curriculums for Grades 4-6.

The new curriculum is also ready for Alberta’s Francophone schools.

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students will learn from the new French first language and literature. Again the option will exist for local school authorities to teach the new curriculum in Grades 4-6.

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“Curriculum renewal is essential to help prepare our students for a rapidly changing labour market, which is placing an ever-increasing premium on adaptability and transferable skills,” says Education Minister Adriana LaGrange in a news release. “To ensure successful implementation, we are making significant investments to provide teachers with the resources they need to support students in transitioning to the new curriculum.”

The province says changes were made following the original draft curriculum to address concerns such as content load, age appropriateness of material and wording clarity.

In the 2022-23 school year, 47 school boards in Alberta piloted the draft curriculum, including 941 teachers and 22,000 students, according to government. Changes were made based on feedback from classroom piloting and engagement activities.

The province says about $47 million is being invested in the upcoming school year in teacher professional learning as well as learning and teaching resources to make sure teachers and students are equipped for the updated K-6 curriculum in classrooms.

To help teachers across the province prepare for the upcoming school year, Alberta’s government is providing a variety of supports and resources online, including:

• the final K-6 French First Language and Literature, French Immersion Language Arts and Literature and Science curriculums
• the Provincial Resource Review Guide, with guidelines for selecting learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculums
• bridging resources to assist with transitioning from the current curriculums to the new curriculums
• videos and support documents with an overview and orientation to the new curriculums
• tools that support teacher planning, collaborating and sharing
• information about flexible professional learning opportunities

On the new Francophone curriculum, the province says Francophone cultures and perspectives are woven through all grades to support students in developing a positive relationship with the French language and Francophone identity, as well as a sense of belonging to diverse francophone communities.

For the 2022-23 school year, Alberta Education allocated $3.5 million to procure and develop French curriculum resources, says the province.

Support for Francophone school authorities include

• the final K-6 French first language and literature curriculum
• the Provincial Resource Review Guide, with guidelines for selecting learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculums
• bridging resources to assist with transitioning from the current curriculum to the new curriculum
• videos and support documents with an overview and orientation to the new curriculum
• tools that support teacher planning, collaborating and sharing
• information about flexible professional learning opportunities