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By Gates Guarin

Polarizing curriculum rolling out to students this fall

Aug 26, 2022 | 4:37 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – While students had some fun in the sun over the summer, Medicine Hat teachers have been working hard behind the scenes in order to roll out a brand new curriculum.

Back in April, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced the upcoming school year would see three subjects – English language arts, mathematics and physical education – receiving an update for kindergarten to Grade 6 students. The new English and math programs will be taught up to Grade 3 students, while phys-ed will be rolled out up to Grade 6.

“These three subjects in Alberta’s new K to six curriculum are critical starting points that will set students on the best paths for success,” LaGrange said.

She added the new curriculum very much needed the update.

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“It is critically important now more than ever, that we update Alberta’s decades-old curriculum to give students a stronger foundation for a successful future.”

The new curriculum was met with criticism, even at its onset. The Alberta Teachers’ Association cites several concerns with the government’s plan.

“One of the concerns that we had with the curriculum moving forward around age appropriation and grade appropriateness was that we don’t want to fail our students,” says president Jason Schilling. “We don’t want to set our students behind.”

Schilling says the finalized version of the new curriculum wasn’t released to school districts until mid to late May giving teachers, who were already dealing with a tumultuous year due to the pandemic, less time to work on a way to introduce the new subjects.

“[Teachers] want to make sure that the resources are going to be appropriate for their students, that they’re going to be challenging enough for their students, and it takes time to go through all of this, it’s not just something that happens overnight.” says Schilling.

We don’t want to set our students behind. _{Jason Schilling, ATA President}

Here locally, both the Catholic and public school boards have been working tirelessly to provide the best delivery system for students.

Dr. Dwayne Zarichny, superintendent of education with the Catholic board of education, says staff will be given the right tools to teach the curriculum.

“We have a number of sessions that are planned to help support teachers begin to roll out and implement a new curriculum,” Zarichny says.

Mark Davidson with the public division says he is proud of his staff and what they have done over the summer months to ensure students will get the most out of the rollout.

“I feel really good about the work and preparation that’s been done, and how our teachers have leaned into that work in order to make sure they’re really ready for our kids,” Davidson says.

As the school year kicks off, both Zarichny and Davidson say families and staff will have opportunities to have their say on the new curriculum, and the government will be collecting feedback from school districts as the year goes on.