Policies on Education:
RACHEL NOTLEY’S COMMITMENT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY: • (4.1) We’ll provide stable, predictable funding to school boards, colleges, universities and technical institutes that will support Alberta’s growing population and the need for quality education in a modern economy. We will reverse the reckless Prentice cuts. • (4.2) We’ll invest to reduce class sizes and deal with growing enrollment in the K-12 system. • (4.3) We’ll reduce school fees for essential services such as lunch supervision and bussing. • (4.4) We will ensure schools have the people and resources they need to respond to the increasing complexity of Alberta’s classrooms. • (4.5) We’ll invest to build the new schools that are needed to lower class sizes, to improve learning conditions for all Alberta kids and to end the chaos created by the PCs continual delays in building those new schools. • (4.6) We’ll phase in all-day kindergarten as Alberta’s finances permit and school construction progresses, beginning with priority neighbourhoods.
• (4.7) We’ll get the politics out of school construction, ensuring that school construction and renovation decisions are based on need. We’ll end the PCs’ political manipulations of those decisions with public, transparent project priority lists. • (4.8) We’ll phase in a targeted school lunch program for elementary students in the province. • (4.9) We’ll restore the successful Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP) job creation program for Alberta youth.
• (4.10) And we’ll implement a real tuition freeze for post-secondary students, including rolling back the PCs’ most recent “market modifier” fees. By imposing a real freeze, post-secondary education will become increasingly accessible and affordable for Alberta families.
| Policies on Education:
Early Childhood Education THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the Alberta Liberal Party supports the availability of junior and full-day senior kindergarten programming in all jurisdictions. School Systems THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that an Alberta Liberal government will move to combine the separate school districts into a unified, public school system; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that an Alberta Liberal government will commit to re-investing all of the savings from such unification back into our public school system; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that an Alberta Liberal government will consult with stakeholders in the current separate system and design a model of delivery whereby Catholic education may be offered as an alternative program in the public stream. Continuing Education THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Liberal Party strongly supports a community hub model, which includes housing, educational facilities, health services, childcare, and career training facilities to assist vulnerable persons to be able to have advanced and continuing educational opportunities.
| Policies on Education:
The Alberta Party Caucus would increase funding for K-12 education. Teaching the Next Generation 6 If we want to make Alberta successful and prosperous going forward, we must be prepared to invest more than we currently do in education. We need to reduce class sizes, support teachers with the resources they need, and continue to keep up with population growth. Additional funding will also allow us to implement programs in schools that promote physical and mental well-being. Properly implemented, this will lay the foundation of a long-term provincial wellness plan. We must make sure that wellness is a priority for our students, not just academic achievement. We also need to look at how we design and build school infrastructure. We would invest money to ensure that we are constructing forward looking educational facilities that will continue to serve the community and lifelong learners beyond the current typical school life-cycle.
| Policies on Education:
The United Conservative Party is committed to · affirming the right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. · affirming, maintaining and protecting the existence and role of local, democratically elected school boards. · supporting safe schools that protect students against discrimination and bullying without compromising the constitutional rights and safety of other students in the process. · enabling students to achieve excellence by providing a diverse, results-oriented range of core, extracurricular, post-secondary, skilled trades, and other educational opportunities. · maintaining Alberta's legacy of school choice by upholding the established right of parents to choose the education setting best suited for their children including: public, separate, charter, independent, alternative and home education programs. · protecting authentic school choice by respecting the freedom of association in independent schools and alternative programs by allowing them to determine their own policies and practices based on each school’s unique character, values and beliefs. Parental choice in education, in both form and content. · parental choice in education, in both form and content. · providing transparency and accountability to parents regarding student scholastic outcomes and performance. CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT The United Conservative Party believes that the Government of Alberta should… · benchmark the Alberta education system against leading global jurisdictions, on a continuous basis, on a wide set of educational outcomes, skills, and competencies demanded in the modern workplace. · halt the implementation of the new curriculum and review it in order to increase emphasis on basic essentials such as literacy and numeracy, increase the focus on Albertan and Canadian life in terms of geography, the economy, and historical accuracy, increase the focus on the development of a work ethic, increase a focus on debate, critical thinking, and respect for dissenting views, and eliminate all political indoctrination from the curriculum. · have open and transparent curriculum development for primary and secondary schools requiring public input. Incorporate financial literacy into the curriculum as this will help students manage their financial affairs and provide an understanding of financial markets. · provide transparency and accountability to parents regarding student scholastic outcomes and performance, by developing a consistent standard with traditional letter or percentage grades for Grades 5-12 students and support the practice of teachers who give a grade of zero for incomplete work. · reinstate parental opt-in consent for any subjects of a religious or sexual nature, including enrollment in extracurricular activities/clubs or distribution of any instructional materials/resources related to these topics. · incorporate financial literacy into the curriculum as this will help students manage their financial affairs and also provide them with an understanding of financial markets. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE SERVICES The United Conservative Party believes that the Government of Alberta should… · ensure students with educational needs are properly assessed and coded with the consultation of parents/guardians. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY The United Conservative Party believes that the Government of Alberta should… · ensure equitable per-student funding in accordance with school choice – public, separate, charter, home, or private. · provide additional per-student funding to schools for students with special needs, students in remote areas, or with other disadvantages, to ensure equitable access for all students. · encourage schools and school boards to work together to find efficiencies and improve the delivery of education to Alberta students. · encourage the expansion of charter schools as they allow teachers, parents and other experts in education to offer new and innovative curriculum and programs for students. POST-SECONDARY AND TRADES The United Conservative Party believes that the Government of Alberta should… · require publicly funded post-secondary institutions to implement a policy guaranteeing the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly of all students and staff on campus. · work with employers, industry, schools, and post-secondary institutions to encourage and develop apprenticeship programs in trades and the technical sector. · improve the ability of post-secondary students to transfer credits earned between post-secondary institutions in recognition of achievements already earned at an equivalent level. · protect and guarantee the freedom of association of students by allowing individuals to choose, for themselves, whether to become a member of their students’ association.
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