Latest draft K-4 curriculum now available

Special to The Post

Alberta Education invites Albertans to view the latest draft curriculum prior to the next phase of development.

In June 2016, Alberta Education began work on developing new provincial curriculum in six subject areas: language arts (English and French), mathematics, social studies, sciences, arts, and wellness education. This past spring, Alberta Education shared draft curriculum with Albertans to gather feedback on what students will learn in Kindergarten to Grade 4. The latest draft curriculum includes the feedback received to date.

“We have developed a curriculum that is common sense, practical and in alignment with up-to-date research. This curriculum rewrite process has been open and transparent, and we have received more than 70,000 responses on our draft curriculum. We’re working hard to ensure that this curriculum focuses on the priorities of Albertans so it can set our students up for success in a fast-changing world.” David Eggen, Minister of Education

“The significance of Alberta rewriting the school curriculum cannot be understated for Indigenous peoples. It’s an opportunity to further inform on the rich history and culture of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and the impact of colonization and federal policies like residential schools. The new curriculum will be key to changing systemic racism while authentically walking together towards Truth and Reconciliation.”

Shane Gauthier, CEO, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary

“Financial literacy is critical to people making financially responsible decisions important to our everyday lives. Participating in the curriculum review process gave us the opportunity to work with other financial institutions to design recommendations guided by international best practices, a future focus and inclusivity, with an objective of providing Alberta students the tools they need for financial success. For credit unions, contributing to the strength of our communities through initiatives like these, is a priority.”

Ian Burns, president and CEO, Alberta Central

“We are very encouraged to see Alberta taking the initiative to refresh the school curriculum to teach young children the foundations of computer science and computational thinking. The consultation process has demonstrated how committed the government is to ensuring kids today learn the skills they will need to be successful in the economy of tomorrow.”

Melissa Sariffodeen, cofounder & CEO, Canada Learning Code

“MindFuel is honoured to have participated in the curriculum development roundtable discussions. We appreciate the enormity of the ministry’s extensive process of engaging critical stakeholders in the reviewing and rewriting of all subjects of the K-12 curriculum. Our world is interconnected, complex and diverse, and it is important that our curriculum reflects this. With input from educators as well as industry and community organizations, Alberta Education’s curriculum development will better meet the needs of our students and teachers in the 21st century.” Cassy Weber, CEO, MindFuel

“It is essential that we develop sexual health education curriculum so that there is consistency in outcomes across the province. I am pleased to see the Government of Alberta taking a comprehensive approach. Issues like consent require students to be provided with tools to develop the skills to engage in healthy relationships throughout their lives.”

Pam Krause, president and CEO, Centre for Sexuality

“It has been three decades since a significant curriculum update in this province. Our society has changed so much in the last 30 years and we have so much new insight into educational methods that work and the world around us. As a parent I want my kids to be equipped with the knowledge, skills and empathy they will need to live in a rapidly changing world.”

Tuval Dinner Nafshi, parent

“As a parent of a child classified as special needs, the consultation process for the new curriculum is something that was a ground-breaking experience. The opportunity to have open dialogue about aspects that we as parents consider to be vital for our children and other children opened up a whole lot of other talking points with our local school and prompted us to pursue further educational studies to get my special needs child up to date in the curriculum. This was an exceptional opportunity that I would encourage all parents to participate in wherever possible. It is the shared responsibility of parents and educators alike and we succeed when we partner together.”

Laurie Skelton, parent

“We urgently support all efforts to enhance CT, coding, and computing science knowledge and skill development in the K-12 curriculum. Alberta can continue to be a curriculum leader by addressing the computational and data literacy needs of current and future students, industries and scientists.”

Cathy Adams, professor, University of Alberta

Telephone town halls Minister Eggen and Alberta Education officials will be hosting telephone town halls to discuss the draft K-4 curriculum.

The calls will start at 7 p.m. on: • Oct. 16 for northern Alberta residents • Oct. 17 for southern Alberta residents

The telephone town hall meetings are part of a broader approach to sharing information about curriculum development work. The calls will also be live-streamed for anyone who wants to listen online instead of over the phone.

Pre-register for the telephone town halls by visiting education. alberta.ca/curriculumdevelopment.

Government has also launched a new platform for Albertans to access the draft curriculum on the new LearnAlberta.ca website.

Curriculum review timeline Current curriculum remains in effect until future provincial curriculum is approved by the Minister of Education. Timelines for implementation of future provincial curriculum have yet to be set.

Targeted timelines for ministerial approval of curriculum:

• Grades K–4: December 2018.

• Grades 5–8: December 2019.

• Grades 9–10 (three subject areas): December 2020.

• Grades 9–10 (three subject areas) and 11–12 (three subject areas): December 2021.

• Grades 11–12 (three subject areas): December 2022.