With the 2024-25 school year underway, students in all grades are getting back to their studies in schools across the region.
Ideally those same students will be able to concentrate their efforts on their lessons and not have to worry about things they can’t control, including the ongoing battle between the Smith government and the province’s teachers.
For many parents and other stakeholders, the fight continues to raise concerns about the state of one the most important, and expensive, government departments.
For its part, the 46,000-member Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) has launched a new public awareness campaign designed to draw attention to what it is calling a crisis in Alberta’s school system.
The Stop the Excuses campaign is focusing on provincial government funding of the education system, funding the teachers’ organization says has fallen far below what is needed.
“The quality of education is suffering,” says ATA president Jason Schilling. “Albertans understand the value of public education, so it should be a concern while the province touts a surplus, students are not seeing any benefits.”
Classroom overcrowding and a decrease in student support has become the norm in far too many Alberta schools, he says.
“Teachers are facing conditions that are not fair or sustainable. We cannot expect them to do more with less again and again. Public education is in crisis,” he says.
For his part, Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the government is providing good support for students.
“We are making sure that no student falls through the cracks by enhancing literacy and numeracy screening for our youngest students and investing $1.5 billion to support students across all grades by connecting them to the specialized supports they need to succeed,” he said.
Alberta Education’s budget in 2024-25 is $9.3 billion, an increase of 4.4 per cent over last year, say officials.
With the Smith government and Alberta teachers sending out diametrically-opposed messages about the health of the education system, maybe parents and other stakeholders can be excused for wondering where things really stand?
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
