Thank you to the Lethbridge Herald who published this PCE op-ed as a Letter to the Editor on April 14, 2021.

The ferocity of attacks against the Alberta K-6 curriculum is due partly to their partisan nature. The critics are largely connected to the previous NDP government: with that government out of office, they – including the ATA as a whole – were locked out of the curriculum development process. They could be expected to say that the grapes are sour.

The rhetoric is so thick in discussions of Alberta’s K-6 curriculum, you could be forgiven if you imagined the sky is falling.  The truth is that it is, in a manner of speaking.  There are underlying issues that go deep below the surface, and they shake some of Alberta’s centers of power.

On March 29th, 2021, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced the release of Alberta’s updated draft kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum, which will be piloted in classrooms during the 2021/22 school year and refined for use by K-6 students province-wide in 2022/23.

September marks a time of transition for many families as students head back to classes in one of the most unusual years in recent memory. 

This month also means a major transition for Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) as Donna Trimble steps down and we welcome our new Executive Director to the helm.

Lots of important updates in this month’s PCE newsletter below!

Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) applauds the new Ministerial Order on Student Learning which was released today. 

Many may recall that in January 2020 the government solicited public input for this new framework document through a survey, as well as several in-person and virtual engagement sessions.

PCE was grateful to hear from many supporters who contributed important feedback during that time!

PCE appreciates all the efforts of the Curriculum Advisory Panel toward the creation of this new framework, which represents a tremendous improvement over the 2013 version it is replacing.

This Ministerial Order for Student Learning is of paramount importance as the foundational vision document guiding K-12 education, setting the values, learning foundations and outcomes for student learning in Alberta going forward.  

In August 2019, the Alberta government appointed a curriculum advisory panel tasked to advise the Education Minister on curriculum development, as well as develop a new vision for student learning.