Red Deer Public Schools says staff have been working hard to ensure elementary school teachers are prepared and confident to teach new provincial curricula this fall.
For a second school year in a row, kindergarten to Grade 3 teachers will deliver a new curriculum. This fall, science teachers and French immersion language arts and literature teachers will begin teaching a new curriculum.
“Our Learning Services team has hosted all of our elementary teachers at our Central Services location for multiple training sessions. This has meant that every elementary teacher has had three full days with us immersed in the new curricula with some returning for planning and creating resources,” said Della Ruston, associate superintendent of Learning Services, in a statement.
“These sessions have been invaluable because it has allowed our Learning Services team to collaborate with teachers as we all work our way through the new curricula and learning outcomes.”
Red Deer Public Schools received $198,000 for the 2022-23 school year, and $191,000 for next year, from the province to support teachers’ professional learning. Another $254,340 was provided in 2022/2023, and $259,155 for next year, to purchase learning resources for the new curricula.
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Math and English languages arts and literature teachers in Grades 4-6 will also implement new curriculums in September.
“We are really fortunate as a division to have a strong Learning Services team who has the ability to guide our elementary school teachers through these new curriculums. In addition, the support of our board and administration has allowed us to ensure we can best support our teachers in the classroom,” Ruston said.
First Nations, Metis and Inuit Learning Services co-ordinator Hayley Christen and lead teacher Terry Lakey have worked alongside all of the Learning Services coordinators to ensure authentic Indigenous teachings that align with and are infused throughout the new curricula.
“We are confident that our teachers have the knowledge, understanding, and best resources for teaching and supporting the implementation of new curricula to our students heading into the fall,” Ruston said.
The provincial government postponed the implementation of the new fine arts curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 3, and the science curriculum for Grades 4-6.
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Red Deer Public’s Learning Services team has trained about 491 teachers in multiple subject areas over two years.
During the 2021-22 school year, in preparation for this new curriculum implementation, 148 teachers were involved in training, many in both mathematics and English language arts and literacy.
In 2022-23 the school jurisdiction continued supporting these teachers, added training in physical education and wellness for kindergarten to Grade 6 teachers, and training for teachers implementing new curriculum in the 2023-24 school year.