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Education

Check Out The Progress On Red Deer’s Newest Elementary School!

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(Centre front – Millie Campbell  Back row left to right – Julie Hansen, Jessica Hartel, TJ Hartel, Jan Ludwig, Jeff Ludwig)

Written by Sheldon Spackman / Photos and Video by Lindsay Wiebe

Construction on Red Deer’s newest elementary school is running on budget and ahead of schedule. That, according to Red Deer Public School District officials who say they will be able to take possession of the new building on May 2nd, well ahead of the first day of school in September.

It’s anticipated 350 students will be there on opening day, with initial capacity to be 500 and room to grow with the help of portables from there. The school on Irving Crescent in Inglewood will serve students from that neighbourhood and Ironstone as well, plus the Vanier/Vanier East neighbourhoods.

Jan Ludwig is the late Don Campbell’s eldest daughter and says her father would have been “Over the moon” if he were here to see the school. School Board Chair Bev Manning says Don Campbell Elementary will help alleviate crowding pressures currently being felt in other elementary schools. Principal Cam Pizzey says he known the Campbell family for decades and is honoured to be it’s first Principal.

District officials are proud of  the school’s amazing learning spaces, including 2 outdoor classrooms. A partnership with the City of Red Deer is also anticipated to provide space for community activities and events.

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Alberta

Province pumping $100 million into Collegiates and Dual-Credit hands-on learning programs

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Alberta’s government is helping students discover their skills and interests today, to help them find careers for tomorrow.

If passed, Budget 2025 will provide more than $100 million over three years for school boards to grow career education programs, including funding for more collegiate and dual-credit programs across Alberta.

“We are working to set students up for success by strengthening job-focused education. This money is helping schools partner with businesses, universities and colleges to create programs that will help students hit the ground running after they graduate.”

Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education

Career education helps students gain credits towards graduation while earning hands-on experience in fields like the trades, computer programming, health care, agriculture, culinary arts and more. These career education programs support a strong economy by helping students learn the skills they need to get in-demand jobs.

Collegiate schools

Collegiate schools work with businesses, universities and colleges to offer classes that give students pathways to education and careers in the job of their choice. There are 12 collegiate schools in Alberta, offering many different types of programming for grades 7-12, including aviation, graphic design, trades and more.

If passed, Budget 2025 provides more than $21 million to school boards to help fund special classrooms like carpentry workshops, film and media rooms, science laboratories, heavy equipment simulators and aircraft hangars. Another $6 million is being invested to support the start-up costs for new collegiate schools.

Dual-credit programs

Budget 2025, if passed, also provides $4.6 million in 2025/26 to start new or improve existing dual-credit programs. In partnership with universities and colleges, dual-credit programs give students a head start on rewarding careers by allowing them to earn high-school and post-secondary credits at the same time. Of the $4.6 million, $550,000 is being provided by Alberta Seniors, Community and Social Services for new and improved dual-credit health care aide programs.

“Health care aides play a critical role in ensuring Albertans receive the continuing care services they need to maintain their health, independence and quality of life. Our investments into career pathways for health care aides will provide opportunities for young Albertans to develop the skills they need to build a rewarding career in Alberta’s continuing care workforce.”

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services

Another $1.4 million is being invested to support students participating in off-campus career education programs through CAREERS. This non-profit connects students to jobs in high-demand fields, such as the trades, technology, health, forestry and agriculture.

“Investments in collegiate and dual-credit programming are significant for Calgary Catholic as they further strengthen our collegiate and dual-credit programming. This programming will open opportunities for our students and help them to realize their full potential.”

Shannon Cook, chair, Calgary Catholic School District

“Before Fusion Collegiate, I felt lost and wasn’t really sure what to do after high school. Thanks to its career-focused learning and the opportunities through Fusion and The Educational Partnership Foundation, I’m now working as a first-year apprentice plumber with Mr. Rooter. The hands-on trades training, high school credits, safety certifications, and real-world skills I picked up completely changed my life. I’m excited about where my career is headed and really thankful for the support that helped me get here.”

Francis Mazieta, student, Fusion Collegiate

Budget 2025 is meeting the challenge faced by Alberta communities with continued investments in education and health, lower taxes for families and a focus on the economy.

Quick facts

  • If passed, Budget 2025 invests $102.4 million over three years to provide sustainable, predictable career education funding, and to increase access to career education for Alberta students.
    • This includes $8.4 million over 2026-27 and 2027-28 to raise awareness among students and families of career education programs and pathways available to Alberta students.
  • Career education in Alberta includes career and technology courses, Career and Life Management (CALM), dual-credit courses, collegiate schools, apprenticeships and off-campus education programming.
  • Since 2013, more than 95,000 high school students participated in at least one dualcredit course.
  • In spring 2025, Alberta Education will engage with education partners on best practices to bring more career education opportunities to students.
    • Since 2022, education partners and almost 5,000 Albertans have provided their feedback on career education and workforce needs.

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Business

Trump order to close Education Department sparks congressional action, lawsuits

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Members of the Chicago Teachers Union in Springfield at the Illinois State Capitol     

From The Center Square

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Lawmakers, school advocates and teachers’ unions are taking swift action after President Donald Trump’s executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education, one of his most controversial moves yet.

Opponents of Trump’s action responded with promises of legal retaliation. But supportive lawmakers may beat them to the chase, with U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., each planning to introduce legislation to completely eliminate the department.

“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” Cassidy said. “Since the Department can only be shut down with Congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”

Rounds said he is already discussing legislation with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon “that would return education decisions to states and local school districts while maintaining important programs like special education and Title I.”

Trump already shrunk the department’s workforce to half its size last week. His executive order Thursday directs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely,” as far as legally possible.

For now, that means the department  like enforcing Title IX and civil rights laws, funding special education and disability programs, and overseeing student loans and Pell grants, Trump said. On Friday, Trump said the Small Business Administration would take over the nation’s student loans.

But the ultimate goal is to redistribute these programs among other federal departments and agencies, which would require congressional approval.

School choice organizations are praising Trump’s plan to eventually eliminate the Education Department as a necessary development that will save taxpayers’ money and return power to states, local governments, and parents.

“These are the first steps towards reforming an American education system that should have always been a state and local proposition,” Parents Defending Education Vice President Sarah Parshall Perry said. “We are looking forward to continuing our mission to empower parents and students in educational environments that are once again value-neutral, and devoid of radical ideologies”

Supporters also point to how the department has spent $3 trillion taxpayer dollars since its creation by congressional legislation in 1979. Meanwhile, U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and standardized test scores have remained flat for decades.

ACE Scholarships, which provides aid to lower-income K-12 students, said in a statement that the Department of Education’s efforts have been “a wasteful distraction” and that the president’s “new approach” to education “puts children first by increasing choice and empowering parents instead of Washington bureaucrats.”

But public school advocacy organizations and teachers unions are already preparing lawsuits against what they say is an unconstitutional move.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, had a simple message for Trump after the executive order: “See you in court.”

The New York-based United Federation of Teachers stated that “we are working with our partners to file lawsuits to stop this executive overreach.”

Democracy Forward, a legal services nonprofit, is also planning to join the fight.

“We will be filing litigation against this action and will use every legal tool to ensure that the rights of students, teachers, and families are fully protected,” President and CEO Skye Perryman stated. “Since Inauguration Day, the Trump-Vance administration has been taken to court more than 100 times, and we will do it again this time.”

Trump opponents argue that dismantling the department will cause property taxes to spike nationwide, strain public school resources and could cause struggling schools to close, expanding class sizes in the remaining schools.

“Beyond the obvious issue that the Education Department can’t be eliminated without an act of Congress, Trump’s order is yet another wild and illicit power grab,” Co-President of Public Citizen Lisa Gilbert said. “Attempting to destroy the cabinet agencies tasked with promoting and improving education isn’t just irresponsible, it is immoral, and will hurt the very fabric of our nation, as we keep generations of students from achieving their full potential.”

The Education department provides roughly 10% of funding for public education, with the vast majority of funding coming from state and local taxes.

The majority of Americans also appear opposed to ending the department, with a Marist poll in early March showing 63% of U.S. residents either oppose or strongly oppose getting rid of the U.S. Department of Education, while 37% of residents either strongly support or support abolishing the department.

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