Education
Kings Hockey receives multiple ACAC awards
Red Deer, March 16, 2018 – The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is pleased to announce Trevor Keeper of the Red Deer College Kings has been selected as the 2017-18 ACAC Men’s Hockey Coach of the Year. Two of his players have also been recognized for their outstanding achievements this season. Tanner Butler and Tyler Berkholtz have been named to the ACAC Men’s Hockey First All-Conference team.
Keeper, an instructor in RDC’s Kinesiology & Sport Studies department, has been the Head Coach of the RDC Kings since their return to ACAC competition in 2013-14 and has steadily built up the Kings Hockey program. This season, the Kings had 17 returning players and next season that number could jump to 21. Keeper led the RDC Kings to a 19-7-2-0 record this season and had his team near the top of the league in several categories. Along with 40 points and a third place finish in the regular season standings, the Kings had the second best penalty kill (90.5%) in the eight team league. Both their offensive output and goals against average ranked third in ACAC Men’s Hockey. This year, Keeper guided the Kings to the semi-finals.
“Trevor has been able to build a team which is very successful academically and athletically. Winning this award is representative of his five-year vision for Kings Hockey,” says Diane St-Denis, RDC Athletic Director. “It takes time to build a program, and being able to recruit and retain the student-athletes in ACAC Men’s Hockey is a big part of that.”
A pair of Keeper’s recruits, Tanner Butler and Tyler Berkholtz, have both made a positive impact with the Kings and were chosen as 2017-18 All-Conference selections.
Butler, the captain of the Kings, had an incredible season on the blueline. The fourth-year student- athlete contributed at both ends of the ice and recorded 12 goals and 21 assists while taking care of his defensive responsibilities. The smooth skating defenceman led by example all-season and was an integral member on the Kings’ special teams. The Kinesiology & Sport Studies student from Souris, Manitoba scored six power play goals and was a key player on the penalty kill. The former player for the Dauphin Kings added one game winning goal.
“I think that Tanner is the best two-way defenceman in the league. He led the d-men in scoring and finished fourth in league scoring. He is so good defensively, penalty killing and one-one-one,” says Keeper. “I think he is the ACAC version of a Nick Lidstrom type of defenceman. He is a quiet leader but he says the right things, and is very respected in the dressing room.”
Berkholtz was another important member of the RDC Kings this past season. The fifth-year student- athlete consistently brought a strong work ethic every game and was one of the heart-and-soul players wearing the crown. This year, the Management Certificate student from Penticton accumulated 16 goals and 22 assists which placed him second in league scoring. The assistant captain had five power play goals and two game winning goals while playing in all situations.
“Tyler has gotten better every year over the four years that he has been here,” says Keeper. “He is a competitor, never quits and always wants to win. He’s a mature player and he was a great leader for us.”
The awards were announced Friday, March 16 at the opening game of the ACAC Men’s Hockey finals.
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
One Manitoba school division is proving phonics works
If students don’t learn how to read in school, not much else that happens there is going to matter.
This might be a harsh way of putting it, but it’s the truth. Being unable to read makes it nearly impossible to function in society. Reading is foundational to everything, even mathematics.
That’s why Canadians across the country should be paying attention to what’s happening in Manitoba’s Evergreen School Division. Located in the Interlake region, including communities like Gimli, Arborg and Winnipeg Beach, Evergreen has completely overhauled its approach to reading instruction—and the early results are promising.
Instead of continuing with costly and ineffective methods like Reading Recovery and balanced literacy, Evergreen has adopted a structured literacy approach, putting phonics back at the centre of reading instruction.
Direct and explicit phonics instruction teaches students how to sound out the letters in words. Rather than guessing words from pictures or context, children are taught to decode the language itself. It’s simple, evidence-based, and long overdue.
In just one year, Evergreen schools saw measurable gains. A research firm evaluating the program found that five per cent more kindergarten to Grade 6 students were reading at grade level than the previous year. For a single year of change, that’s a significant improvement.
This should not be surprising. The science behind phonics instruction has been clear for decades. In the 1960s, Dr. Jeanne Chall, director of the Harvard Reading Laboratory, conducted extensive research into reading methods and concluded that systematic phonics instruction produces the strongest results.
Today, this evidence-based method is often referred to as the “science of reading” because the evidence overwhelmingly supports its effectiveness. While debates continue in many areas of education, this one is largely settled. Students need to be explicitly taught how to read using phonics—and the earlier, the better.
Yet Evergreen stands nearly alone. Manitoba’s Department of Education does not mandate phonics in its public schools. In fact, it largely avoids taking a stance on the issue at all. This silence is a disservice to students—and it’s a missed opportunity for genuine reform.
At the recent Manitoba School Boards Association convention, Evergreen trustees succeeded in passing an emergency motion calling on the association to lobby education faculties to ensure that new teachers are trained in systematic phonics instruction. It’s a critical first step—and one that should be replicated in every province.
It’s a travesty that the most effective reading method isn’t even taught in many teacher education programs. If new teachers aren’t trained in phonics, they’ll struggle to teach their students how to read—and the cycle of failure will continue.
Imagine what could happen if every province implemented structured literacy from the start of Grade 1. Students would become strong readers earlier, be better equipped for all other subjects, and experience greater success throughout school. Early literacy is a foundation for lifelong learning.
Evergreen School Division deserves credit for following the evidence and prioritizing real results over educational trends. But it shouldn’t be alone in this.
If provinces across Canada want to raise literacy rates and give every child a fair shot at academic success, they need to follow Evergreen’s lead—and they need to do it now.
All students deserve to learn how to read.
Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
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.”
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.”
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.”
“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.”
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 dual–credit 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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