Education
School board trustees should embrace genuine diversity and avoid unnecessary legal fights
From the Fraser Institute
Too many Canadian school boards are getting sidetracked by unnecessary legal battles rather than focusing on educating students.
Case in point, Carolyn Burjoski, a former teacher in the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), recently won a decisive legal victory when Justice James Ramsay rejected WRDSB’s attempt to quash Burjoski’s defamation lawsuit and awarded her $30,000 in legal fees.
Burjoski had sued her former employer because the board chair publicly accused her of transphobic behaviour for raising concerns during a board meeting about the sexualized content in a number of school library books. His public attacks on Burjoski exposed the school board to a defamation lawsuit.
In his decision, Justice Ramsay found that the WRDSB chair “acted with malice or at least a reckless disregard for the truth.” Furthermore, Ramsay explained, nothing Burjoski said during the meeting could reasonably be described as transphobic. Given these facts, it comes as little surprise that the judge ruled decisively in Burjoski’s favour.
Things could have been handled much better by the board. Had the trustees stayed focused on education, they likely would not have gotten sidetracked by Burjoski’s comments. They could have simply thanked Burjoski for her input then gotten back to work on education policy. Instead, the board chair picked a fight with one of his own teachers and led his fellow trustees into a losing legal battle. No one can seriously think this was in the best interest of students, particularly since school taxes were spent on legal fees rather than classroom resources.
Sadly, WRDSB is far from the only school board where trustees are distracted by non-educational issues. In Winnipeg’s Louis Riel School Board, trustee Francine Champagne was suspended three times in one year for making controversial social media posts and failing to submit paperwork. The board even filed a legal application to have Champagne removed from office for allegedly violating the Public Schools Act. However, Champagne resigned before the court case began, which was fortunate for the board, since it no doubt saved them considerable money in legal fees.
Parents and other taxpayers don’t elect school trustees just so their hard-earned tax dollars can be squandered on legal fees. Getting into unnecessary legal fights is a bad idea for any school board.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult for school boards to stay out of court. Refrain from defaming employees who make presentations at public meetings, stay focused on educational basics, and allow for diversity of thought on controversial issues. A board that does these things will save money in legal fees, and have a better learning environment for students.
Besides, there are real issues to be addressed in public education. For example, data from the Programme for Student Assessment (PISA) shows that academic achievement is on the decline across Canada, particularly in reading and math. If students don’t learn these fundamental skills in school, not much else that happens there will matter. Improving classroom instruction should be a top priority for every school board.
Trustees would also be wise to crack down on the growing incidents of violence in many schools. Empowering teachers and principals to remove persistently disruptive students from the classroom is essential. Teachers must know that their employers have their backs when dealing with tough situations. Safe and orderly classrooms are a prerequisite to student learning.
And when controversial issues do come up during board meetings, trustees should take a measured approach and acknowledge that Canadians (including many of their own employees) hold a variety of views on topics such as how much gender and sexuality content should be in library books accessible to children. There’s no need to force everyone into the same mold.
If trustees are serious about promoting diversity, they must remember that this includes diversity of thought, not just diversity of appearance. Genuine diversity means that everyone, students and teachers alike, are free to express different opinions without fear of negative repercussions.
Education suffers when school trustees lose sight of their primary mission. The lessons learned by WRDSB and other embattled school boards should be a clear sign to trustees across Canada—stay focused on educating students.
Author:
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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