National awards for two teachers from Glendale Sciences and Technology School

Red Deer Public Schools

Published

2 years ago

7 minute read

Two teachers at Glendale Sciences and Technology School have been recognized at a national level for their excellence in teaching.

Ashton Lutz, Learning Facilitator, is one of 10 teachers across Canada to be awarded the 2022 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, while Amy Mathison, Grade 7/8 Math Teacher, is one of 25 teachers across Canada to be awarded the 2022 Certificate of Achievement for Teaching Excellence.

Both teachers were nominated by the school’s Principal Sandre Bevan, and Vice Principal Jeff Plackner.

“I feel very honoured and very grateful that I was nominated and selected for this award and that there is a belief in me by the people around me,” said Ashton, after learning she was a recipient. “I have a lot of gratitude and appreciation.”

In her new role as a Learning Facilitator, Ashton makes the connection between the Grade 2 curriculum and the daily lives of her students in order to fully engage each and every one of them. “What I really love about my role is that I get to connect with so many people and make a difference in so many lives,” she said. “When you come to school and a student has a great day, then you have a great day. I get to be a person in a child’s life that gets to make a true difference for them. It’s really rewarding.”

Amy added she also feels honoured to be recognized.

Amy Mathison (middle)

“I was not expecting this to happen. I was honoured to be nominated out of the many teachers in our Division, and then to receive the recognition feels amazing,” she said. “My parents are both teachers, so they were really proud.”

Both Ashton and Amy added they enjoy teaching at a school with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“The role of science and technology is really important to engage learners and it’s really important that kids have that hands-on experience,” said Ashton. “With technology, I am able to pace instruction based on each student’s needs. For example, if a student is having trouble with a concept, they can get remediation at the same time that other students can move onto higher concepts.”

“The biggest thing about STEM learning is how engaged students are,” added Amy. “They are getting deeper learning with STEM. They get to do 3D printing and laser cutting – which are some pretty unique learning opportunities, and we have so much fun with it.”

Ashton’s interest in becoming a teacher stemmed from her time teaching swimming lessons. “I was taking college courses that didn’t allow me to teach swimming anymore and I really missed it,” she said. “I graduated with my combined Bachelor of Education and History degree from the University of Lethbridge in 2015 and moved to Red Deer, and I have been teaching elementary school ever since.”

For Amy, growing up in a household where both parents were teachers was inspiring. “At the dinner table they would always talk about teaching, and I started coaching sports when I was 16 and I loved it,” she said. “I went to school at the University of Lethbridge where I made the swim team and I was working on my degree in Kinesiology. A couple of years in, I applied to the Education program and got accepted. I completed a combined degree in Kinesiology and Education, and moved to Red Deer afterwards.”

Amy, who is in her ninth year of teaching, said she loves teaching in middle school. “I love the age of middle school kids – they are fun to teach, independent, and I appreciate their sense of humour,” she said. “I also love teaching at Glendale. We have some really great, supportive, and knowledgeable staff members. I enjoy the subjects and courses that I teach, as well as coaching volleyball here.”

Meanwhile, Ashton will fly to Ottawa next week to present with the other Teaching in Excellence Award recipients from across the country. “The presentation I have chosen is called Meeting Kids Where They Are At,” she said. “I have a true belief that everyone gets a seat at the table and it’s important that we meet their needs so they can be successful at school. So I’m going to be talking about what I feel my best practices are regarding that.”

Sandre added Glendale Sciences and Technology School is incredibly fortunate to have two phenomenal teachers.

“Our students, their parents, and our staff all benefit greatly from their respective efforts,” she said. “Ashton works hard to set students up for success in all aspects of their schooling. She has incredible insight about her students and works tirelessly to meet each of their individual needs. And Amy’s students truly believe that they can be successful in math, which is no easy task when a lot of people think that you are either good with numbers or you aren’t. We are so incredibly proud of them both.”

“The Board congratulates both Ashton and Amy on their national recognition,” said Board Chair Nicole Buchanan. “It is an honour for Red Deer Public to have dedicated and passionate teachers who go above and beyond every day for our students, ensuring there is excellence in teaching and learning in our classrooms.”

Ashton Lutz: Leadership in new learning

Certificate of Excellence Recipient

Glendale Sciences and Technology School
Grade 2, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Art, P.E.

Amy Mathison: Leaving no child behind

Certificate of Achievement Recipient

Glendale Sciences and Technology School
Grade 7, Mathematics, Physical Education and Foods

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Parents should oppose any plans to replace the ABCs with vague terminology in schools

Published on January 2, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Paige MacPherson

According to a recent poll, the vast majority of parents in Canada easily understand letter grades on report cards but are confused by the nouveau “descriptive” grading adopted in British Columbia. This should serve as a warning to any province or school board thinking about adopting this type of convoluted descriptive grading.

In September 2023, despite overwhelming opposition from British Columbians, the B.C. government replaced letter grades—such as A, B, C, D, etc.—on K-9 report cards with a “proficiency scale,” which includes the descriptive terms “emerging,” “developing,” “proficient” and “extending.” If these four terms seem confusing to you, you’re not alone.

According to the recent poll (conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Fraser Institute), 93 per cent of Canadian parents from coast to coast said the letter grade “A” was “clear and easy” to understand while 83 per cent said the letter grade “C” was “clear and easy” to understand. (For the sake of brevity, the poll only asked respondents about these two letter grades.)

By contrast, 58 per cent of Canadian parents said the descriptive grade “extending” was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 26 per cent could correctly identify what “extending” means on a report card.

It was a similar story for the descriptive grade “emerging,” as 57 per cent of Canadian parents said the term was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 28 per cent could correctly identify what “emerging” means on a report card.

It’s also worth noting that the poll simplified the definitions of the four “descriptive” grading terms. The B.C. government’s official definitions, which can be found on the government’s website, speak for themselves. For example: “Extending is not synonymous with perfection. A student is Extending when they demonstrate learning, in relation to learning standards, with increasing depth and complexity. Extending is not a bonus or a reward and does not necessarily require that students do a greater volume of work or work at a higher grade level. Extending is not the goal for all students; Proficient is. Therefore, if a student turns in all their work and demonstrates evidence of learning in all learning standards for an area of learning, they are not automatically assigned Extending.”

So, what are the consequences of this confusing gobbledygook? Well, we already have some anecdotes.

Before the B.C. government made the changes provincewide, the Surrey School District participated in a pilot program to gauge the effectiveness of descriptive grading. According to Elenore Sturko, a Conservative MLA in Surrey and mother of three, for three years her daughter’s report cards said she was “emerging” rather than clearly stating she was failing. Sturko was unaware there was a problem until the child’s Third Grade teacher called to tell Sturko that her daughter was reading at a Kindergarten level.

Former B.C. education minister Rachna Singh tried to justify the change saying descriptive grading would help students become “better prepared for the outside world” where you “don’t get feedback in letters.” But parents in B.C. clearly aren’t happy.

Of course, other provinces also use terms in their grading systems (meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, satisfactory, needs improvement, etc.) in addition to letter grades. But based on this polling data, the descriptive grading now used in B.C.—which again, has completely replaced letter grades—makes it much harder for B.C. parents to understand how their children are doing in school. The B.C. government should take a red pen to this confusing new policy before it does any more damage. And parents across the country should keep a watchful eye on their local school boards for any plans to replace the ABCs with vague terminology open to interpretation.

Alberta

Parents in every province—not just Alberta—deserve as much school choice as possible

Published on December 3, 2024

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Michael Zwaagstra

Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.

This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.

It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.

Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.

This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.

However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.

Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.

This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.

Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.

Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.

Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.