Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools – Board Meeting Highlights

From Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

Inspired by Christ. Aspiring to Excellence.

Board of Trustees
Murray Hollman – Chair, Dorraine Lonsdale – Vice Chair, Sharla Heistad, Monique LaGrange, Cynthia Leyson, Kim Pasula, and Anne Marie Watson

Administrative Procedure 458 – Duty to Report:

The Secretary Treasurer presented the Administrative Procedure 458 – Duty to Report to the Board of Trustees, and highlighted that this procedure was communicated to all staff within the Division. For more information regarding Administrative Procedure 458 – Duty to Report, please click here.

Superintendent Report:

The Superintendent presented the report to the Board of Trustees, emphasizing the first Faith Formation evening for new probationary contract teachers. This gathering, which included administrators and Faith Coaches, senior administration, and trustees, gathered together for Mass held at St. Mary’s Parish on September 19th. The invitation for this Mass was extended to all Division staff via the Superintendent’s Weekly Update and school emails.

The Associate Superintendent of Curriculum shared that RDCRS is taking a measured, teacher-centered approach to curriculum implementation, emphasizing collective leadership and, acknowledging that implementation
is a gradual process similar to learning accommodating various paces and approaches. School administration teams held spring meetings to plan and establish support systems, while the Division has launched a website for
curriculum resources and encouraged schools to prioritize professional learning for this implementation.

This September, students across our Division are also learning from the finalized curriculum in:

• Kindergarten – Grade 3 French Immersion, Language Arts and Literature
• Kindergarten – Grade 3 Science
• Grades 4 – 6 English Language Arts and Literature
• Grades 4 – 6 Mathematics

The Division has also received $227,745.00 for resource allocation and $223,600.00 for professional learning and collaboration for the new curriculum implementation from Alberta Education.

In addition, the Superintendent and the Associate Superintendent of Curriculum met with Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) President and Vice President, Academic & Student Experience at the Confluence Campus in Rocky Mountain House. The meeting aimed to introduce the new RDP leadership to the facility, assess community needs, and discuss future partnerships, particularly focusing on dual-credit programs and work-integrated learning opportunities for students within the school division. For more information regarding the Superintendent Report, please click here.

Joint Meeting with The City of Red Deer:

The Superintendent informed the Board about upcoming stakeholder engagement meetings and acknowledged the Board’s request for more time for discussions with City of Red Deer Councillors. The Superintendent welcomed suggestions from the Board, and a variety of potential topics were discussed including future land availability for Catholic schools, improved accessibility to recreational facilities, youth and training programs, more frequent review of City transit contracts, safety concerns at the Collicutt Centre, and the potential for recreation facilities to support structured programming. The Board of Trustees is also interested in a GH Dawe Community Centre presentation and how the facility could be utilized by Division schools.

Secretary Treasurer Report:

The Secretary Treasurer provided the Board of Trustees with an update on the St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School Capital Project, highlighting the Division’s ongoing efforts to finalize both the school construction and its financial aspects. Additionally, emphasis was placed on the Division’s anticipation and enthusiasm for the upcoming grand opening event of St. Lorenzo Ruiz. For more information about the Secretary Treasurer Report, please click here.

School Bus Advanced Funding:

The Secretary Treasurer shared with the Board of Trustees that on September 8th, RDCRS received notification from Christine Sewell, Assistant Deputy Minister Financial Services and Capital Planning, regarding new funding for school boards managing their transportation fleets. Due to transportation guideline changes for 2023-2024, RDCRS will require 10-15 additional buses. The Division is currently in the process of determining the exact number of buses required before applying for the School Bus Advanced Funding Program. For more information, please click here.

The next Board Meeting will take place on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.

Related Topics:#RedDeerCatholicRegionalSchools feature RDCRS

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Published on December 3, 2024

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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.

Michael Zwaagstra

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Alberta

Province investing in support for financial literacy in schools

Published on November 25, 2024

Government of Alberta

Financial literacy prepares students for their futures

Students across Alberta will build the fundamental life skills they need to grow into adulthood through support for financial literacy programming.

Saving, budgeting, investing and the ability to make wise financial decisions are fundamental life skills Alberta’s youth need to develop as they grow into adulthood. Alberta’s government is ensuring that students have every opportunity to develop these fundamental life skills by integrating financial literacy into the K-12 curriculum and providing grant funding to three Canadian organizations to offer dedicated financial learning resources for students and teachers.

“We are proud to support financial literacy programming for students. Our on-going support for financial literacy education will help young Albertans navigate their futures with confidence by helping them build the fundamental life skills they need to prosper and secure their futures in today’s fast-moving world.”

Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education

In May 2022, Alberta’s government invested $5 million over three years into financial literacy programming to ensure students have the financial knowledge they need to thrive in life. Enriched Academy receives $900,000 per year and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education receives $500,000 per year to provide students in grades 5 to 12 with financial literacy programming, aligned with the curriculum, to improve their financial knowledge. In addition, Junior Achievement receives $250,000 per year to provide hands-on, experiential financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to students in kindergarten to Grade 6.

“Our support for financial literacy programming will set Alberta’s youth up for success. This programming will ensure that Alberta’s youth develop the fundamental life skills they need to manage their personal finances, make sound financial decisions, and grow into adulthood with confidence.”

Nate Horner, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance

Free financial literacy webinar

Some of the funding provided will support Enriched Academy hosting a free live webinar for grades 4 to 12 students and teachers on Tuesday, November 26, as part of their financial literacy programming. The webinar will teach students how to build their credit with confidence and will feature an interactive gameshow format to engage and motivate students to learn how credit works and how to manage credit and their personal finances with confidence. Students and teachers who are interested in participating can register for the webinar online.

“Our partnership with the Government of Alberta has enabled us to deliver transformational financial literacy education to nearly six hundred thousand students across the province. As a high school teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how financial literacy education empowers students, increasing their confidence in money management and preparing them to be financially responsible. Investments in financial literacy are investments in our students’ futures, and I’m already seeing it pay dividends for Alberta students.”

Sonya Fox, Alberta director, Enriched Academy

Teachers can also access lesson plans, activities, and interactive tools from all three organizations’ websites to support financial literacy learning outcomes in Alberta’s curriculum.

Quick facts

Financial literacy programming offered by the three organizations reaches more than 350,000 students annually.
Alberta’s renewed K-6 curriculum includes an increased emphasis on financial literacy skills, as well as a stronger foundation in financial literacy in all grades.