Choice in Education

There are many roads to an education

In the fall the Government of Alberta launched a survey regarding choices in education. The survey closed on December 6 and is still under review. According to their website: 

Feedback will be used to inform the development of the Choice in Education Act which will affirm that parents are the primary decision-makers in their child’s education and support the range of choice within the current education system.

I am not sure why Alberta needs additional legislation to affirm legislation that already exists. Our Education Act for decades has stated “parents have the right and the responsibility to make informed decisions respecting the education of their children.” 

Alberta already has choice in education, something I witnessed for decades as a teacher and a parent. I worked with a number of schools over the past 20 years as a teacher, course developer and department head at Alberta Distance Learning Centre- Alberta's largest publicly funded distance education programme.

In that capacity, I have taught students from schools in the far north, public and separate schools of every description all over Alberta. Private schools ranging from elite secular boarding schools charging high tuition, to schools in addiction treatment centres to unaccredited religious schools, to kids who had been homeschooled for their entire education, and everything in between. I could give you many examples but I won't bore you.

Here are the kinds of schools we currently have in Alberta:

Public, Separate and Francophone Schools

93% of Alberta's nearly 700,000 students attend public, Francophone, and separate schools -all fully funded by the Province of Alberta in 379 different school authorities. Jurisdictions may provide a variety of programming. Hockey schools, First Nations schools, Mandarin language schools, Christian schools, dance academies, all-girls schools, schools in youth detention centres, schools focussing on academic enrichment, the fine arts,and schools offering traditional programming may all be found under the publicly funded umbrella. Weirdly enough, Alberta's public schools were told a few months ago that they could not use the word "public" in their formal names.

• Curriculum: Must follow the curriculum created by Alberta Education
• Teachers: Must have a minimum of four years of post-secondary education and an appropriate university degree as well as a teaching certificate issued by Alberta Education. Must belong to the Alberta Teachers' Association and follow the ATA Code of Conduct.
• Financial support:Funded fully by the government, with additional fees levied by school divisions. May also receive extra funding by parent organizations. According the the accounting firm KPMG, Alberta spends $11,121 per student, less than most comparative provinces.  
• Inclusion: Must accept all students, regardless of ethnicity, religion, ability, income, or special needs

Francophone schools are a little bit different in that there are specific eligibility requirements as identified by Section 23 of the the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At least one of the following criteria must be met although there are also exceptional circumstances.These include that student's parent’s first language learned and still understood is French; the parent’s primary or secondary education was in a French; sibling has received or is receiving primary or secondary instruction in French; student was previously enrolled in French Immersion and French Immersion is not offered at their local school.

Charter Schools

Charter schools are autonomous non-profit public schools that offer basic education in a different or enhanced way and operate with a different focus other than that provided by the local school. This can include different pedagogy, approach, teaching or learning style and philosophy and operate under their own board. There are 13 Charter Schools in Alberta,most in Edmonton and Calgary. 

• Curriculum:Required to follow the curriculum created by Alberta Education, but focus reflects that of their charter
• Teachers: Same rules as public schools
• Financial support: Same funding as public, separate and Francophone schools. They cannot charge tuition. However school fees can be high. (Handbook under revision) 
• Inclusion: Depending on the charter, schools will limit admission to students who meet their requirements. Elementary students must have completed a recent psychological assessment indicating intelligence, while grade 7-12 must have results indicating they are gifted.

Private Schools

According to Alberta Education, there are currently 38,000 students attending 180 private schools in Alberta. These schools fall into several categories. Recently the Minister of Education has taken to calling these schools "independent" schools rather than "private schools".

Accredited Private Schools (funded)

• Curriculum:Must follow the Alberta programme of studies
• Teachers: Must hire certificated teachers and principal who is a certificated teacher.
• Financial support:Per capita funding is set at 70% of the rate provided to public schools.  Schools may receive endowments and  charge tuition and other fees.This can be as high as $28,780 per year.
• Inclusion: May refuse to accept students for any reason

Accredited Private Schools (unfunded)

• Curriculum: Not required to follow the curriculum but "must maintain a list of subjects to be offered and an outline of the major skills and knowledge areas to be learned by the students. These must be consistent with the requirements for student learning established by the Minister of Education." (See Private Schools Regulations)
• Teachers:Must hire certificated teachers
• Financial support:No government funding. Schools charge tuition.
• Inclusion: May refuse to accept students for any reason

Registered private schools

• Curriculum: Not required to follow the curriculum but if their programming differs from the prescribed curriculum, they must submit "a list of subjects proposed to be offered" and they must also demonstrate that their students "have sufficient opportunity to achieve, to an acceptable level, the outcomes set out in orders made by the Minister under section 18(2) of the Act and, if applicable, the standards set out in the Alberta Programs of Study," (See Private Schools Regulations)
• Teachers:Not required to hire certificated teachers
• Financial support: No government funding. Schools charge tuition.
• Inclusion: May refuse to accept students for any reason

Special Designations

Designated special education private schools: funded private schools that have been given special approval and funding to serve students who have mild, moderate and severe disabilities.

Heritage language schools: a type of accredited funded or non-funded private schools offering language and culture courses outside of regular school hours to students who receive their basic education at another school authority. The principal must hold a teaching certificate and finances must be audited.

There are very few of these schools in Alberta. I asked Alberta Education for a list several weeks ago but did not receive an answer.

Homeschooling

About 11,000 students are homeschooled in Alberta.

• Curriculum:Not required to follow the curriculum
• Resources:Not required to use authorized resources
• Teachers:Not required to use the services of trained teachers but must register with a school authority
• Financial support: School divisions receive $1670 per student, half of which must be offered back to parents to pay for school supplies.

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This flexibility is the envy of most of the world- other jurisdictions do not have the range of programming that is currently available to Alberta's  students. 

You may not know this, but kids in other parts of the world do not have these choices. Formal education is compulsory in many European and Asian nations. In many countries, it is highly regulated with both private schools and homeschooling requiring annual government inspections. Charges are laid against parents who do not send their kids to school. In many countries, parents cannot take their kids out of school even for a couple of weeks to go on vacation. 

Thai kids on their way home from school

In other parts of the world, education is not a priority of government and parents must pay significant fees to help their kids succeed and prosper. For reasons of poverty and ideology, they have failed to grasp what the rest of the world knows- investing in education is investing in the future. Investment in education leads to higher intergenerational mobility, higher income levels, and lower rates of teen pregnancy. It also leads to a healthier population, a higher standard of living and lower rates of crime. But don't take my word for it- read the research that shows the economic case that supports this idea. This 2019 study shows that for each additional high school graduate, the Ontario government on average saves nearly $3000 a year on social assistance, health care and criminal justice.

India, where education is highly valued. And highly privatized.

As a parent, my own kids were able to access several different programmes within the public education system. From French Immersion in our small public school division, to the same programming in the separate system, to enrichment and career explorations provided by ADLC. Even though they lived in a small northern town, the education they pursued allowed them to succeed in post secondary and thrive in the world beyond. 

Alberta's education has had impressive results- not just for my own kids, but for the province as a whole. Alberta's students do well on international achievement tests and our education system is one of the top two in Canada for education and skills according to the Conference Board of Canada.

Students in Alberta have choice in education. 

They have phenomenal choice guaranteed by law. 

They don't need more.