Alberta Education Minister Given Mandate to Promote ‘Greater Choice’ in Education

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides stand together during the swearing in of her cabinet in Edmonton, June 9, 2023. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alberta’s Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides has been given comprehensive instructions to overhaul Alberta’s education program by Premier Danielle Smith, and parental choice in education is a significant objective.

The July 25 mandate letter advises Mr. Nicolaides to ensure Alberta children “receive a world-class education” and says the province needs to do a “better job” of equipping youth with the “skills and direction they need to find meaningful employment in the economy we are building.”

Ms. Smith asks the minister to “promote greater choice in education.”

“Expanding parent and student options in our public, separate, francophone, charter, independent (private), early childhood, and home education systems will ensure parents have a host of tailored options for their children’s education that best suit the needs of their individual students,” she said.

She also noted the province should serve the growing needs of those children who have mental health and other learning challenges.

“These children must be provided with every opportunity to flourish in our education system and economy. We need them to be successful, fulfilled, and fully participative in building our province,” states the letter.

Recruitment

The province intends to spend $5 million to improve testing and educational support for children with autism and other complex needs, indicated the premier.

Among the specific tasks, the education minister is asked to work in cooperation with the advanced education minister to fund the expansion of “careers” within public and separate school divisions and to increase student participation in paid internships and off-campus programs.

The premier also advises the minister to work with parents, teachers, and stakeholders to “continue to implement K to 12 curriculum, and implement additional basic life and home maintenance skills as well as financial literacy training into the high school curriculum where appropriate.”

The premier wants to see dual credit grant programs enhanced and more collegiate schools across the province brought online. She also requests that the minister look at the design and implementation of an apprenticeship system, similar to the Germanic model, for high-school-age students who want to pursue skilled trades or vocational education.

The province will spend $20 million in the next four years, the mandate letter says, to organize career fairs in high-demand sectors, create an online career counselling website, and launch an ad campaign targeted at high school students to promote high-demand careers.

The province also intends to construct four new youth mental wellness centres to provide in-patient mental health services to young people with severe mental illness or who require addiction treatment. The minister is tasked with collaborating with the minister of mental health and addiction, who will lead the project, to expand prevention and early intervention mental health support for children within schools and communities.

Mr. Nicolaides is tasked with reviewing the role of parent school councils and finding ways “parents can appropriately provide more input into school policies and learning options.” Mr. Nicolaides must also ensure the educational funding model in the province promotes “parental choice in education.”

“This includes ensuring that Alberta’s public, separate, francophone, charter, independent (private) schools and early childhood services operators and home education systems are all appropriately funded to ensure the highest educational outcomes for students,” said Ms. Smith.

Along with more schools, expedited teaching certificates, more teacher recruitment, and adding more educational assistants to classrooms, Mr. Nicolaides is asked to expand support for speech language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists.

Mr. Nicolaides will also be revising the social studies curriculum as part of a full revision of K–12 curriculum in all subjects in both English and French—a project that has been underway for a number of years. He indicated consultations are being planned with a variety of stakeholders and the community in the fall.

New curricula for math and English language arts became mandatory in K–3 in the 2022 school year, and will expand to Grades 4–6 in 2023.