Education & Advanced Education &

Supporting Public Education

The Alberta Liberal Caucus believes that our schools are the cornerstone of the social, economic, and democratic structure of our province.

Our principles for Alberta’s K-12 public education system
(1) Each student must have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential

(2) A uniquely public education system must be protected and preserved for all Albertans

(3) The needs of local communities must be respected as they are the frontlines of Alberta’s education system

Supporting Students
Each student in Alberta deserves the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

To make this principle a reality, the Alberta Liberals will do the following:

We will provide targeted, optional kindergarten programs for Alberta’s children. Early childhood education programs increase the likelihood of academic success in the years to come.

We will implement the Learning Commission’s recommended class size guidelines, which are:

Junior kindergarten to grade 3 -                                   17 students
Grades 4 to 6 -                     23 students
Grades 7 to 9 -                     25 students
Grades 10 to 12 -                     27 students

These small class sizes will facilitate learning and allow for greater individual attention to be given to each student.

• We will remove hunger as a barrier to learning by creating a province-wide school nutrition program, one that provides nutritious food to all students. We know from studies that poor nutrition is linked to a range of academic difficulties and health problems, and we’ll help fix that.

• We will proactively identify student learning difficulties by introducing diagnostic testing for grade 3 students; this testing will be used to uncover and correct education problems, rather than merely for statistical purposes, as is the current practice..

• We will ensure that Alberta’s education system is flexible enough to be able to fully support students with special-needs, gifted students, and students whose first language is not English.

• Using all options – including mentorship programs, apprenticeship programs, and specialized curriculum initiatives – we will boost high school completion rates among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students.

• We will reinforce the importance of physical education, second languages, and the arts to a well-rounded curriculum that prepares Alberta’s students for the future.

Supporting Public Education
A strong public education system must be protected and preserved for all Albertans. To make this principle a reality, the Alberta Liberals will:
• Protect public education by reducing government funding for private schools, thereby ending the diversion of public dollars to private institutions that weakens and erodes the public education system.

• Ensure that new schools are built using entirely public dollars instead of investing public funds in risky, unproven public-private partnerships.

• Eliminate school fees and parental fundraising for classroom essentials by properly funding local school boards, no longer forcing parents to raise money to pay for basic public education.

Supporting Local Communities
Local communities are the frontlines of Alberta’s education system. To ensure that our schools are integrated into the life of the community, we will:
• Enable the creation of a “community schools” program. Community schools will deliver local services such as childcare, after-school care, social services and health care all under one roof.

• Review the utilization formula for rural and urban schools to ensure that the needs of the community are taken into account when important decisions are made regarding school closures.