Questions and Answers

The following questions have been submitted by candidate surveys or Lethbridge individuals. Please see the links section to link to the surveys and if you have a question that isn't answered below or if you want more clarification then please contact me.

Do you support mandatory vaccination of school staff?

It would be better if we had an education program that resulted in herd-immunity vaccination levels instead of mandated compliance. I support vaccine mandates for school staff and any individuals eligible for vaccination because we need to place the needs and safety of the many, and the most vulnerable, above the wishes of the individual while our community risk is high. The goal of such a mandate is not to fire the uncompliant, but to work with people to provide the best information and educate people on this so that they choose this protection for themselves and their families. There are many activities that are not allowed in schools and people accept this as part of the social contract. Reducing our chances of carrying extremely infectious materials into our schools is an acceptable requirement.

I recognize that some individuals may have legitimate reasons that a vaccination is not viable for them (removed your examples) in these cases I would support alternate arrangements like rapid testing while ensuring that alternatives do not place others in any greater risk. I am in a workplace where vaccination is required and this allows us to carry on activities we could not otherwise. In schools, we want to offer varied programs, music, singing, sports and extra-curricular activities. Vaccination is one tool among many that allows this to happen.

What are your views on the recently released curriculum draft? Do you support the current board’s decision not to pilot the new K-6 curriculum?

As soon as the curriculum draft was released, there were a lot of problems pointed out by members of the public, as well as school divisions and teachers. These issues were not limited to one or two subject areas but were identified across the board from music to history, from math to languages, and within science. The vast majority of school divisions rejected the opportunity to trial the new curriculum and I would have done the same. I therefore support the current Board’s decision to not pilot the draft curriculum.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized, and we really need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of key stakeholders. There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties.  

On the whole changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts and other stakeholders, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.

I was part of the public consultation of the last draft curriculum. It too had shortfalls like removing the space unit from elementary school but it had meaningful consultation and I was hopeful that these shortfalls would be improved on.

What do you see as the biggest issue(s) facing public education in Alberta? What do you see as the most important issue facing classroom teachers?

Specifically today, COVID-19 is the biggest issue facing the school system.  Assuming that we are on a path for COVID to subside and in some form become endemic, the biggest long-term issue is funding.

Funding – This affects class sizes, all of our programming, and adds to stresses for teachers trying to do more with less as they address the learning losses over the last year. As a result there is a need for targeted recovery plans that are both division wide and individually specific. I do not believe that the current funding formula, first implemented in Fall 2020, is sufficient for the Lethbridge School division. It prioritizes predictable funding over sufficient funding with a 3-year rolling weighted enrollment average. As Lethbridge is seeing high growth, the funding model actually lags our growth. While such a system can be fine tuned with census and other data to better account for population, this is currently not the case. A K-12 Education funding review by Riep, 2021 indicates that Lethbridge School division is down almost $200 per student per year as a result of this model.  School boards play an important role in providing local expert knowledge to inform and lobby for their needs. The province needs to provide sufficient funding for all school divisions while recognizing unique characteristics of each division including urban/rural differences, local poverty levels and other traits which may require consideration in funding of special programs. It is the role of school board trustees to advocate for sufficient base funding and funding outside of the current funding framework, as well as identification and justification of specific funding areas for the school division (for example, differential, target, support, and capital funding needs).  The Lethbridge community has unique opportunities for target and support funding projects, with population growth requiring attention to short-term and long-term capital project needs.

Briefly tell us about your background, your connection to the community, and why you are running for a school board trustee position.

Good evening and thanks to ATA for hosting this event.

I’ve lived in Lethbridge for over 20 years and am the father of 6 children attending three schools within the Division, of which 2 are in the French Immersion program, and another starting kindergarten next year.  I’m a Professor and Research Chair at the University of Lethbridge developing instrumentation and technology for space telescopes and I study astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. I serve as the lead negotiator for the University faculty association. I also serve on the Canadian Space Agency advisory committee to the federal government on space astronomy policy. I chair the local regional science fair and science olympics, and serve on various community and University committees including the Nicholas Sheran Parent council and the `Friends of Nicholas Sheran School’ Society.

I want to bring my unique perspective as a parent, educator, scientist, and academic to the Division school board trustee position and ensure that our students, teachers, and parents have the resources and tools they need such that students, our children, are fully prepared for their futures and get the best possible education within the best possible environment.

What has been your involvement within the Lethbridge School Division and/or School Parent councils over the last 4 years?

I have been actively involved in the parent council for Nicholas Sheran School for the last 4 years, as an attendee, a division council representative, and as chair of the `Friends of Nicholas Sheran Society’ associated with the parent council. The society works alongside the parent council on fundraising efforts and parent-driven initiatives. The society has provided resources to the school and supported teacher appreciation initiatives. I have also been heavily involved in organizing the Lethbridge Regional Science Fair over the same time period, which has a very high proportion of participants coming from the Lethbridge School Division.

How would you increase accountability and transparency within the School Division?

Stakeholder consultation should not be an afterthought, but a key element of developing policy within a public system. I would ensure that process allowed for meaningful and iterative consultation over sufficiently extended time periods to ensure that people are heard and understood. I would advocate for more accessible Board meetings through scheduling and technology. I would ensure that community members had opportunities to be heard inside and outside of Board meetings.

How would you approach parent, student, or teacher opposition to school board policy?

I have had many opportunities to work under opposition, for example through the University faculty association negotiating team where different parties have different interests and needs. Listening and understanding are very important aspects of building consensus and moving forward. I would ensure that I gave each group opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns and provide ongoing opportunities to provide feedback as things evolve.

What School Board standing committee would you nominate yourself for and why?

I would nominate myself for the Boundary review committee. The previous actions of this committee are motivating factors that encouraged me to run for election as there are a lot of problems to fix here. I recognize that this is a challenging portfolio with competing interests, but I think that we can do better. I would also nominate myself for the policy advisory committee as I bring a lot of experience with policy development through participation on science advisory committees and university collective agreement development. I am also happy to fill committee gaps within the board’s other standing committees.

Do you think it should be a parent’s choice if their child can join a GSA? or a student’s choice?

I support the policies which the Lethbridge school division currently has on this question  (policies 502.1 and 502.2 in particular). These policies strive to provide “a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging” within “an atmosphere of mutual respect and appreciation for individual differences” for all students and families. These policies allow for the creation of GSAs with appropriate adult/teacher supervision and respect the confidentiality of the student. I hope and encourage all parents to be involved and supportive of their children and their school activities.  

Do you support immunization (including Covid-19) clinics in schools?

Immunization programs have been part of public school systems for decades.  These take place with parental consent. I support immunizations being conducted at schools with parental consent.

How firmly do you reject the newly proposed curriculum? Is it adjustable? or should we revisit the initial draft?

I think that a major overhaul is needed. There are far too many problems in far too many areas to attempt a quick fix.  I also note that there were fundamental problems with the process (i.e., lack of proper consultation) which cannot really be fixed retroactively without intent to incorporate iterative feedback.  I was on one of the consultation panels for the previous provincial government’s draft curriculum review and saw how that process was more comprehensive and involved. There were still some issues with it, but they had a much better incorporation of public feedback.

What would you say is your biggest motivation for becoming a school board trustee?

My biggest motivation is my 5 kids in the Lethbridge school division, plus my youngest who will start Kindergarten next year. They are in middle school and elementary school, with 2 in French immersion and three in English programs. My family will be in this school division for a long time. My first prompt to run was by an elementary teacher at our local school who recognized that I could bring a unique skill set to this position. My day job is astronomy research and I really enjoy bringing science into K-12 classrooms and seeing the joy that can be sparked as kids explore their curiosities and find out that we do some pretty amazing research right in Lethbridge. I want to ensure that every child knows that they can reach for the stars and dream big.

What do you believe is the biggest issue the school system faces today?

Specifically today, COVID-19 is the biggest issue facing the school system.  Assuming that we are on a path for COVID to subside and in some form becomes endemic, the biggest long-term issue is funding. I do not believe that the current funding formula is sufficient for the Lethbridge School division. The current education funding program in Alberta, first implemented in Fall 2020, prioritizes predictable funding over sufficient funding with a 3-year rolling weighted enrollment average used to establish funding levels. As Lethbridge is seeing high growth, the funding model actually lags our enrollment growth. While such a system can be fine tuned with census and other data to better account for population growth, this is currently not the case. A K-12 Education funding review by Riep, 2021 indicates that Lethbridge School division is down $183 per student as a result of this model.  School boards play an important role in providing local expert knowledge to inform and lobby for their needs. The provincial education funding framework needs to provide sufficient funding for all school divisions while recognizing unique characteristics of each division including urban/rural differences, local poverty levels and other traits which may require consideration in funding of special programs. It is the role of school board trustees to advocate for sufficient funding in general (i.e., base funding and funding outside of the current funding framework), as well as identification and justification of specific funding areas for the school division (i.e., differential, target, support, and capital funding needs).  The Lethbridge community has unique opportunities for target and support funding projects, with population growth requiring attention to short-term and long-term capital project needs.

What is your opinion on private schools in Alberta?

Publicly-funded privately run schools place stress on the main public school system.  Many of these private schools are selective in their program offerings and admissions, resulting in streamlined programs that look cheaper on paper and are likely to have better standardized evaluation metrics. This can be misleading as they often do not share the extent of the responsibility of a full-public school program.  I would prefer to see extra funding to allow more diverse programming within the public system than have private schools funnelling resources away from the public system.

What is your position on public-private partnerships to build new schools?

In my view, public-private partnerships on capital projects are an accounting trick for governments to take on more debt without it showing up that way in the financial records. I expect that this ends up costing more than traditional financing in most instances and I would rather open and transparent bookkeeping processes be employed. If, somehow, the private aspect of the partnership was in fact a more cost effective way to develop capital projects then I would be open to that. The key principle here is both short-term and long-term sustainability.

What are your priorities for new school buildings and other infrastructure?

Capital projects must be informed by current and anticipated growth. One of the reasons we are having so much difficulty with the busing in the school division right now is that the location of our schools is not well matched with the high growth residential areas.  Some of our schools filled at or very near capacity also house specialty programs that can make over-capacity challenges worse. I think that we need to evaluate where some of the specialty programs are offered and find ways for them to be housed in schools with more capacity space. Capital projects also need to have long-term community-based plans for changing population demographics.

What is your position on charter schools?

The Lethbridge area does not include any charter schools. I would prefer to see funding allowing more diverse programming within the main public system than have charter schools diverting resources away from the nominal public system. I would have to evaluate any proposed charter school in Lethbridge very carefully based on the specific purpose it is filling in order to be convinced it should be supported.

What is your position on the current draft K-6 curriculum?

I do not support the new curriculum. I am all about open and transparent processes and the new curriculum did not do nearly enough consultation with the public, or schools and teachers. 

As soon as the curriculum draft was released, there were a lot of problems pointed out by members of the public, as well as school divisions and teachers. These issues were not limited to one or two subject areas but were identified across the board from music to history, from math to languages, and within science. The vast majority of school divisions rejecting the opportunity to trial the new curriculum speaks volumes.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized, and we really need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of key stakeholders: the public, education and topical experts, parents, teachers, and school divisions. We cannot 

keep tearing up our curriculum every time someone new gets in office.  There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties.  

On the whole changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts and other stakeholders, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.

What are your priorities for education outcomes for Alberta’s students?

My priorities for education fall into two categories, depth and breadth. Breadth is needed to ensure that every student has sufficient skills, knowledge, and tools to function as an independent adult contributing to society. For this to happen I support an inclusive environment in and out of the classroom where every student feels safe, welcomed, and empowered within an environment conducive to best learning outcomes. We need to teach our students how to think and learn in addition to teaching curriculum. We need lifelong learners who can adapt to changes and develop new skills as demands and needs evolve. This starts in elementary school or sooner. The depth category recognizes that students are unique individuals and have different and diverse talents and provides means for this potential to be developed. This will help students identify future career and life paths and take proactive steps to continue to develop themselves.

How would you advocate for sustainable and adequate funding for our students?

The current education funding program in Alberta, first implemented in Fall 2020, prioritizes predictable funding over sufficient funding with a 3-year rolling weighted enrollment average used to establish funding levels. As Lethbridge is seeing high growth, the funding model actually lags our enrollment growth. While such a system can be fine tuned with census and other data to better account for population growth, this is currently not the case. A K-12 Education funding review by Riep, 2021 indicates that Lethbridge School division is down $183 per student as a result of this model.  School boards play an important role in providing local expert knowledge to inform and lobby for their needs. The provincial education funding framework needs to provide sufficient funding for all school divisions while recognizing unique characteristics of each division including urban/rural differences, local poverty levels and other traits which may require consideration in funding of special programs. It is the role of school board trustees to advocate for sufficient funding in general (i.e., base funding and funding outside of the current funding framework), as well as identification and justification of specific funding areas for the school division (i.e., differential, target, support, and capital funding needs).  The Lethbridge community has unique opportunities for target and support funding projects, with population growth requiring attention to short-term and long-term capital project needs.

Do you approve of standardized testing including provincial achievement and diploma exams, the international PISA test as a means to assess student, school and board performance?

I work as an academic at the University of Lethbridge. I typically teach a wide variety of undergraduate students. This student group includes incoming first year engineering students, science majors in a variety of disciplines, and students of all backgrounds taking science and astronomy as part of a general liberal education requirement. I also supervise graduate students and am involved in the evaluation of graduate student admissions into university programs. Standardized tests are an important part of post-secondary admissions to ensure that students are accepted into programs in which they can thrive. As such, I support standardized testing measures as a means to ensure that our students are meeting the curriculum learning objectives and have access to national and international post-secondary education.

Canadian students are some of the highest performers in the world on standardized PISA tests and as such have international recognition and access to higher education worldwide.

I recognize that not all students need standardized tests as tools for their future careers, and hope that the focus of curriculum instruction is on the actual learning rather than on learning how to write a test.  The instruction of `how to write a standardized test’ is a waste of time and distracts from more important learning. I also support for aggregate use of standardized testing assessments, and that they be re-evaluated consistently so that they do accomplish intended goals.  Again, this should not be the primary focus of the education system, but a minimally invasive portion of it, where additional resources can be made available to address areas needing extra attention. This year there are extra literacy and numeracy testing programs to ensure that COVID-related learning gaps are addressed in a timely manner. This is an important part of our post-COVID recovery.

Do you support inclusion initiatives in your board? How can inclusion be improved?

Yes.  I support inclusion initiatives and fully support Lethbridge School Division Policy 502.1 on Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Learning Environments. I support ongoing efforts to educate students, and the community, on inclusion and have seen positive change in recent years. A focus on one-on-one teacher/student and student/student relationships is very important for inclusion. I would lobby for reduced class sizes to better allow current measures to take effect. I would also lobby for a broader range of extra curricular activities within the division to allow more students to participate and develop relationships with their peers.

How do you see your role as trustee in addressing the rise of mental health concerns in schools?

I see my role as trustee as an advocate for every child. This means ensuring that policies and systems are in place to provide mental health supports for students, teachers, and staff. It also means strong advocacy for sufficient funding and appropriate funding allocation to allow for the resources needed.

How should school boards best support children who may have experienced learning losses during the 2020/2021 academic year?

Communication between parents and teachers is important to ensure that individual learning plans are developed when learning gaps are such that recovery within class time is challenging.  It is important to recognize that no two students will have identical gaps and it is very challenging for teachers to manage this for entire classes.  A balanced approach of review time and suggested home learning topics has been successful for teachers I have spoken with about this. The schools have incorporated additional literacy and numeracy testing this year to identify areas of learning loss, and thus allow for a better understanding of learning loss and to plan for recovery.  Both division wide and individual specific plans will be needed.

Do you support continued public health measures such as masking and cohorting in schools?

I am hoping that the need for COVID-19 measures will subside, but right now we cannot ignore this real threat to our community.  I have relatives and friends in need of medical procedures that cannot have them because of the state of the AHS right now, this is no longer just about COVID-19. As things settle down I support the school division being responsive to the reduced risks and opening things up accordingly.

I fully support mask mandates within schools to limit and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools. This is not a difficult ask, and it helps to prevent much more serious consequences.  We do not fully understand all the risks of COVID-19 in children, especially higher risk groups such as immunocompromised individuals. Masking helps to protect all of us: children, teachers, support staff, families, and the general public. I have children under 12 who do not yet have an approved vaccine that they can get. Masking is one of the few tools that this group has access to. Within the School division re-entry survey, teachers in particular were very supportive of the masking efforts undertaken. I fully support cohorting measures as a temporary means to reduce COVID-19 transmission and protect our public health infrastructure. I am encouraged by the individual actions of teachers who have sent kids home when they were symptomatic, provided multiple means of communication and coordination between teachers and parents, and have gone the extra mile in providing `at-home’ tools should they be required. I recognize that some things are within the control of the school board, and some are not. For areas out of our control I will still be a strong advocate for the safety of our rising generation.

Should publicly-funded schools be able to deny students admission?

I cannot think of a reasonable justification to deny admission to a student in the legislated age category living within the school division boundary. The school system has a legislated responsibility to every student within its jurisdiction. I will advocate for sufficient resources within the system to allow for this.

What limits, if any, should school boards place on school fees, including fees for transportation and extracurricular activities and extra fees for alternative school programming? How should boards address inequities caused by school fees?

I think that the Lethbridge School division has this one right.  The fees assessed are fairly minimal, and there are exceptions for those needing help to cover them. Students eligible for busing do not pay fees. Fees for extra curricular activities are subsidized through student- and parent-led fundraising efforts, and many of the fundraising activities are decided at the school parent council level. This system works well and many families are generous supporters of fundraisers. Having most fundraising decisions in the hands of parent councils allows for solutions that work within that region.  Division council allows parent councils to share ideas and support fundraising efforts. I have been involved in parent and division councils and have seen firsthand the efforts made to ensure school-fee inequities are reduced.

Do publicly-funded, privately run schools have a place in Alberta’s education system?

Publicly-funded privately run schools place stress on the main public school system.  Many of these private schools are selective in their program offerings and admissions, resulting in streamlined programs that look cheaper on paper and are likely to have better standardized evaluation metrics. This can be misleading as they often do not share the extent of the responsibility of a full-public school program.  I would prefer to see extra funding to allow more diverse programming within the public system than have private schools funneling resources away from the public system.

How should school boards balance “parent choice” with the rights of all children to a universally accessible, equitable public education?

I fully support public education. Last year I was impressed with how the school division set pivot points for opting into and/or out of in-school learning.  This provided a balanced approach to parental choice and a functional, and as much as possible, predictable system. This current year still has an at-home option within the public school system umbrella, recognizing that individual and family circumstances and risk tolerance vary. This model can be applied to other situations, where a reasonable amount of flexibility is provided within the main system that has responsibility to provide a universally accessible and equitable public education to each child.

With the negligent provincial response to now three preventable waves of COVID-19, school boards have been put in an awkward position of needing to take measure to protect their students and staff throughout the pandemic. Many are introducing measures of their own, but not all have. Do you support measures such as mask mandates, and vaccine mandates for staff to limit and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in your schools?

I fully support mask mandates within schools to limit and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools. This is not a difficult ask, and it helps to prevent much more serious consequences.  We do not fully understand all the risks of COVID-19 in children, especially higher risk groups such as immunocompromised individuals. Masking helps to protect all of us: children, teachers, support staff, families, and the general public. I have children under 12 who do not yet have an approved vaccine that they can get. Masking is one of the few tools that this group has access to.

It would be better if we had an education program that resulted in herd-immunity vaccination levels instead of mandated compliance. I support vaccine mandates for staff and any individuals eligible for vaccination because we need to place the needs and safety of the many, and the most vulnerable, above the wishes of the individual while our community risk is high. The goal of such a mandate is not to fire the uncompliant, but to work with people to provide the best information and educate people on this so that they choose this protection for themselves and their families. There are many activities that are not allowed in schools and people accept this as part of the social contract. Reducing our chances of carrying extremely infectious materials into our schools is an acceptable requirement. I recognize that some individuals may have legitimate reasons that a vaccination is not viable for them (e.g., immune-compromised or immune-suppressed due to organ transplant, etc.), in these rare cases I would support alternate arrangements for those unable to be vaccinated, while ensuring that alternatives do not place others in any greater risk. I am in a workplace where vaccination is required.

The majority of Alberta’s school boards have declined to pilot the draft curriculum in 2021. If the government follows through on its stated intention to implement the curriculum in 2022, what position would you take on this, assuming the content is largely unchanged from the current draft?

I do not support the new curriculum. I am all about open and transparent processes and the new curriculum did not do nearly enough consultation with the public, or schools and teachers. 

As soon as the curriculum draft was released, there were a lot of problems pointed out by members of the public, as well as school divisions and teachers. These issues were not limited to one or two subject areas but were identified across the board from music to history, from math to languages, and within science. The vast majority of school divisions rejecting the opportunity to trial the new curriculum speaks volumes.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized, and we really need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of key stakeholders: the public, education and topical experts, parents, teachers, and school divisions. We cannot 

keep tearing up our curriculum every time someone new gets in office.  There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties.   On the whole changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts and other stakeholders, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.

Will you oppose attempts from the provincial government to legislate against school staff including cuts to the Local Authorities Pension Plan, or restrictions on their right to strike?

Yes I will oppose legislation against staff, cuts to pensions, and restrictions to strike. I was incredibly disappointed by the motion of the province to take over the teachers pension fund (and note that a better agreement has been reached a few weeks ago, but still not as good as it was before the interference). The right to strike should be protected as a freedom of association within chartered human rights in Canada. There are much better tools to create a vibrant workplace for teachers and support staff than the last resort of legislated restrictions to keep people at work.  Support and empower people and you will see their best.

As our economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, good jobs are an important factor. Public sector workers spend in their communities, and many households impacted by private sector recessions have been able to keep the bills paid thanks to a stable public sector job. 4. Will you support your employees and your community by ensuring the school board employs staff with living wages, full-time hours where desired, job security, and collective bargaining rights?

Yes. I support living wages, all staff having the option for full-time employment where desired, job security, and collective bargaining rights.  If we cannot provide these then we cannot provide a sustainable system. I serve as the chief negotiator for the U of L faculty association where we are currently in collective bargaining, and I know how important this process is for other public sectors. I have participated in community town halls speaking up for funding public education and supporting workers rights. I will bring this experience to the school board. Investing in people will pay off in the long term and must be a priority.

AUPE members know very well that privatization regularly fails to find “efficiencies” and any cost savings are often off the backs of workers who become de-unionized, with lower pay and benefits. They also work on the front lines of service delivery and see the problems caused by high-turnover low wage private providers, and the bureaucratic burden caused by having to deal with a third party instead of an in-house provider. Will you oppose privatization of school services and infrastructure, including Public-Private-Partnerships aka P3s? Will you support bringing previously privatized services in-house?

I will oppose privatization of services and infrastructure, including P3s. I will support the deprivatization of previously privatized services. In my view P3s are an accounting trick for governments to take on more debt without it showing up that way in the financial records. I expect that this ends up costing more than traditional financing in most instances and would rather open and transparent bookkeeping processes be employed.  For services, any privatization efficiencies are often made on the backs of underpaid staff and cut corners, with few exceptions. One exception that may require careful consideration is busing. For many years, Lethbridge School Division had a very productive partnership with the city of Lethbridge for busing. This partnership allowed for a more efficient infrastructure program where the city owned and maintained a larger bus fleet and had control of how the two services worked together, with city buses being available for some school routes. This partnership was changed recently and the school busing is currently done under a different provider. This was not a good change as there have been many challenges with the new system. While there may be a way for the school division to own all of its school buses and run this in-house, I would also support a carefully evaluated partnership with the city of Lethbridge for this service (if that option were available).

Alberta continues to be a growing province, with more students entering the system. While we’re told funding is tight for public education, Alberta continues to subsidize private education with millions in public dollars. Do you believe the current education funding formula is sufficient for your district? If not, how will you work to convince the province to provide sustainable and adequate funding?

No, I do not believe that the current funding formula is sufficient for my district. The current education funding program in Alberta, first implemented in Fall 2020, prioritizes predictable funding over sufficient funding with a 3-year rolling weighted enrollment average used to establish funding levels. As Lethbridge is seeing high growth, the funding model actually lags our enrollment growth. While such a system can be fine tuned with census and other data to better account for population growth, this is currently not the case. A K-12 Education funding review by Riep, 2021 indicates that Lethbridge School division is down $183 per student as a result of this model.  School boards play an important role in providing local expert knowledge to inform and lobby for their needs. The provincial education funding framework needs to provide sufficient funding for all school divisions while recognizing unique characteristics of each division including urban/rural differences, local poverty levels and other traits which may require consideration in funding of special programs. It is the role of school board trustees to advocate for sufficient funding in general (i.e., base funding and funding outside of the current funding framework), as well as identification and justification of specific funding areas for the school division (i.e., differential, target, support, and capital funding needs).  The Lethbridge community has unique opportunities for target and support funding projects, with population growth requiring attention to short-term and long-term capital project needs.

Curriculum experts, educators, parents, and many of the current school boards have pointed out the flaws in the draft k-6 curriculum. Do you agree with calls to scrap the draft curriculum and start over to develop a curriculum that is accurate in capturing Alberta’s colonial history, diverse present, and modernized to reflect the world we live in?

Yes, I agree with the calls to redo the curriculum. I do not support the new curriculum; it did not have nearly enough broad and public consultation to justify its adoption.

There were many problems identified by many stakeholders across a broad range of subjects. The vast majority of school divisions rejecting the opportunity to trial the new curriculum speaks volumes.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized. We need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of stakeholders: the public, education and topical experts, parents, teachers, and school divisions. We cannot tear up our curriculum every time someone new gets in office. There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties. Changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.

As a school board trustee how will you encourage and facilitate the calls to action as outlined by the TRC?

Of the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations, many involve  education systems, educators, and community. While government action is needed before individual school divisions are able to act, school divisions can look to the TRC ideals as curriculum changes unfold. With the school division on the doorstep of Blood 148, there are opportunities to incorporate history, cultural awareness, and exposure within all grades and schools. The school division just implemented an “Indigenous Education for All” 3 year plan which I support. I encourage the introduction of cultural awareness and exposure especially at young grade levels. Anti-bullying and anti-racism initiatives are important in providing an inclusive and understanding learning environment for all.  The School division already has an annual Powwow, and I would advocate for ways for more schools to participate in this each year.  I would like some Blackfoot language instruction or programming within the division.

How can trustees and school boards best support teachers?

A key to supporting teachers is to engage in meaningful consultation, provide support resources, and then get out of their way.  For example, a middle school initiated a new laptop program, but teachers had little time to incorporate the laptops into their planning in year one. 

Meaningful consultation is also very important. If teachers are involved in decision processes, then those closest serve as ambassadors for changes, and groups are empowered rather than frustrated. Telling stakeholders that `we have thought about it and this is how it is’ is different from `here are some challenges we have and we would really appreciate your input on this’. Teachers are encouraged to work within a challenge rather than be subject to it.

The other point is of course bottom up. As a teacher myself, I thrive on the energy that comes from an engaged class. In many cases I think all that we need to do is get out of the way and let our teachers shine.

What are your views on recently released draft curriculum?

I do not support the new curriculum; it did not have nearly enough broad and public consultation to justify its adoption.

There were many problems identified by many stakeholders across a broad range of subjects. The vast majority of school divisions rejecting the opportunity to trial the new curriculum speaks volumes.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized. We need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of stakeholders: the public, education and topical experts, parents, teachers, and school divisions. We cannot tear up our curriculum every time someone new gets in office. There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties.

Changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.

How can learning conditions in schools be improved?

I support an inclusive environment in and out of the classroom where every student feels safe, welcomed, and empowered within an environment conducive to best learning outcomes. 

We need to teach our students how to think and learn in addition to teaching curriculum. We need lifelong learners who can adapt to changes and develop new skills as demands and needs evolve. We have seen firsthand the importance of scientific understanding and advancement within our everyday lives and in response to society’s big problems. This starts in elementary school if not sooner, where we provide hands-on experience where knowledge is applied not just learned. 

Encouraging students to participate in such activities as the Science Fair, Science Olympics, and Robotics clubs and competitions provide hands-on experience where technology is applied not just learned. There are so many resources readily available, many at very minimal expense, that we should have no problem finding the resources needed to provide opportunities for students to be exposed to exciting new technology with real-world applications.

At the University, I use and develop some specialized technology, and part of this use is training students on how to use these tools to solve problems and create new things. 

From my experience as a post-secondary educator, two skills are paramount, the ability to take a task and break it up into smaller pieces, and having a solid mathematical and analytical foundation. 

Compare technology to a toolbox. There may be screwdrivers, hammers, saws, tape measures, and a variety of other tools, and you need to know what the tools do to use them, but you need to know more than just what is in the toolbox to be able to do something useful. Our district cannot just introduce the toolbox to students, but needs to encourage students to apply the various tools that we have to solve problems and do new things. 

Encouraging students to participate in such activities as the Science Fair, Science Olympics, and Robotics clubs and competitions provide hands-on experience where technology is applied not just learned. There are so many resources readily available, many at very minimal expense, that we should have no problem finding the resources needed to provide opportunities for students to be exposed to exciting new technology with real-world applications.

What are your views on education funding in Alberta and the role of school boards in funding decisions?

The current education funding program in Alberta, first implemented in Fall 2020, prioritizes predictable funding over sufficient funding with a 3-year rolling weighted enrollment average used to establish funding levels. As Lethbridge is seeing high growth, the funding model actually lags our enrollment growth. While such a system can be fine tuned with census and other data to better account for population growth, this is currently not the case. A K-12 Education funding review by Riep, 2021 indicates that Lethbridge School division is down $183 per student as a result of this model.  School boards play an important role in providing local expert knowledge to inform and lobby for their needs. The provincial education funding framework needs to provide sufficient funding for all school divisions while recognizing unique characteristics of each division including urban/rural differences, local poverty levels and other traits which may require consideration in funding of special programs.

What should be the three priority areas of focus for the school board this term?

1 Open and transparent processes

2 Meaningful and significant stakeholder consultation

3 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education

What is your statement of beliefs?

I believe in honesty and integrity and in being accountable to students, teachers, parents, and the public.

I support an inclusive education environment in and out of the classroom where every student feels safe and welcomed within an environment conducive to best learning outcomes.

I recognize the unique nature of individuals and the diversity of skills, talents, interests, and areas of potential in our students and community.

I firmly support lifelong learning, continued development, and the universality of education.

I support increased cultural awareness and exposure, anti-bullying and anti-racism.

I encourage my own children to participate in extra curricular activities that interest them and am grateful for the activities which the school district provides. As we transition into post-pandemic life (not yet, but hopefully soon), I would like to see more, and more diverse, activities available to students across the division. I want to ensure that every child in the Lethbridge school division can get the best possible education, both in and out of the classroom. Since COVID-19 we have seen children transition and adapt. We now need to prepare to catch up on some lost time and integrate the lessons learned as we move forward.

What do you think about Alberta’s new curriculum?

In short, I do not support the new curriculum. I am all about open and transparent processes and the new curriculum did not do nearly enough consultation with the public, or schools and teachers. 

As soon as the curriculum draft was released, there were a lot of problems pointed out by members of the public, as well as school divisions and teachers. These issues were not limited to one or two subject areas but were identified across the board from music to history, from math to languages, and within science. The vast majority of school divisions rejecting the opportunity to trial the new curriculum speaks volumes.

Over the last decade in Alberta, K-12 curriculum has become highly politicized, and we really need to get the curriculum out of the election cycle and back into the hands of key stakeholders: the public, education and topical experts, parents, teachers, and school divisions. We cannot 

keep tearing up our curriculum every time someone new gets in office.  There are many simple elements of the past few iterations of the curriculum that should be updated that have stalled as political casualties.  

On the whole changes to the curriculum need to be more informed by education experts and other stakeholders, with an iterative and meaningful public consultation process before being run in smaller trials, finalized, and broadly adopted.