By Shaun Penner

Draft K-6 Curriulum

Peace River School Division opts not to pilot draft K-6 curriculum

Apr 19, 2021 | 3:02 PM

The Peace River School Division has joined the growing list of school authorities in Alberta that will not be piloting the new draft K-6 curriculum in the 2021-22 school year.

The decision came following the Board of Trustees meeting back on April 15.

“After a careful review of the curriculum, we have decided we will not participate in piloting any of the new curriculum during the next school year,” said Superintendent Paul Bennett, who added that concerns raised by parents and teachers about the draft curriculum were not the only reason the division opted not to pilot it.

“We are also very reluctant to add extra stress to our students and staff during an already very stressful time.”

PRSD joins the likes of the Calgary and Edmonton Public School Boards who will also not be taking part in the pilot program, as concerns amongst parents and teachers from across the province about the content in the curriculum mount, namely around the social studies portion of the draft.

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The Alberta Teachers’ Association last week called for a rewrite of the curriculum, with ATA President Jason Schilling calling the draft, as it stands now, “fatally flawed”.

RELATED: Alberta teachers demanding full rewrite of draft K-6 curriculum

Another school division in the Peace Region has also opted out of the pilot, that being the Conseil scolaire du Nord-Ouest, citing a lack of Francophone perspective in the draft, as well as it “does not respect the student’s cognitive development,” according to CSNO Board Chair Sylvianne Maisonneuve.

READ MORE: CSNO opts out of draft K-6 curriculum pilot citing lack of Francophone perspective

The PRSD board also asked the superintendent to seek input on the curriculum from staff and stakeholders within the division, which in turn will be used to assist with future work around curriculum development and implementation.

The board also directed administration to request meetings with Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen and Peace River MLA Dan Williams to discuss the draft curriculum and the feedback collected from parents and staff.

All three school divisions in the Grande Prairie area, including the Grande Prairie Public School Division, Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools and the Peace Wapiti Public School Division have not yet made a decision as to whether they will take part in the pilot.