Latest news with #EdmontonPublicSchools
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Edmonton's largest school boards welcome provincial action team to tackle aggression and complexity
Edmonton's two largest school boards say they're looking forward to the province's new task force which will tackle aggression and complexity in schools as demand for crucial services increases. The chairwomen for the board of trustees at Edmonton Public Schools and Edmonton Catholic Schools District said in interviews with Postmedia they have been advocating for more resources and support as reports of aggression and complexity increase in classrooms. Edmonton public chairwoman Julie Kusiek said the board has raised several issues to the ministry around classroom sizes with large enrolment growth and classroom complexity. She pointed to the need for schools to be built to offset the high enrolment and more specialized resources, including mental health supports and targeted support for refugee and displaced students. Kusiek added the rising complexity could be addressed with more funding, saying the division has seen 'several years of cuts' to its budget due to the weighted moving average. 'This is the first year we've seen the status quo budget in the last several years and so the cumulative impact of that is real,' Kusiek said. 'We need to see base funding for education in the province move up so that we can support students in the ways that they need to be. There's also workforce pressures around recruitment and retaining specialized professionals and these folks are in high demand when it comes to psychologists and therapists.' On Monday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team will be comprised of 20 members of the education sector who will deliver a report along with short and long-term recommendations to the province by the fall. The province said recommendations could be implemented as soon as the 2025-2026 school year. Edmonton Catholic chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said the creation of the action team will be a step towards understanding what schools are experiencing on a daily basis. She pointed to the need to have all school boards at the table — not only large ones. 'Classroom complexity is a significant concern for educators as it impacts their ability, oftentimes, to provide those adequate supports,' Palazzo said. 'Despite these challenges, our teachers and educators are the strength of our division.' In a statement to Postmedia, Nicolaides said major Calgary and Edmonton school boards will be asked to choose one board member and one senior administration representative. He added nomination information will be shared soon with the final list of the action team members to be published online once finalized. 'We are investing a historic $9.9 billion into Alberta's education system for the coming school year, which includes over a billion dollars for grants and supports to address complexity in classrooms,' Nicolaides said. 'To address school space issues, we are investing $8.6 billion to build and renovate more than 130 schools across the province, adding 200,000 student spaces.' ctran@ X: @kccindytran Alberta launches new task force to tackle aggression in schools 'This is not OK': ATA reports higher incidents of aggression in schools Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
Edmonton Journal
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton's largest school boards welcome provincial action team to tackle aggression and complexity
Edmonton's two largest school boards say they're looking forward to the province's new task force which will tackle aggression and complexity in schools as demand for crucial services increases. The chairwomen for the board of trustees at Edmonton Public Schools and Edmonton Catholic Schools District said in interviews with Postmedia they have been advocating for more resources and support as reports of aggression and complexity increase in classrooms. Edmonton public chairwoman Julie Kusiek said the board has raised several issues to the ministry around classroom sizes with large enrolment growth and classroom complexity. She pointed to the need for schools to be built to offset the high enrolment and more specialized resources, including mental health supports and targeted support for refugee and displaced students. Kusiek added the rising complexity could be addressed with more funding, saying the division has seen 'several years of cuts' to its budget due to the weighted moving average. 'This is the first year we've seen the status quo budget in the last several years and so the cumulative impact of that is real,' Kusiek said. 'We need to see base funding for education in the province move up so that we can support students in the ways that they need to be. There's also workforce pressures around recruitment and retaining specialized professionals and these folks are in high demand when it comes to psychologists and therapists.' On Monday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team will be comprised of 20 members of the education sector who will deliver a report along with short and long-term recommendations to the province by the fall. The province said recommendations could be implemented as soon as the 2025-2026 school year. Edmonton Catholic chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said the creation of the action team will be a step towards understanding what schools are experiencing on a daily basis. She pointed to the need to have all school boards at the table — not only large ones. 'Classroom complexity is a significant concern for educators as it impacts their ability, oftentimes, to provide those adequate supports,' Palazzo said. 'Despite these challenges, our teachers and educators are the strength of our division.' Article content Article content In a statement to Postmedia, Nicolaides said major Calgary and Edmonton school boards will be asked to choose one board member and one senior administration representative. He added nomination information will be shared soon with the final list of the action team members to be published online once finalized. 'We are investing a historic $9.9 billion into Alberta's education system for the coming school year, which includes over a billion dollars for grants and supports to address complexity in classrooms,' Nicolaides said. 'To address school space issues, we are investing $8.6 billion to build and renovate more than 130 schools across the province, adding 200,000 student spaces.' Article content Article content Article content
Calgary Herald
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Edmonton's largest school boards welcome provincial action team to tackle aggression and complexity
Edmonton's two largest school boards say they're looking forward to the province's new task force which will tackle aggression and complexity in schools as demand for crucial services increases. The chairwomen for the board of trustees at Edmonton Public Schools and Edmonton Catholic Schools District said in interviews with Postmedia they have been advocating for more resources and support as reports of aggression and complexity increase in classrooms. Edmonton public chairwoman Julie Kusiek said the board has raised several issues to the ministry around classroom sizes with large enrolment growth and classroom complexity. She pointed to the need for schools to be built to offset the high enrolment and more specialized resources, including mental health supports and targeted support for refugee and displaced students. Kusiek added the rising complexity could be addressed with more funding, saying the division has seen 'several years of cuts' to its budget due to the weighted moving average. 'This is the first year we've seen the status quo budget in the last several years and so the cumulative impact of that is real,' Kusiek said. 'We need to see base funding for education in the province move up so that we can support students in the ways that they need to be. There's also workforce pressures around recruitment and retaining specialized professionals and these folks are in high demand when it comes to psychologists and therapists.' On Monday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team will be comprised of 20 members of the education sector who will deliver a report along with short and long-term recommendations to the province by the fall. The province said recommendations could be implemented as soon as the 2025-2026 school year. Edmonton Catholic chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said the creation of the action team will be a step towards understanding what schools are experiencing on a daily basis. She pointed to the need to have all school boards at the table — not only large ones. 'Classroom complexity is a significant concern for educators as it impacts their ability, oftentimes, to provide those adequate supports,' Palazzo said. 'Despite these challenges, our teachers and educators are the strength of our division.'
Associated Press
02-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Edmonton Public Schools Selects Stock Transportation to Provide Trusted, Safe Student Transportation Through 2028
'We have a fantastic, collaborative relationship with Stock. We're looking forward to our continued collaboration in the coming years through our new service agreement.'— Geoff Holmes, Student Transportation Manager of Edmonton Public Schools EDMONTON, AB, CANADA, July 2, 2025 / / -- Stock Transportation will continue to serve the students at Edmonton Public Schools for the next three years through 2028. This partnership extension builds on a deep-rooted 14-year relationship and demonstrates the school's high level of satisfaction with the team's safe, exceptional service over the years. Stock began serving the Edmonton community back in 2011 where it initially ran 48 routes. Since then, as a result of the hard work and efforts of the team and the school's support and trust, Stock now runs a total of 181 routes. Additionally, Stock has proudly supported the Edmonton community in various ways through its Partners Beyond the Bus community outreach program. Examples include donating to food banks and donating school buses to the police and fire department for emergency training. Geoff Holmes, Student Transportation Manager of Edmonton Public Schools shared the following about the partnership extension, 'We have a fantastic, collaborative relationship with Stock. We're looking forward to our continued collaboration in the coming years through our new service agreement.' 'Since 2011, Stock Transportation and the Edmonton Public School Board have collaboratively, transparently, and successfully ensured the safe transportation of students to school and home every day,' said General Manager Christine Paquette, Stock Transportation. 'We value the partnership we've established and most importantly, appreciate being a part of the Edmonton Public School Community. We look forward to continuing to make an impact collectively over the next coming years.' -END- About Stock Transportation: For over 65 years, Stock Transportation has proudly been delivering safe, efficient, reliable student transportation services to passengers and procuring buses across Canada. Stock transports over 100,000 students daily, operates more than 2,200 school buses and employs 2,500 outstanding team members who provide exceptional service out of seven Customer Service Centres in both urban and rural areas throughout Ontario and Alberta. Anna Lam Stock Transportation +1 630-432-3985 email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Learning, inclusion, mental health top Edmonton Public Schools education plan
Edmonton Public Schools (EPSB) is entering the final year of its 2022–2026 Four-Year Education Plan, reaffirming its commitment to student success, mental health, and anti-racism initiatives. As the division prepares to welcome over 120,000 students in the upcoming school year, the final year's plan aims to guide efforts across the division, remaining focused on enhancing pathways to success for all students. Each year, EPSB submits a Four-Year Education Plan to Alberta Education, aligning it with the approved budget. The plan is developed using data, stakeholder engagement, provincial planning documents, and the division's own strategic plan. Progress on the plan's actions will be reported in fall 2025 through the Annual Education Results Report (AERR) and results review process. Brought before trustees for approval on Friday, the plan outlines the division's strategic goals and provincial assurance framework, reporting cycles, and funding manual for the 2025–2026 school year. The plan is built around three key priority areas. Under 'Priority One: Outstanding learning opportunities,' the division is focused on helping teachers implement new curriculum to build on outstanding learning opportunities for all students, the report said. For example, targeted professional learning and resources for Kindergarten to grade 6 teachers has been well received, with 84 per cent of certificated staff who accessed support saying it was helpful, according to Division Feedback Survey (DFS) results. The plan emphasizes evidence-based strategies to support strong literacy and numeracy outcomes and ensures learning remains responsive to the needs of all students. Experiential opportunities will also help students explore and plan for their futures. Under 'Priority Two: Anti-racism and reconciliation,' the Division reaffirms its commitment to anti-racism, reconciliation, and equity by engaging with staff, students, families, and community members. Select DFS results from students, staff and families shows strong perceptions of diversity, with: 78.5 per cent of grades 4 to 12 students agree that many diverse cultures are represented in the books and materials at their school; 89.3 per cent of staff share this view; and 86 per cent of families agree that many diverse cultures are represented in the events, activities, and environment of their child's school. EPSB Superintendent Darrel Robertson acknowledged concerns from those who feel dissatisfied with the influence of advisory committees such as the equity advisory committee, and that he's 'really interested in to hear what folks have to say in terms of that work and what's happening,' but noting the division must prioritize complex work over time. 'Sometimes that work doesn't move as fast as people would like, so they may walk away with feelings of dissatisfaction… It doesn't mean that their contribution isn't valuable. It's just that we need to be realistic in terms of how it is that we sequentially move this very complicated work forward and what we prioritize,' he said. 'There are folks that are very set on inclusion is the only option for children with complex needs to participate in our public education system,' he added. 'But we also know that that parent choice is very important to many, many others. So having that singular idea of how things can work can sometime lead people down the road of walking away from the experience being less satisfied than what they anticipated,' he said. Under 'Priority Three: Mental health and wellbeing,' the division said promoting student and staff well-being remains a central focus of the plan, outlining efforts to strengthen school communities that foster a sense of belonging, safety, and success. Collaboration with external partners will guide the strategic use of resources to support these goals. Select DFS results show students' positive feelings of belonging and safety, with: 63.2 per cent of Grades 4 to 12 students agree that their school is a place where all students feel like they belong; 70.7 per cent of students feel like they belong at their school; and 74 per cent of students feel safe at school. cnguyen@ Understanding the 2025-2026 budget for Edmonton Public Schools: What's changing and why it matters Edmonton Public Schools reviews annual class size report amid growing enrolment pressures Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
