Latest news with #JulieKusiek
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
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.'
