2010 News Releases

Alberta’s students continue to rank among the best in Canada and the world, according to the results of the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Alberta students placed second in the world in reading and scientific literacy, and eighth in mathematical literacy.
 

Investing in education and human development as a strategy for economic recovery is the focus of Alberta Education Minister Dave Hancock’s two-day mission to the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) in Paris, Nov. 4 and 5.
 

Knowing what to do and how to do it can mean the difference between life and death for a student experiencing a severe allergic reaction.
 

More Alberta students are achieving excellence on provincial achievement tests, according to the latest provincial accountability report.
 

More certified journeypeople, health-care professionals and information technologists will be seen in Alberta classrooms as the province attracts more career specialists to the teaching profession.
 

More than 12,000 students will be filling the classrooms, hallways and gymnasiums of an unprecedented 18 new elementary and elementary-junior high schools this school year as a result of government’s largest-ever new schools project.
 

Thanks to joint efforts between government and school jurisdictions to keep students engaged and motivated to stay in school, Alberta’s high school completion rate increased in 2009. The rate rose to 71.5 per cent in 2009, from 70.8 per cent in 2008.
 

To improve outcomes for students with special education needs, the Alberta government will begin to implement its response to 12 recommendations contained in the Setting the Direction Framework. This includes providing improved learning and teaching resources, more professional development for teachers and educational assistants, and developing a regional service delivery model to support all students
 

Inspiring Education, a report outlining high-level direction and a vision for education over the next 20 years, was released by the 22-member Steering Committee of Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans. Approximately 4,000 Albertans participated in this unique public engagement project last year through facilitated community sessions, a conversation kit, a provincial forum and various social media tools.
 

Twenty-three outstanding Alberta teachers will receive prestigious 2010 Excellence in Teaching Awards for their impressive work with Kindergarten to Grade 12 students in classrooms across the province.
 

A new province-wide, five-year research project will examine factors influencing healthy childhood development. The Early Child Development (ECD) Mapping Initiative will give the Alberta government a better understanding of the relationships between children’s development and the support and resources available in their communities.
 

The Government of Alberta has signed an agreement with B2L Partnership to design, build, finance, and maintain 10 new schools in Edmonton and the Calgary region through a public-private partnership (P3).
 

Education Minister Dave Hancock issued the following statement about the successful negotiations to open the new Peavine school in the Northland School Division. The construction of the $12.5-million school on the Peavine Métis Settlement was completed in April of 2009. The school will accommodate up to 300 Kindergarten to Grade 9 students.
 

Teachers and principals from across Alberta are being recognized as 2010 Excellence in Teaching Awards semi-finalists for their remarkable job of inspiring Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. This year’s 136 semi-finalists were selected from 338 eligible nominations.
 

The Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta and the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs in Alberta have signed an historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) on education. The MOU provides a common vision for strengthening learning and educational success for First Nation learners.
 

Educators from across the province and around the world are celebrating 10 years of Alberta-made ideas for improving student learning at the annual Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) Conference, February 8-9 in Edmonton.
 

Education Minister Dave Hancock and Alberta Teachers’ Association President Carol Henderson are pleased that a decision regarding the use and application of Alberta Average Weekly Earnings for teacher salary purposes has been reached. An arbitrator ruled that teachers working in the province’s public, separate and francophone schools should receive an increase amounting to 5.99 percent, reflecting the average increase in the weekly earnings of Albertans from 2008 to 2009.
 

An Official Trustee has been appointed to the Northland School Division by the Alberta Government as an interim measure to address concerns over student achievement results across the jurisdiction.