The Alberta Government came out with its new K-6 curriculum last week which it says renews the focus on essential knowledge and skills.

The curriculum has been met with lots of opposition from many, including some parents and teachers and the opposition NDP with criticism ranging from not enough focus on local groups and communities in Alberta to some of the learning material not being age-appropriate to a lack of focus on indigenous history in Alberta until later in the elementary years.

The Edmonton Public School Board, the second-largest in Alberta, along with the Elk Island Public Schools have said they won't be involved in piloting the new curriculum in the fall.  For the Edmonton Board the decision was based both on the content of the proposed curriculum and a need for continuity for children choosing to learn at home in the fall, then switch to in-class learning in January 2022. 

However, before making a knee-jerk decision on the new curriculum, the Chair of the Rocky View School Board says it will need more time to review the document.

"We're still in the early stages of reviewing the draft curriculum and we're not ready to say 'this is all the good stuff, this is all the bad stuff ', says Fiona Gilbert.  "We need time to review it through and from a board point of view we're looking to our divisional staff who are the experts on the curriculum piece to give their feedback and recommendations so we know whether or not and to what extent we want to participate in the piloting of any curriculum."

The pilot of the curriculum will be done in a few schools in the fall of 2021 before being fully implemented in September 2022.

One thing Gilbert and the rest of the RVS board and administration do know about the new curriculum, the four key learning themes in the revised piece, literacy, numeracy, citizenship and practical skills, lines up extremely well with the division's four-year plan.

"Literacy and numeracy, that's the foundation for all learning as students move ahead to get those foundational skills at the beginning, in those elementary grades, and to have the government focus on that is fabulous," explains Gilbert.  "The other ones too do line up with Rocky View, those practical skills, we call that hands-on learning, to get out and apply some skills that you can apply to the real world.  Really all four of those pillars line up very well."

Gilbert says no timeline is in place to make a decision on piloting the curriculum as they haven't yet been given a timeline on when the government needs school boards to decide.  She does know that participation in the pilot will be on a voluntary basis for school divisions.

While the new K - 6 curriculum is the hot topic of discussion right now, Gilbert says RVS wants to be very mindful of the decisions it makes and be sure that they are in the best interest of students and the division.  

"Whether we pilot or not, we want to understand what those impacts are for our staff, for our students and for the system as a whole as we move forward.  We will take our time to consider all possibilities before we make a decision."

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