Medicine Hat Public School Division superintendent Mark Davidson provides speaks to reporters on Monday.--NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Provincial guidelines for K-12 education under self-isolation unveiled Friday sync well with those of the Medicine Hat Public School Division, superintendent Mark Davidson says.
Classes beginning Monday will be based around the core concepts students haven’t learned yet this year and must be conducted online, via paper course packages, or over the phone.
Grade 12 diploma exams are also out, joining the previously-announced cancellations of the Grade 6 and 9 provincial achievement tests, but students can still graduate if they were on pace to have enough credits to do so.
Davidson says province’s plans “align almost exactly with what we had identified during the days since classes were first cancelled … in terms of scope of work and how much time we expect students to put in.”
The amount of time dedicated to learning varies by age group, according to the plan.
It’s five hours a week for K-6, 10 hours for Grades 7-9 and three hours per course for high school.
Davidson says although he values standardized testing in terms of the data it provides to educators, he doesn’t think the diploma exam’s cancellation will have a major impact on students in Alberta who are moving on to post-secondary school.
“I invited my staff and others to release themselves from thinking about the transition from high school to university, or the transition from grade to grade, in a way that is similar to, or built, on norms,” said Davidson. “This is not a normal year.”
Davidson suggested earlier this week that MHPSD was looking at a blended program, where students could occasionally attend school for face-to-face time with their teacher at a safe distance, but this is now out of the question.
“Our staff is not able to work directly with students. The model we’re putting out is almost exclusively focused on online,” he says.
“We’re providing all of our students who don’t have appropriate technology at home with Chromebooks and we’re working to support families who don’t have high speed internet getting it, so their children won’t be disadvantaged.”
In an Alberta Education news release announcing the guidelines, Alberta Teachers Association president Jason Schilling called the government’s plan a “great start for providing guidance and consistency for school boards and teachers to make sure learning continues.”
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange specifically thanked those in the education system for their collaboration in quickly finding a resolution.
“It is important that Albertans know that we are all working towards the same goal to provide the best possible learning situation for our students during this very challenging and unprecedented time,” said LaGrange.
