Principal Mary Printz of Accelerated Potential Christian Academy gives MLA Michaela Frey a tour of the school. Here they are saying hello to the kindergarten class. -- NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
MLA Michaela Frey visited Accelerated Potential Christian Academy on Sept. 8 to tour the school with Principal Mary Printz.
While in the Grades 1-4 classroom, there was a question-and-answer period. One student asked Frey what her favourite thing to do after work was, which is cooking. A follow-up question concerned her favourite food.
“I really like making homemade pasta and my husband likes that I like to make pasta,” replied Frey.
Two topics that came up during the tour was Program Unit Funding and the value of independent schools. Printz explained to Frey how valuable it would be to have children included under PUF again.
“We need to be able to meet kids where they are at and there are lots of kids in Alberta with very diverse needs, we see that here at this school and in every school in every classroom,” Frey said following the tour. “I come from a family of teachers, and I hear it all the time, that there are so many kids with different needs that need to be accommodated and as a government it is our priority to ensure all kids get a quality education.”
Printz and Frey talked about the value of independent schools and how they enhance the education system in Alberta. Frey attended a Catholic school for her entire education and accepts and respects the values of public education.
“I do think that when it comes to education we aren’t taking away, we are adding when putting in independent and private schools,” stated Frey.
As parents are the first educators of their children, Frey believes they should have a choice of where they go to school and that schools offering individualized programming, such as APCA, are very important.
Independent schools “are funded less than public schools and what we are seeing is more efficiency in the education system. On top of that we are able to see, and we saw it today, kids with diverse backgrounds and diverse needs being taught in the same classroom,” added Frey.
