Edmonton public pushes for non-confidence vote on Alberta draft curriculum at provincial school boards meeting

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The Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) will be asking for a non-confidence vote on the draft K-6 curriculum at a spring meeting of the Alberta School Board Association (ASBA) in June.

Trustees passed a motion 6-2 Tuesday afternoon that, if the resolutions passes at the ASBA meeting, would see the association lobby the government to halt all draft curriculum pilots and demand a rewrite.

EPSB chairwoman chair Trisha Estabrooks said the resolution was based on feedback from local parents and families, as well as the curriculum experts and others who criticized the draft publicly.

“The committee felt that, based on feedback, that more than a pause is required,” she said.

Estabrooks said she heard some parts of the curriculum is workable, but the province needs to go back to the drawing board.

“The rewrite isn’t throw it all out: it’s what do, we retain and what needs improvement, but there’s balancing here.”

Edmonton Public Schools is one of dozens across the province that have opted not to pilot the draft curriculum.

Estabrooks, along with trustees Michael Janz, Shelagh Dunn, Michelle Draper, Bridget Stirling, and Nathan Ip voted in favour of the motion. Trustees Ken Gibson and Sherry Adams opposed it.

Superintendent Darrel Robertson said the board’s own curriculum experts are working on a “deep-dive” into the curriculum to be able to give feedback to the provincial government.

More to come…

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby