FREDERICTON — Last week, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development released an “implementation plan and accountability framework” for a steering committee’s long-term recommendations to improve the anglophone education sector.
“The implementation plan and accountability framework provide a clear pathway on how we will achieve the long-term recommendations our government accepted in November,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan in a press release. “We look forward to the continued support of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, educators, families, and other education stakeholders as we tackle head-on the root causes of some very challenging, long-standing issues.”
Collaborating with school districts, parent-school support committees, educational partners, and the teachers’ association, civil servants have assessed what’s needed to plan and implement each recommendation. Project teams are slated to begin work soon, consulting with education system stakeholders.
The government is promising regular online updates as the work progresses.
Formed in April 2023, the executive steering committee includes educators, students, administrators, and First Nations representatives. The executive director of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and the assistant deputy minister of the anglophone sector co-chair the committee, which has anglophone and francophone working groups.
“The New Brunswick Teachers’ Association hopes that the government will remain focused on actioning the recommendations and that necessary resources will be targeted over the long term to support the important work of the project teams,” Ardith Shirley, the association’s executive director, said in the press release. “The association is looking forward to supporting the work of the project teams and hopes all New Brunswickers will join us in supporting and monitoring the progress of these important recommendations.”
From May to September 2023, the working groups met education partners and gathered recommendations, plus about 3,000 New Brunswickers weighed in via an online survey.
Since July 2023, the government has worked on several areas in response to the report and recommendations.
- Address chronic absenteeism and reinforce a culture of learning by working with school districts and stakeholders to draft a provincial action plan on school attendance.
- Develop a new “classroom composition model” and a timeline to implement an improved inclusive and equitable system.
- Make better use of technology to enhance and personalize learning.
- Focus on middle schoolers “to improve academic engagement, achievement, and well being.”
- Establish a plan for strengthening French-language learning in the anglophone system, including expanding course options and more flexible French immersion admissions.
- Encourage activity, including embedding 30 minutes of physical education for students up to Grade 8, plus outdoor education opportunities.
- Have the Centre of Excellence for Language Learning develop a communication and support plan to help students succeed in French immersion.
- Improve retention and recruitment of qualified teachers and specialized health-service professionals.
- Help educational assistants get dedicated training, professional learning, and opportunities to collaborate more with teachers.
- Ensure teachers who work with early readers have training designed to best teach these students.
- Improve access to professional learning for educators.
- Create a detailed plan for each recommendations.