TIME FOR KENNEY TO CANCEL THE CURRICULUM PILOT

EDMONTON - One month after its launch, the Kenney curriculum has been overwhelmingly rejected by school boards, teachers, Francophone and Indigenous groups, and parents, and the Opposition is calling on Jason Kenney to cancel the pilot.

“Albertans have spoken up loud and clear about this curriculum and they are giving it a failing grade,” said NDP Education Critic Sarah Hoffman. “School districts representing more than 70 per cent of Alberta students have decided not to pilot this curriculum. These are urban boards and rural boards, public, separate, Francophone boards. They’re in the north, the south and central regions of Alberta. And more are joining them every day.”

Yesterday, Edmonton Public Schools agreed to call for a vote of no-confidence in the curriculum at the upcoming meeting of the Alberta School Boards Association. Later the same day, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange’s former board, Red Deer Catholic, voted unanimously against piloting the curriculum.

Alberta teachers voted overwhelmingly against the curriculum in a survey conducted by the ATA. The Alberta Retired Teachers Association wrote to Adriana LaGrange earlier this month calling for a rewrite. Francophone educators have condemned the Kenney curriculum as an attempt to assimilate their culture, and First Nations and Metis leaders have demanded that the Kenney curriculum be withdrawn and rewritten.

Taylor Schroeter, a Beaumont-area parent, helped organize a petition against the curriculum and has gathered more than 11,000 signatures from 95 communities.

“We stand united together to demand a curriculum for our children that is inclusive, accurate, forward thinking, relevant and age appropriate,” Schroeter said. “The 11,723 signatures on these pages represent Albertan’s across all political backgrounds who are calling on our government to do what's right for our children. This draft is not it.

“We have heard from parents from all walks of life and across many ethnicities, religions and cultures who do not feel this draft accurately represents them or their children.”

Hoffman will table Schroeter’s petition in the legislature next week.

“The message from Albertans is clear,” Hoffman said. “The only question now is whether Jason Kenney is capable of hearing it. He’s spending taxpayers money on radio ads and Facebook ads but that’s not going to work. Jason Kenney needs to stop advertising and start listening.

“It’s a critical element of leadership to admit when you’ve made a mistake and then fix it. It’s time for Jason Kenney to pull the pilot and rewrite this curriculum.”