SOS Alberta

Today as part of the Alberta Government’s initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in Alberta we had the pleasure to sit down with representatives from Minister Eggen’s office and discuss the role public education can play in building community and addressing racism within Alberta. One of the most important things we were able to do at this meeting was to both share our experiences and the experiences sent to us by Albertans directly with government decision makers. We think this is the most important thing we can do as an advocacy organization, to share the voices of citizens. If you have an experience you would like to share we want to hear from you and we will pass on your comments to Minister Eggen’s office and the Office of the Premier.

Agenda July 10, 2017 Anti-Racism Meeting Ministry of Education McDougall Centre, Calgary Alberta

Attendees:

Amanda Henry – Ministry of Education

Ewar Jalal – Office of the Premier

Jeremy Nolais – Ministry of Education

Barbara S – Support Our Students Alberta

Elsa C – Support Our Students Alberta

Maureen S – Support Our Students Alberta

Support Our Students is a public education advocacy organization, and as such our concerns with racism and intolerance will have a focus specific to public education.

1. Racism and Intolerance As Experienced by Children in the Present Day:

Racism and intolerance are very real experiences for children across all Alberta schools.  We have heard from several SOS AB supporters about their experiences, and these are some of the stories they have shared with us:  

*Please note these individuals wish to remain private, we’ve edited their letters to protect their privacy 

**Warning there is some racist language and racist situations described in the following letters which we have chosen to include

Letter received by SOS Alberta from a parent in Central Alberta, July 6, 2017

Hello,

My child who is of a mixed race  was riding the bus home last November when they were called a N—– by another grade six student who attended their school, not the same class.

After watching them cry hard after being called such a negative name when they got home from school, my partner and I tried to remind them that ignorant name calling is normally done by unkind people.

I did contact the principal right away and she confirmed that she spoke to the student about not speaking like that to others and pointed out the consequences that would happen if this ever occurred again.

They didn’t have to deal with this other student calling them this name ever again but it was very shocking to hear that negative names like this still exist and are unfortunately used among the youth in my city.

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I appreciate your quick response!!!
I want to share my story so that this doesn’t happen to another child again. I know that one of my close friends was able to address this issue at their child’s school by asking that more books be added that address diversity and more cultures to increase awareness/sensitivity for how people that look different can be made to feel accepted at any school they attend. That principal did bring more cultural books on staff after the request was made. I’m an elementary teacher at a large public school.  I know that there are very few books like this at our school. I wonder how the minister might feel about increasing money for books in libraries to address this issue and start teaching communities as little as elementary students to help fix this issue one step at a time.
Have a wonderful evening!!!

Letter received by SOS Alberta from a parent in Central Alberta, July 7, 2017

Please share this story with the minister of education.

My 6yr old   in grade 1 this past winter was on the bus to school. A few other grade 1 boys were sitting  on the bus and playing a game. My child asked if they could play and one of the kids said, “No, you can’t play with us since you don’t have white skin!”

My child was very sad and we did make the bussing service and our principal aware. I had a nice meeting with our principal who wanted to know if we had any ideas of how to talk about racism in the school more frequently.

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There are many cases of Racism in [our town] that we have personally heard from our other ethnic friends. It is quite common.

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It’s great you are doing this. I hope it is received well.

When my eldest child was 6 (now 12) was on a soccer team, and a kid started making fun of their gorgeous ringlet hair and called out ” curly fries! Curly fries! curly fries!”

That was another issue we had to deal with. After speaking with the parents they did understand it was racist and the kid apologized.

 Letter sent to SOS Alberta from parent in Southern Alberta, July 7, 2017

My children were bullied for being atheists at the Palliser school [we attended] to the point they were told they were going to hell.

Letter received by SOS Alberta from a parent in Southern Alberta, July 7, 2017)

I’d love to see it mandated that teachers and staff privately take the Harvard Racial Bias Test online so they’re aware of the biases and can work on improving them (we all have them. So much better to acknowledge!)

We also need to be teaching some more accurate indigenous history. Also should probably be openly discussing the idea of racism in the classroom since science shows that pretending to be colour blind doesn’t work or help.

Letter received by SOS Alberta from a parent in Central Alberta, July 10, 2017

A dear friend of mine  fostered a number of FN kids,  two of them were siblings that they got as newborns. Those kids were Blessed to grow up in a beautiful loving home. They were treated exactly the same as the natural born children in every respect. The younger of the two had some issues and dropped out of high school. The older child is now studying to be a Social Worker.  In any event the oldest child and their Mom (which is what they called her) were chatting one day  a few months after graduation and then it all came out. both the siblings were harassed and bullied non stop because they were FN. That was when Mom found out why the youngest quit school. This went on for the entire time they were in high school. Mom was devastated. She asked why they hadn’t told her and said she would have gone right to the school to get things sorted. The response: “Exactly Mom and that would have just made things worse for us”. Two days later mom burst into tears while talking to myself and another friend after church. She was heart broken and the sobs kept coming. The thought that those children endured so much for so long was tearing her apart. Our hearts broke for that family. How is it even possible no staff saw this? Those kids should have been safe in their small town rural high school but they weren’t. Nowhere close. I am just grateful that they have survived and maybe one day there will be healing for them.

2.  Public schools:  

The place where children from all walks of life should have opportunities to learn across faith, culture, ability and race.  The benefits to this kind of learning and environment have been shown to be beneficial to learning and skills for later in life.  This is happening less and less:

• Of note, the CBE no longer even includes the term PUBLIC in its title.  We must recommit & redefine what a public system truly is; accessible to ALL children.
• Presence of Christian schools, Jewish Schools, Quranic worldview schools, Muslim Academies, Traditional learning Centres (know to appeal to certain cultures), Sports Academies, Music Programs, Language programs, all segregate children under the public umbrella.  This current system will only encourage, not discourage intolerance and racism.
• Specialized programming, and their associated barriers (fees, application procedures) not only segregate, but disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged population who are over represented by FNMI, people of colour and other minorities.  
• Effects of these barriers and systemic inequities result in poor completion rates and disengaged students.

3.  Probable Solutions:

Immediate:

• Incorporate topics of privilege, racism, intolerance (institutionalised and otherwise) into social studies curriculum.  Currently, there is not enough focus on the subject matter (both formally and informally), and the rewrite is an opportune time to weight the issue more heavily, with greater depth and detail.  
• Provide training and support for teachers.  Assist in identifying racial bias at all levels in education. Support leaders with a vision for inclusivity and growth around issues of racism.
• Assign a multicultural event for each public board
• Eliminate the ability for any PUBLICLY FUNDED school to “turn” away a child. *Public funds for truly public schools*

Long term:  

• Emphasis on diverse and inclusive community schools. De-emphasize programs that exacerbate intolerance and racism via segregation.
• Present this vision to community leaders of varying faiths and cultures to engage in conversation with the goal to generate ideas and solutions.  Present and promote a vision that includes a truly public education.
• Annual audit, for students and families to inventory their positive/negative experiences with inclusivity in their school.

Final Note:

Talking about diversity and tolerance is important, but means nothing unless children have the opportunity to experience diversity and exercise acceptance. Anti-racism-education cannot be theoretical, it must be practical.  For this to occur children from all walks, of all faiths, cultures, and ability must build community through public education together.  They need us to create those opportunities. It is important to fight racism, it is equally important to prevent it.

Scott Rowed wrote the following op-ed for Fast Forward Weekly in 2012 examining how school choice and competition has impacted public education in Alberta. Any numbers and stats reflect 2012 data. Thanks to Scott for letting us repost!

School choice. Sounds good, doesn’t it? The idea is often linked to the concept that competition improves the quality of education. Alberta is certainly taking a leadership role in this, with taxpayers funding public, separate, private, charter, alternative and home schooling. But is the system fair to all? Does competition really improve learning? There is reason to think not. Indeed, it’s time to recognize that school choice is not always benign, that it favours some families at the expense of others, and is a threat to public education.

Choice means discrimination against teachers based on their religion. Catholic teachers can work in either the separate schools or public schools. Teachers from other religions or no religion need not apply to the Catholic system, even though the jobs are fully funded by public taxes. In the publicly-funded private and alternative schools run by evangelical churches, choice means that teachers must believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and that evolution is a myth. If you’re a science teacher who happens to accept, well, science, you don’t stand a chance. Pastors make the hiring decisions for these government-funded positions.

Choice means government-sponsored discrimination against students based on religion. Catholics are quick to point out that they allow children of non-Catholics to attend as well. Of course they do — that’s how they recruit young people into the church. Parents, however, are denied their right to run for election of the school board unless, of course, they’re believers.

Choice means government-sponsored discrimination against both teachers and students who are gay or lesbian. Not only do some religious schools refuse to accept LGBT students and oppose the formation of gay-straight alliances, they even claim that measures to promote tolerance and acceptance of gays are a violation of their “religious freedom.”

Choice means that valuable education resources are wasted on nonsense such as creationism. Critical thinking and scientific understanding will be crucial to the success of our young people and our society in general. It’s unconscionable that our tax dollars are being used to undermine these qualities by teaching children to accept ideas that have been thoroughly debunked.

Choice means that many children will be denied comprehensive sex education and HPV vaccines, thus increasing the risk of STIs and unplanned pregnancies. In years to come, some women will almost certainly die of cervical cancer that could have been prevented by vaccines today. “Abstinence only” sex education is a failure.

Choice means that our children are being segregated according to religion, family economic status and ethnicity, instead of learning to accept and work with people of different backgrounds.

Choice means that our education dollars are subsidizing foreign churches. Our taxes should be used to strengthen public education, not to fund the recruitment and marketing on behalf of the Vatican and wealthy U.S. evangelical churches.

Choice means overlapping and wasteful duplication of school buildings and administration, especially at a time when we can’t afford to squander public education dollars.

Choice means that the various Catholic, private, alternative and charter schools collect a per-student grant from the public purse, but can refuse admission to students based on their grades or special needs that would require extra staff and cost. This leaves the public schools absorbing the greater proportion of costs for coded (special needs) and ESL students, resulting in higher school fees, larger classes and reduced program choice.

Choice means that private schools accepting only students with higher academic marks will superficially “look better” than public schools that welcome every child. The Fraser Institute School Report Cards, for instance, fail to mention this.

For example, according to the Fraser Report, Webber Academy, an elite private school in Calgary, consistently scores within the top few schools provincially and is currently given a 10 out of 10 rating. It’s average grade 12 exam mark for 2010 was 84 per cent. Further down the list, in 46th place, Canmore Collegiate High School (where I am on the school council) rates 7.5 out of 10 with an average exam mark of 69 per cent.

But this doesn’t tell the whole story. The private school requires that students applying have to be in the 80th percentile or above to get accepted, i.e. only the top 20 per cent. Now, if we apply this formula to the Canmore school, the numbers are revealing. In 2011, the grade 12 average was 70 per cent. However, the top 20 per cent of these students delivered an average of 88.3 per cent.

Furthermore, the Canmore public school accepts ESL and special needs kids. How many at Webber? None.

Then there’s cost. In addition to the per student grant from the government (70 per cent of what the public schools get), the parents of Webber students pay a tuition of $16,500. When you add up the numbers, the private school receives over three times the revenue per student that the public school receives.

Our real choice is about the future of our public schools. Do we concentrate our efforts on them so they can be as good as possible, Or do we continue to undermine that great democratic institution — public education — by continuing our misguided pursuit of choice?

Over the past week the Calgary Board of Education(CBE) has held public meetings for parents at alternative programs affected by recent bell time and transportation changes. These were not public engagement sessions, they were information sessions. Opportunities for the CBE to inform families of the decisions made on behalf of families, affecting their children.

For years, the CBE has promoted programs of choice. As recently as last week the CBE announced a new program of choice an elite athletic program at Bowness High School. They have built an intricate system based on choice, what is really a system based on competition. Programs of choice also termed alternative programs compete for students from all across the city. These programs including the regular program compete for students and for funding.

The thing with competition is it’s great, while you’re winning. But eventually, in time, everyone loses.

Choice, is only a choice until it becomes unsustainable for the CBE to provide. And this has been happening all over the city for years.

Families have exercised their choice only to eventually have their children moved from one school to another, put in a school lottery, have programs and schools close, siblings separated due to boundary changes, bell times modified and fees increased.

These are only some of the changes to programs of choice that have happened over the years including:

• Mandarin at King George moved to Highwood
• French Immersion at Highwood moved to King George
• Spanish bilingual students in NW redirected to W.O. Mitchell
• Mandarín Jr High program in south closed
• Langevin Science students in NE redirected due to boundary changes
• Canyons Meadows Spanish bilingual redirection, also impacting Robert Warren
• Closing of Canadian Studies program
• Creation of dual track program schools
• Most recently, ALL alternative programs are affected by bell time changes and the move of Middle and Junior High students to transit.

CBE is telling Calgarians these changes are a result of provincial legislation under Bill 1. Always stating the important reminder that the CBE is actually not obligated to get your child to school if you choose one of the programs they’ve been offering and selling to students and families. However, school boards are to a large degree autonomous. Many school boards across the province do not offer alternative programming at all and certainly not to the degree offered in Calgary. It is the obligation of Alberta Education to provide education equitably across the province.  It has been the CBE’s autonomous decision to continue to offer AND PROMOTE programs of choice in a manner it cannot sustain.

The past few years at the CBE have seen a year over year increase in school fees and financial burdens and barriers placed on families across Calgary. Just 7 years ago, bussed students did not pay noon supervision fees. Then, bussed students were required to pay that fee. Shortly thereafter, bussing fees increased from $300 to $335 per student per year with the elimination of the family cap. Now, the CBE will increase costs for some families to send children on city transit to schools up to $700 student per year. And when these fees increase, we are told those decisions are “operational” decisions not open for engagement to the public. Thereby creating an environment in which our children’s education is a consumer good rather than a public/civic responsibility.

You are told you have CHOICE:  Which is great until they decide to take it away from you.

Fees continue to increase:  It’s manageable until it’s not financially viable for your family anymore.

Transportation changes: Seem fine until you see multiple bus transfers, changes to bell times and separation of siblings and it just won’t work for your family.

This is not Public Education, this is PRIVATIZATION of our public system.

Students/Families have been sold an illusion. A choice that has fine print. *Available until such time as the provider deems fit.  Parameters subject to change at any time

What is the solution? Can CBE families find something agreeable and manageable for fall 2017? Should parents boycott all fees? Should families return to community schools? Should Calgarians collectively protest at the CBE? We, SOS Alberta are open to suggestions.

But we believe, that we should no longer be divided by programs, left to defend our choices, pitting one program against another, neighbour against neighbour and instead, collectively oppose these changes that threaten our communities. The implication in this plethora of choice is that some schools are better than others and a program of choice is superior to a regular program school.

Perhaps, we should be considering the longer term solution of emphasising the value of community schools and demand a rich and diverse curriculum in every public school that includes languages, includes arts, includes athletics, and includes science. Perhaps our kids shouldn’t have to choose. Perhaps public education should not come with an asterisk or fine print.  Perhaps we shouldn’t have to wonder every year what changes will make our children’s and families experience in the system more financially, logistically and emotionally difficult. Perhaps we shouldn’t let them lead us down this hole of privatization. Because the options before many of us today are not things we can buy our way out of, nor should we have to.

The following blog post was written by a SOS Alberta member from Calgary in response to some recent announcements made this past week from the Calgary Board of Education(CBE). The CBE is one of the boards in the province that charges families school fees, including fees for yellow school bus transportation and students taking public transit pay for public transit as regular transit users do. The CBE is also a board that emphasizes school choice by offering a range of niche or alternative programming from traditional learning to language programs. We would love to know from people in other parts of the province what their expectations are for transportation fees for the next school year and how has choice impacted their school board?

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Earlier this week the CBE sent out notices of bell time changes, amendments to busing fees and bus service changes.

Calgary parents have been told over the years that transportation costs for CBE have been increasing, while funding for it, has not.

We have been told that if we want a certain level of transportation service, we will have to pay for it.  

We’ve been told we have the right to choose alternative programs, and the busing that gets our children to them.

Many of us choose alternative programs, programs that are then victims of their own success. Some programs have grown to over capacity, so students are then reallocated to other schools, other neighbourhoods, ones not of our initial choosing.

We’ve learned last week that for some students, 8:00 am bell times mean waking up at 6am to ride a bus for one hour. Surely, not the best start for a robust day of education for children of any age! We are told these modifications are to accommodate the changes to the bussing schedule and to save money.

This week we learned that financial hardship will continue and be extended to more families because instead of $335 yellow bus service, some families will now pay $700/school year for Calgary transit as they no longer qualify for the yellow school bus. There is also not a rebate for students travelling by transit inside 2.4 km limit and no students in Alternative programs qualify for transit rebate.

We’ve been told over and over again, that busing students across the city for specialized arts program, TLC, science program or language programs are costly.  We know in some instances, one child can be bused to a specific alternative program on the other side of the city from where they live. Busing for one student can’t be cheap.

Calgary parents also learned this week, that the CBE will add to its current spider web of transportation woes, by opening yet another niche/magnet school. The High Performance Athlete Development Pathway at Bowness High School. We learned this week that rather than trying to address current busing problems, CBE has chosen to add to them.

SOS Alberta believes adding yet another alternative program to a system with already unsustainable transportation issues is problematic for many reasons;

1. In our 2016 Annual School Survey, 45% of respondents reported no specialist physical education teacher. Of those who do, 42% are assigned less than 1.0 FTE (part time) in the school represented. Many parents across the CBE have been told there simply aren’t enough funds for specialist phys ed teachers particularly at the elementary level and so their phys ed program runs without a specialist. Most elementary schools supplement their PE program and lack of phys ed specialist by fundraising thousands of dollars every year to bring in programming to compensate for this lack of quality programming. SOS Alberta affirms our position that the goal of public education is to provide rich curriculum that includes quality physical education programming for all its students.
2. This niche high performance athlete program will have access to specialized coaches, sports therapists, and psychologists while many schools don’t have a specialized physical education teacher, much less on site dedicated expert mental health counsellors. Many students struggle to access proper resources for learning disabilities, physical accommodations and ever increasingly mental health resources. Is an elite athletic high performance program the best place to be diverting resources? It is, if you are concerned with competition but not if your priority is comprehensive education for the greater population.
3. Busing continues to be a financial burden to the CBE. Calgarians have consistently been told by the CBE that transportation funding has significant shortfalls that they struggle to cover. This is why, Calgary parents are told, user fees are charged and increase year over year. However, rather than attempt to address the root issue, CBE adds to the problem by introducing more niche programming. Unless all elite athletes reside in the NW near Bowness, transportation will be required. And it will cost money, money they KNOW, as they have known for years now, ISN’T COMING. CBE is continually choosing to fund transportation OVER education.
4. SOS Alberta’s position remains, that niche programs like the High Performance Athlete Development Pathway at Bowness High School arise as a direct result of competition. When private schools receive public funding, public schools are forced compete for those same dollars. It does not go unnoticed that the premise of this niche school is very similar to The Edge private school just west of Calgary. The CBE has chosen to compete with The Edge, by offering like programming instead of strengthening the system that affects the most Calgary students. All while many of our children, including students in the wider Bowness community itself, continue to NOT receive the necessary resources for physical education. Is a niche school, and what will ultimately become an exclusive program, the best place to be serving the wider public education population who are suffering because of space crunches, under resourcing, millions of dollars of deferred maintenance, long transportation times and ever increasing fees?
5. SOS Alberta will also make the assumption, with a strong degree of confidence, that our most underprivileged students, those living in and around the poverty line, will be less likely to have been exposed to the type of extracurricular and costly activities that will qualify and prepare them for such a program. Particularly when they aren’t even introduced to sport in any meaningful way in elementary school. Again, our survey revealed many children are being left undiagnosed, untreated and under resourced because of financial constraints. We don’t see how this program will contribute to solving these existing issues.

SOS Alberta is calling upon the CBE to stop competing with the privatization model. It is not only never ending, but has served to create an enormous web of transportation challenges and diverts resources from community schools with more complex demands. We recognize this is issue is not isolated to the CBE. Our provincial funding model has created this system of competition by funding private and charter schools, something Alberta does more than any other province. Multiple years of chronic provincial underfunding has lead boards to find various ways to attract students. Certainly the fact that schools designated as “alternative programs” also allow for associated fees. This gives schools boards an additional source of income and is likely a factor in choosing to promote niche programs. However, Albertans are now witness to the effects of trying to compete has on public education. It’s most obvious results have been increased fees, longer bus routes and inconsistent year over year scheduling. We are placing an increasing financial burden on families and are impacting the educational experience of our children. We must start addressing the needs of Calgary students equitably by providing rich and diverse curriculum that INCLUDES music, arts, science, languages AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION, in or near communities to ALL schools. This is how we will address transportation issues. This is how we fund education over transportation.

To date, Calgarians have failed to hold the CBE to account.

Many parents did not speak up when noon supervision fees were implemented.  

Many said little when family caps were eliminated.

Many didn’t strongly oppose bus fees rising from $300 to $335

Many didn’t oppose the loss of subsidies for transit passes.

Where is the line?

For many, this year they will pay $700 instead of $335 for transportation. We urge you to consider, the line will be drawn when we as citizens draw it. Firmly. Because we have been shown the CBE, year over year, are more than willing to step right over it.

We are pleased to announce SOS Alberta will be presenting the Canadian premiere of the award winning documentary film Backpack Full of Cash

“Narrated by Matt Damon, this feature-length documentary explores the growing privatization of public schools and the resulting impact on America’s most vulnerable children. Filmed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville and other cities, it takes viewers through the tumultuous 2013-14 school year, exposing the world of education “reform” where public education – starved of resources- hangs in the balance. ​”

We will be screening the film in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Red Deer. At each screening we will host a Q & A panel discussion. In Calgary we are very excited to announce that the producers of the film, Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow will attend and be part of the discussions after the film.

Tickets for Calgary and Edmonton screenings are  now available on Eventbrite at the links below

Calgary Thursday May 25, 7:00pm at the Globe Cinema

Edmonton Saturday May 27, 7:00pm at the Art Gallery of Alberta: Ledcor Theare

Lethbridge Sunday May 28, 7:00pm at Sterndale Bennett Theatre

Red Deer Thursday June 1, 7:00pm at Welikoklad Centre Screening Room

At SOS Alberta we support GSAs. We support the right of students to form GSAs in their schools. Its the law and GSAs help create a positive school culture. GSAs are about community building and supporting kids. We also agree that parents do not need to be informed when their child has joined a GSA at their school. GSAs are social clubs akin to leadership club or amnesty international club or even a book club. Parents are not being excluded. Parents are a valuable part of the school community and there are many ways for parents to be involved. If parents want to know what is happening at their kid’s school there are many ways to find out. Talk to your kids, your relationship with your child will be the best measure of what they disclose to you. Talk to your school’s principal if you have questions about the school or board policies. Join your school council, get involved. If you have questions about GSAs and why privacy is an issue there are many great resources available. We have started to compile some here: GSA Resources. Take the time to listen to the voices of people who are involved in GSAs.

Show your support for students and GSAs by wearing one of our buttons. If you would like to order buttons use the order form at the top of the sidebar.

How does under-resourcing of our public education system manifest in the day to day experiences of Alberta students and families? We hear often from students and parents about their school experiences, navigating the process of addressing special needs, learning challenges and inclusion. One of our supporters has kindly shared with us her daughter’s and her family’s experience navigating ‘the system’.

In the fall of 2016 we launched the first annual Support Our Students Alberta Survey of Alberta Schools. A survey was sent to every school in the province that receives public funds and today we are pleased to present our report, Levelling the Playing Field: A Comprehensive Resource Audit of Alberta Schools, full report available to download below.

Special thanks goes to all the school administrators who took the time to complete the survey, we look forward to working with you again on this year’s survey! Sharing the voice of your school enhances our ability to advocate for Alberta students.

Three main themes emerged from our findings, specifically around health, specialization and fundraising. Some examples of our findings are:

Health:

• 58% of respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school
• 36% of urban respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school
• 71% of rural respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school

Specialization:

• 70% of respondents reported NO Teacher Librarian in their schools
• 45% of respondents reported NO Physical Education Teachers in their schools
• 95% of respondents reported NO Health Teachers in their schools
• 52% of respondents reported NO Special Education Teachers in their schools

Fundraising:

• 13% of urban respondents indicated raising more than $50,000
• 4% of rural respondents indicated raising more than $50,000

“More kids are coming to school with ADHD, diagnosed and not yet diagnosed, anxiety disorders, psychological effects from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, trauma, and other family issues. Kids are exposed to, and are even doing, drugs at an alarming rate. Kids are suicidal and self-harming. We have a FSLC come 1 a week. Easily half the kids that need to be seen are not because of time restraints. We could easily employ a counselor 2-3 days per week. Yet, Educational Assistants are being cut back more and more; FSLC time is being cut back – FSLC’s are burning out because of the pressure they feel of not having enough time to help all these kids; kids are falling through the cracks; teachers are expected to do more and more all the time. No longer do they simply teach, they are EA’s, behavior specialists, learning support/resource teachers, counselors, psychologists, and life coaches. Often this is not only for the kids, but their parents as well. And we are surprised (well really we aren’t) when kids are unable to engage enough to learn. It is impossible to care about reading and math if a child just saw his mom get high before he left for school; or maybe she didn’t have any dinner or breakfast, and has nothing packed for lunch; or maybe he was punched by his step-dad walking out the door. I have parents coming to me in tears not sure how they are going to feed their kids, or clothe them for winter, let alone put a present under the tree for them at Christmas. I vent, but kids are dealing with more and more, but are receiving less and less help.”  -Principal (International Border Region)

One of our supporters has kindly shared with us her thoughts about school choice and we are happy to share it with everyone here. We welcome all participation and if you have any thoughts about education issues you would like share with us we would love to share your voice too.

I’ve been advocating for a more equitable education system for a couple years now. Although I do the best that I can with what I have at the moment, I’m not ashamed to say that most of the advocating I do is as a keyboard warrior. The debate rages online between those who believe in complete and robust funding of public schools and those who would see us use a voucher (money follows the student) system. I firmly disagree with the voucher system and I’d like to explain why.

Contrary to what many might expect my objection is not grounded in its fiscal wastefulness. There are others who do object on that basis and they’ve done a marvelous job of articulating why. If you are a fiscal conservative, which I am not, I imagine you’d find these arguments somewhat compelling and I would urge you to explore them starting with the always expressive Luke Fevin: https://twitter.com/according2luke?lang=en https://www.facebook.com/according2luke/

My support of fully funding public schools comes from two major places: 1) the observation that public education has made more strides towards alleviating poverty than perhaps any other initiative in the history of human existence, and 2) the fact that public funds belong to the public. I’m not going to take the time to explore the first assertion here other than to direct those who object to the myriad of research on the subject:

Today, I’m taking the time to defend the second statement. Public funds belong to the public.

“My tax dollars……….” Insert whatever follow up you’d like there.  We’ve all heard it; it’s not an unfair turn of phrase. Every citizen is entitled to transparency and accountability from the public servants charged with allocating the money they’ve contributed to the public purse. But “my tax dollars” does not equal “my portion of public money” and unfortunately, too many people believe that it does.

The entire purpose of collecting taxes is that when people act as a collective, services are cheaper and more accessible to everyone. If everyone who is entitled to those services were to start demanding “their portion” of the monies that fund those services, everyone would lose the advantages of lower cost and access. And the withdrawal of those funds would be detrimental to those who lack the resources to compensate an underfunded system. Let’s think of this in terms of public libraries.

It’s been years since I checked a book out of a public library. Why? It’s just more convenient for me to buy them. There’s no time limit on reading them. I don’t have to wait in case my local library has to borrow it, and in the end, I get to keep my copy forever. I read a lot and I don’t use my local public library. But my tax dollars do fund my local library. Is this an injustice? Shouldn’t the tax dollars that I contribute follow the user and instead of funding a resource I don’t use, fund my own personal library instead? Of course not! First of all, I doubt that the tax dollars I contribute towards public libraries would even cover the cost of the next Song of Ice and Fire novel, even if it does take George RR Martin ten years to write it (har har, I’m so passive aggressive, but seriously dude, hurry up already). But even if they did, losing the tax dollar contributions of every tax payer who doesn’t use the public library would result in the closure of every public library. The entire purpose of coming together as a collective would be defeated and the only people with access to literature would be those who could afford to buy books. The same goes for the education system.

Here in Alberta, money is generally distributed to schools based on enrollment, but we do it that way because it’s a convenient and generally accurate way of determining need, not because those funds actually belong to the individual students. So when the parents’ choice crowd and other people who advocate a voucher system talk about “their child’s portion”, they’re talking about money that doesn’t actually exist. It’s not their child’s portion. It’s not my child’s portion. It’s public money that is supposed to be funding a public system that is accessible to the public. People are free to withdrawal from that system, just like I’m free to not use my public library, but they don’t get to take public money with them when they leave. It’s not theirs to take.

There are all kinds of reasons that parents may choose to not make use of the public system, but it is always available to them. Those who would look elsewhere need to take responsibility for their choice and fund it out of their own pocket, not from the public purse. And no, you don’t then get to exempt yourself from funding the public purse either. We all reap the benefits of public education merely by being surrounded by a knowledgeable population. That benefit is our collective responsibility to pay for, whether or not you attended a public school and whether or not you have children attending a public school.

Public education has been one of humanity’s greatest inventions. The positive impact of it is immeasurable and cannot be overstated. If we want to continue our upward trajectory out of poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance, we cannot allow individuals to chip away at this magnificent edifice, no matter how well intentioned they may be. Public money belongs to the public, not to individuals, which is why I do not support the voucher system.

M.