An Open Letter to the Minister of Education

Dear Hon. Adriana Lagrange, Minister of Education,

Recently you have made public comments, including on the Danielle Smith Show (December 17, 2019), that Support Our Students Alberta has not sought a meeting with you like other groups have. Presumably, you hope to undermine the concerns of Albertans by suggesting that their concerns are illegitimate without a closed-door meeting. 

Our answer is simple: we are public education advocates who advocate in public; we have nothing further to present in secret, closed door meetings. Our position is transparent to all Albertans in the “10 Strategies for Equitable Public Education” which is available on our website. We have included it again here for your convenience. 

It is true that we have not requested a meeting with you, nor have we requested a meeting with a sitting Minister of Education for the previous three years. We would like to clarify that Support Our Students Alberta is not a lobby group, we are a citizens action group. Our goal is to inform, organize and equip Albertans so that if and when they decide to meet with you, their MLA, their trustee or their school staff, they are well informed on what universal, equitable and accessible public education means for Albertans.

If you do feel your policy position could be influenced from hearing the voices of concerned Albertans directly, we urge you to listen to the over 5,600 Albertans who have written letters to you through our letter-writing campaign. The vast majority have not heard a response from you or their MLA’s. Many have requested meetings to no avail; those few who have met with MLA’s have been met with indifference. We yield to them, Minister. 

10 Strategies to Achieve Equitable Public Education

• We would like the Alberta Government to redefine and recommit the government’s responsibility to a more equitable public education system for all Alberta students.
• Make high quality early childhood education universal and accessible, levelling the playing field and closing the achievement gap for underprivileged children.
• Build schools as community engagement centres, comprehensive facilities where children and citizens can participate physically, intellectually and civically.
• Eliminate ALL barriers including all school-related fees (including, but not limited to, instructional materials, bussing, lunch supervision) and application procedures.
• All schools should have a full, inclusive, and balanced curriculum including but not limited to arts, music, science, history, language arts, additional languages, mathematics, and physical education.
• Reduce class sizes to bring them in line with the recommendations in the Alberta Learning Commission report of 2003 & provide adequate supports for classroom complexity.
• Integrate charter schools into the public system, eliminating all fees and ability to deny access.
• Provide integrated services for students, including medical and social services that help children keep up with advantaged peers.  One in six Alberta children live in poverty.
• Reduce emphasis on high stakes standardized testing. Provide alternative and more comprehensive criteria for measuring student success.
• Return to specialization for teachers at all grade levels.
• Recognize that public education is a public responsibility not a consumer good.  Its quality and accessibility should be equitable across the province.

If you require further information please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 
In the meantime, we will continue our work equipping Albertans and advocating for public education.

Team SOS Alberta