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Welcome & Who We Are

Presenter:

Kristi Kraychy

Kristi Kraychy was the Head of School at an accredited independent school called the Calgary Changemaker School and of the sister entity, Changemaker Workshops. She is also founder of the Calgary Changemakers in Education Society which is a not-for-profit, registered charity working to redefine learning and educational excellence for a modern world.

The information presented herein is intended for guidance purposes only and, while every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, it may contain errors or inaccuracies. Users should verify any information before relying on it for any critical decisions or actions.

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Defining School Systems

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Categories of School Systems in Alberta

Public
Separate (Catholic)
Charter
Independent/Private
Homeschooling

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Public Schools

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Types of Public Schools

Public School Includes:

Designated neighbourhood public school.

Francophone, Heritage Language or French Immersion public schools or programs
Alternative programs with a public school board
Online school through a public school board

Separate School (Catholic Public System)

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Public Neighbourhood Schools

Public Schools are K-12 schools that are fully funded by the taxpayer and government.

Some small fees may still apply and varies from school to school.

Must accept all students who are Alberta residents residing inside their designated boundaries.

May allow students outside of designated location boundaries to apply if there is space available.

Are operated by large school boards such as:

Calgary Board of Education (CBE): https://cbe.ab.ca/registration/registration/Pages/default.aspx

Governs/operates all neighbourhood public schools within Calgary city limits.
Largest school board in Alberta with 250 schools.

Rocky View Schools (RVS): https://www.rockyview.ab.ca/schools/registration

Governs/operates all neighbourhood public schools in rural areas surrounding Calgary including: Airdrie, Cochrane, Bragg Creek, Springbank & Chestermere.
5th largest school division in Alberta with 53 schools.

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Alternative Public Schools

An alternative public education program emphasizes a specialized language, subject matter or a teaching philosophy.

Calgary Board of Education currently offers French, Spanish, Mandarin and German alternative schools as well as many French Immersion programs within their neighbourhood public schools.
OTHER EXAMPLES:

Louis Riel School - Alternative K-9 focused on Science in CBE

Alternative High School (ALTI) - Democratic Alternative High School in CBE

Applications/expression of interest forms are required and transportation options vary.

cbe.ab.ca/registration/registration/Pages/alternative-programs.aspx

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Public Separate (Catholic) Schools

“We educate and empower students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 through our mission of Living and Learning in our Catholic Faith so that students, centred in Christ, realize their full potential. We are one of the largest school districts in Alberta, serving just under 60,000 students in 117 schools located in Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere and Rocky View County.”

www.cssd.ab.ca/about

The student or one parent is typically required to have a Catholic baptismal certificate for acceptance but, if there is space, the separate board will also accept some non-Catholic students (up to the discretion of the individual schools and principals).

Like neighbourhood public schools, public Catholic schools are fully funded by the Province and do not charge tuition but may charge some small fees.

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Charter Schools

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Charter Schools

Charter schools are non-profit, publicly-funded schools in Alberta with a speciality offering.

Founded by individuals or small groups who successfully met the requirements of their charter application with Alberta Education.
Charter schools in Alberta have their own independent Board of Directors, their own superintendent and their own administrative team. (They are not connected to any of the large public school Boards).
Accountable to Alberta Education, must follow the Alberta curriculum, have certified teachers/principal and are heavily audited annually.
Costs:

Charter schools are not allowed to charge tuition and receive the majority of their funding from the government/taxpayers and school community fundraising efforts.
Are allowed to charge extra fees for certain co-curricular programs, clubs, field trips, extra-curricular activities, uniforms, and transportation.

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Charter Schools

Follow the Alberta Curriculum (Program of Studies) in a unique way that aligns with their charter.
Unique Charter: Each school has a distinct focus outlined in their charter that is not already offered by other public schools in the same division, for example:

Special Populations: E.g., Westmount Charter School for gifted learners, Calgary Girls School Charter for girls.
Unique Learning Approaches: E.g., Connect Charter for a focus on inquiry learning, technology and outdoor education.
Speciality Skills: E.g., Calgary Arts Academy Charter (fine arts focus), STEAM Innovation Academy Charter (science and technology focus).

Policy Update: Previously capped at 13 schools province-wide, the limit has now been lifted and many new charter schools have emerged since 2020.

Source: www.alberta.ca/public-charter-schools.aspx

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Independent/Private Schools

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Independent/Private Schools

Two types:

Registered & Accredited

Private & Independent schools in Alberta are the same thing. There are two types of private/independent schools in Alberta:

REGISTERED

ACCREDITED

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Registered Independent/Private Schools

A school may become a Registered independent/private school if it meets the following conditions:

The operator has registered with the minister.
The operator’s building meets local and provincial standards for health and safety.
Parents are informed that their children may not be placed in the same grade level if they transfer to another school or return to the public school system.

Registered independent/private schools are different than other schools because:

Staff do not have to be certified educators and are not monitored (could simply be parents, faith leaders, or community members).
Teachers are not able to be evaluated to receive permanent certification and work does not count towards years of experience on school salary pay grids. Pay is up to the discretion of the employer.
The Alberta curriculum/program of studies does not have to be followed.
Financial audits are not required and these schools are not eligible for taxpayer dollars (government funding).
Often these schools are tied to religious institutions that support financially. Otherwise, they must charge tuition and find alternate, private sources of revenue for operations. Sometimes, these schools operate more like an independently owned, for-profit business. Costs vary widely.

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Accredited Private/Independent Schools

A school may become an Accredited independent/private school if it meets the following conditions:

Register with the minister with the intention to become accredited and begin the 1-2 year process.
The school must meet all local and provincial health, safety and building standards.
The curriculum (program of studies) must be approved by the Minister. Typically an accredited school must be aligned with the Alberta Program of Studies (Alberta standard curriculum) - but not always if they can prove their curriculum meets or exceeds the Alberta standards.
The school’s student population must meet minimum numbers.
All lead teachers and principals must be Alberta-certified educators with vulnerable sector/criminal record checks that are monitored by Alberta Education.
Teachers can be evaluated and earn their permanent certification while working in an accredited school. Years of experience counts towards their pay grid with other accredited schools and the public system.
The school must be governed by a not-for-profit organization with an independent Board of Directors that is accountable to Alberta Education. Some are also registered charities, but this is not a requirement.

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Accredited Private/Independent Schools

After their second year of operation, accredited private schools may be eligible for partial provincial funding based on their student enrolment projections each year as long as they continue to meet all the Alberta Education requirements.
Private schools do not receive government funding for capital costs, their facilities/building or staff benefit programs.
As a result, private schools are allowed to set their own tuition and fees as needed each year. Many are registered charities.
Accredited private schools are heavily audited annually by Alberta Education through a third-party government-approved auditor and must demonstrate that they are using funds responsibly and as intended.
Can be faith-focused or secular.
Can offer unique specialized programming and/or university preparation.
Can apply to become a Designated Special Education Program Private School (DSEPS) if 100% of their students in the DSEP have a documented special need that requires additional special education funding.

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Private/Independent Schools

AISCA serves as a school network and support system, a professional development provider, and advocates for accredited K-12 independent schools in Alberta. Over 90% of all accredited independent schools in the province are voluntary members of AISCA.

VIDEO BY AISCA:

Alberta’s Private Schools serve the Public Good

Member School Search Tool through AISCA:

www.educatedchoices.ca

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Homeschooling

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Homeschooling

Home education has rapidly grown in popularity since the pandemic. Traditional homeschooling is a parent-directed approach to educating a student in Grades 1 to 12 at home (or out in the world) in which the parents are responsible for making most educational decisions for their child.

Types of Homeschooling:

Supervised

Unsupervised (new as of September 2020)

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Homeschooling

In Alberta, school/education is mandatory for all children ages 6-16 and must be registered as students with the government annually by the age of 6 until they turn 17.

Homeschoolers may register through one of the following options each year:

Directly with the Minister (unsupervised, fully parent-led, no support).
Through a homeschooling board or school (varying degrees of support and supervision).
With a hybrid, blend-ed, or online program (higher levels of support and supervision, some subjects will be teacher-directed).

Homeschooling can be unfunded or partially-funded, with some funds going directly to the family and other funds going to the supervising homeschool board depending how you register.

Parent-led homeschooling leaves reporting, assessment, curriculum, scheduling of activities and programming up to the parent.

There are varying levels of funding, support and monitoring if you register through an approved supervising homeschool board or school. When you register directly with the minister, the parent is fully responsible for their child’s education and there is no funding or monitoring.

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Homeschooling

When we think of homeschooling we used to think of this:

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Homeschooling

…and now this…

Confusion Points:

“Pandemic At-Home Learning” during the COVID-19 Pandemic was an emergency and temporary shift from classroom learning to online learning at home. This is not the same as homeschooling.

There are now full-time online schools that are fully directed and supported by an Alberta public or accredited private school with a certified teacher. This is not considered homeschooling.

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Homeschooling

…but it can also look like this (the options are endless):

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Homeschooling: Options

Parent-directed homeschooling CAN INCLUDE:

Private or group lessons, sports teams, fine arts programs, online courses and recreational programs that are offered through the homeschool board or anywhere you choose.
Learning from extended family, friends or hired caregivers.
Hybrid or Blend-Ed programs that offer part-time options.

Parent-directed homeschooling MIGHT ALSO LOOK LIKE:

Unschooling, de-schooling and travel-schooling.
Homeschool “pods” and “co-operatives”.
Private tutors.

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Homeschooling: Options

HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR HOMESCHOOLERS:

Alberta Home School Boards

Home education | Alberta.ca

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Rights, Responsibilities & Law

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Legal Age of Mandatory Schooling

Mandatory schooling for children in Alberta begins when they are six through to age sixteen.

All Alberta parents are legally required to register their children with a school, school authority, or directly with the Minister of Education (if choosing unsupervised homeschooling) by the age of 6 with confirmed regular attendance through to age 16.

Preschool and Kindergarten are optional in Alberta.

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Education Act

The Education Act specifies goals for Alberta’s Early Childhood Services (ECS) to Grade 12 education system and identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Ministry, school boards, charter schools, private schools, teachers, parents and students. The updated Education Act came into force on September 1, 2019.

https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/e00p3.pdf

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Programming Considerations

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How to choose a school:

1. Look Beyond Rankings: Selecting the right school for your child goes far beyond academic school rankings, which often hinge solely on a single annual provincial standardized test (PAT scores). The ideal school should resonate with your family's core values and foster an environment conducive to your child's all-around growth. Read their websites and social media pages carefully, attend open houses, ask lots of questions and be respectfully curious.

2. Aim for a Good Match, not a Perfect Match: No school will tick every box for every family. The rule of thumb is that a school should align with about 75%-80% of your values and priorities to be a good fit for your family.

3. Consider the Community: Regardless of the school you choose, the school community (staff, admin, other parents and peers) will play a role in your child's development, not just academically but also socially and emotionally. Choose a nurturing environment where your child can feel safe, valued, and motivated to learn and grow.

4. Acknowledge Individual Needs: Each child's requirements are unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Be open to the idea that even siblings sometimes thrive in different educational settings. Also, what works for one child at a certain age may not be ideal as they progress to higher grades or discover that they have learning differences or neuro-differences. The transition from elementary to junior high, for example, brings significant changes in interests and learning styles and might necessitate a reevaluation of the school's fit to ensure it continues to meet your child and family’s evolving needs.

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Browse Calgary Private Schools at:

AISCA MEMBERS

www.educatedchoices.ca

Ourkids.net

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