CALGARY (660 NEWS) — “A completely inaccurate speculation.”
Those words coming from Alberta’s Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on Tuesday in regards to reports of the Northwest Territories straying away from the use of Alberta’s curriculum.
The reports surfacing Tuesday morning from the CBC said the Northwest Territories was exploring other curriculums from other provinces, as a five year agreement between our two provinces comes to an end in September.
As of now, the Northwest Territories hasn’t made any decisions on what it will do going forward.
“During this review, they are looking at a number of provinces including Alberta,” said LaGrange.
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Lots has changed with school curriculums across Western Canada, which will play a factor in the direction the NWT will choose to go, so what’s being taught falls in line with the Territories priorities and values.
Some of those changes include historical information that wasn’t taught in schools until recently.
“During our discussion, I spoke with the (Education Minister R.J. Simpson) about the progress we’ve made in the curriculum development process,” said LaGrange. “He was very pleased with our commitment to addressing key principles of reconciliation and First Nations in our draft curriculum.”
Draft proposals from the new Alberta curriculum have received criticism, particularly around how Indigenous issues may be handled in classrooms.
LaGrange said that the new curriculum will be released in the coming months, and at that time there will be a chance for Albertans to provide feedback.
“The future curriculum will include a broad inclusive account of history including Black history and Indigenous history,” said LaGrange.
A statement from the Northwest Territories’ Department of Education, Culture, and Employment said no decisions have been made and exploring other options that are available is a normal part of their process.
The Northwest Territories has used Alberta’s curriculum for many years, especially for high school grades, and they also get insight from other western provinces to supplement their own classroom plans.
