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Kathy Glasgo
1 The current government has created uncertainty in Catholic education and I hope to be
an advocate in this regard for faith based choice in education, going forward. I want to be an advocate for compassion based education policy within our school district. Base instruction funding is for students, Kindergarten to Grade 9; they are currently funded on a per-student basis. The constitutionally provided mandate of a separate school jurisdiction and of a separate school is to provide education in a school setting that the separate school board considers reflective of Roman Catholic (or, rarely, Protestant) theology, doctrine, and practices. I believe parents have the right to choose where their child attends, Separate or Public. I believe the money should follow the child. Many non-Catholic parents wish their child to be in a school that teaches faith and respect for all religions.
2
The mandate of all schools will manifest itself in the Program of Studies and the curriculum, exercises and practices, and staffing. The limits of this mandate are determined by the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and judicial decisions.
When reviewing provincial statistics in Elementary and High School scores, of all Medicine Hat Schools, on standardized testing there seems to have equal distribution in standings. Some Catholic schools are higher and some Public schools score higher, especially at the elementary level. I believe we already have the right balance.
In my experience, providing faith-based education was a giſt and faith gave my teaching a deeper perspective into issues. I was always open to discussion on areas of faith when students had questions. I taught children of varying religions at the high school level and always found it valuable when they shared their faith in class.
3
I have worked in three of the Catholic Elementary schools in Medicine Hat and each had a very nutritious breakfast program, long before the NDP government provided any funds for this. I believe if they stopped this funding we would return to the generosity of the community, which is amazing in helping, and parent councils and volunteers.
The backbone of Catholic Social Teaching is to look aſter the poor and this would continue. This is a mandate of Pope Francis to encounter the poor as part of the New Evangelization, what better way than providing nutrition to kids coming to school hungry. This program is for all students and many partake of this just because they like it, they may have already had breakfast, and that is OK.
3 2
Peter Grad
1 I question the motives of “other publicly funded boards” who say they want to “do what's
best for kids” then applaud the elimination of choice for Alberta's families. It smacks of doing what's best for boards. Parents must be allowed to choose which school will serve their children best. Choices in Alberta is what has made its school system excellent. Eliminating choice diminishes educational quality.
However, if the funding were eliminated, assistance for Catholic children who attend public schools would also need to be removed. Perhaps it would be a zero balance exercise. However, if non-Catholic students wished to continue, there would need to be fees charged.
"Toonies for Tuition" is a charity which exists to help Catholic students attend Catholic schools where they are not funded. Maybe a tuition charity could be set up to help non- Catholic students attend Catholic schools if it is still their choice.
If there is a balance to be achieved, it is already accomplished. While there are religion classes scheduled, Gospel teachings infuse our schools during classes and all levels of activity. Gospel values are lived and taught via prayer, song, symbolism and example. The curricular needs are taught in the flow of our faith life. The whole child is taught: body, mind and spirit.
Meanwhile, thanks to staff and students, achievement results have been excellent at our schools exhibiting ever elevating "Accountability Pillar" results in the past 10 years.
The board has had nutrition programs in the past. The NDP nutrition program regulations stipulated that ALL students in the funded school would be fed. If the funding is eliminated, rather than feeding all students, we would need to identify those students in most need. Only those would participate. Continuing to develop partnerships with business and charity would allow us to help even more kids.
NDP funded $250K for jurisdictions that they chose to pilot the program. They received $250K in the second year while other boards who joined in on the second year received only $125K. Had they not specified that ALL children would receive nutrition, we could have helped more children who actually needed the help.
ON OCTOBER 16, 2017 VOTE FOR YOUR MEDICINE HAT CATHOLIC BOARD OF EDUCATION TRUSTEES
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