The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will begin to implement several long-term recommendations put forward by the executive steering committee to improve the anglophone education sector.
"Building a better education system is our goal," said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. "These recommendations will build on the short-term actions we announced in July that are having a positive impact in our schools."
The committee, in a public report, provided recommendations to create environments where students thrive and focus on learning; to engage communities; and to ensure the right expertise is in each classroom.
In response, the department will develop implementation plans and an accountability framework for the following actions by March 31, 2024:
- To allow school districts to have a consistent approach on the importance of attendance, a provincewide action plan will be established, with the goal of improving regular student attendance and recommitting to a provincial culture of learning.
- To provide adequate levels of support to all students and balance classrooms, the department will work to develop a new classroom composition model and determine a reasonable timeline to implement an improved, inclusive and equitable system.
- To better support students and facilitate more personalized learning, advancements in technology will be explored to determine how they can be incorporated responsibly in classrooms.
- To improve academic engagement, achievement and well-being, a focus will be placed on middle school learners aged 11-14 by working to identify actions and programs.
- To strengthen French-language learning, course offerings and learning opportunities will be expanded for high school students and rural students. The department will also explore the possibility for students to enter French immersion with greater flexibility based on readiness.
- To promote the value of physical and outdoor education, solutions will be developed to ensure students in kindergarten to Grade 8 are getting 30 minutes of physical education daily, in addition to outdoor education opportunities.
- To assist children in French-language learning, the Centre of Excellence for Language Learning will develop a communication and support plan specifically for families and communities.
- To increase the number of qualified teachers and specialized health services professionals in the anglophone education system, the department will work with school districts and partners to develop and implement a comprehensive retention and recruitment strategy.
- To support the changing needs of students, educational assistants will be provided with more opportunities for training, development and collaboration with teachers.
- To ensure those teaching language arts to emerging readers have a solid grasp on assessment and instruction of early reading skills, specific training and the necessary onboarding will be made available for teachers at all levels of experience.
- To improve inclusion, professional learning (resources, strategies and interventions) will be developed and be accessible for educators to best support each learner in English prime and French-language classrooms.
"Our primary goal through these long-term actions is to create an inclusive, equitable and innovative education system that empowers every learner to reach their full potential," said Hogan. "At the same time, we want to encourage a lifelong love for learning and prepare learners to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. These actions will be the foundation for positive change in the anglophone education system and will benefit students, educators and families."
Formed in April, the executive steering committee is composed of educators, students, the New Brunswick Teachers' Association and other key rights and stakeholder groups. The committee established two working groups: one focused on improving the English prime program and one focused on improving French-language learning.
From May to September, these groups engaged with education partners through virtual and in-person sessions and submitted recommendations to the committee. Feedback was also received from more than 3,000 New Brunswickers through an online survey.
"Teachers look forward to hearing the details of this commitment from the government to strengthen public education in New Brunswick," said Ardith Shirley, executive director of the New Brunswick Teachers' Association. "We appreciate the efforts of all committee members to date, and through this engagement, a clear path forward has been set. We look forward to the implementation plans and government funding for all of these recommendations."
The government announced in July it would implement eight actions in response to the committee's report on near-term recommendations.
