The evolution of professionalism - Centre for Policy Studies in ...

• Develop and implement comprehensive professional development plans
for every school jurisdiction and every school (at the end of 2003, this
recommendation was still under review by the Ministry);
• Require all teachers to have targeted annual professional development
plans that are directly linked to their schools’ improvement plans;
• Ensure that policies and regulations on supervising and evaluating teachers
are well understood and effectively implemented;
• Replace the current board of reference process with an arbitration process that
is consistent with models in place for employees who have the right to bargain
collectively in the province (at the end of 2003, this recommendation was still
under review by the Ministry);
• Develop a quality practice standard and identify the knowledge, skills and
attributes required for principals;
• Establish a new program to prepare and certify principals;
• Establish a Council of Education Executives to provide certifi cation,
ongoing support and professional development for principals and assistant
principals;
• Develop a comprehensive, targeted program for preparing superintendents
and provide ongoing professional development to support them;
• Remove the current requirement for the appointment of superintendents
to be approved by the Minister of Learning (at the end of 2003, this
recommendation was still under review by the Ministry).
• Reinforce the role of school councils and require principals to
actively engage parents in school improvements planning (Report and
Recommendations, Alberta’s Commission on Learning, 2003).
Further recommendations have been made regarding funding and fi scal
accountability, the most signifi cant being a new funding framework. Due to a
budget shortfall in the year 2002-03, the Commission on Learning recommended
a renewed funding framework for the 2004-05 budget. $46 million is required to
implement the new framework, which provides school boards with more fl exibility
and will allow for the redistribution of funds on an equal per-student basis, but with
the proviso that the additional requirements and needs of individual school boards
be assessed. For example, the Commission noted that support should be provided
to children with diverse languages and cultures, including ESL, francophone,
First Nations, and Métis students. Higher proportions of these students, as well as
students with special needs, will receive funds in addition to base funding amounts.
A series of recommendations, Success for Every Child, also addressed Aboriginal
Education, students with special needs, and English as a second language.
Other recommendations regarding funding and the fi scal framework include:
• That the provincial government exercise fewer controls over school
boards’ use of funds, provided that boards meet new accountability
standards and teachers and parents play a role in how boards set their
funding priorities;
• That provincial policies prohibit fees to cover the costs of basic education
items, detail the charges that can be levied, set caps on school fees, and
allow reasonable fees for extracurricular activities;
42 Section 1: The West