Fact Sheets

Facts on Alberta's World Class Learning System

facts

  

on Alberta's World Class Learning System

Alberta has almost 600,000 Kindergarten through Grade 12 students, an increase of approximately 4.3 per cent over the last decade, mostly in high growth areas. Alberta invests about $31.7 million on Kindergarten to Grade 12 for each day that students are in school.

Alberta’s high school completion rate is increasing, with 79.5% of students now completing high school within five years of entering Grade 10, an increase in eligibility for Rutherford Scholarships at Grade 12, and significant levels of community satisfaction with the school system.

Alberta provides the widest range of language programming choice of all Canadian provinces.  In addition to French, Alberta schools may choose to provide instruction in: Blackfoot, Cree, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Punjabi, Spanish and Ukrainian. Locally developed language programs include: Arabic, American Sign Language, Dené, Filipino, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Nakoda, Polish, Russian, Saulteaux, Swedish, Tsuu T'ina, and Vietnamese.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 - Highlights

When it comes to selecting a school, parents and students can choose from a wide range of options. They can select from public schools, Catholic schools, Francophone schools, private schools, and charter schools. They can also access a number of unique and innovative programs - including home education, online/virtual schools, outreach programs and alternative programs.

Over 36,000 active certificated teaching personnel are employed by Alberta's K-12 education system.

Unique to the province, the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement supports local projects that help improve student learning and performance with themes such as encouraging high school completion and enhancing literacy and numeracy skills

Students across the province are benefiting from better knowledge in their schools about severe allergies.  Resources provided to all schools by the Alberta government are increasing awareness among educators and caregivers about allergy causes, effects and treatments.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 - Curriculum

Alberta's curriculum is developed to ensure that it meets the needs of Alberta students, now and in the future. Teachers play an important role in developing curriculum and learning and teaching resources, and the majority of textbooks and other teaching resources used in Alberta schools are developed in Canada.

The vision of the student with the backpack is changing.  In today’s classrooms, learning resources are diverse, accessible and interactive.  While textbooks are often the traditional learning resource of choice of teachers and parents alike, classrooms in Alberta now provide students and teachers with strong technology supports to enhance the teaching and learning experience.  Alberta Education’s website //resources.aspx provides access to a wealth of resources for students, teachers and parents. Here is a short preview list:

All publicly funded school jurisdictions in Alberta have videoconferencing capabilities and Alberta is emerging as a leader in using this technology in teaching and learning.

Ongoing support, totaling $36 million, is included in the budget for technology enhancement and support for things such as video-conferencing, high speed Internet connections, and online learning and teaching resources for students and teachers.

Several countries around the world, including China, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and Thailand, have expressed interest in Alberta's curriculum. Groups of educators and delegations from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and South Africa have also visited Alberta to study our education system first hand.