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The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) saw many encouraging signs for education during Premier Scott Moe’s Speech from the Throne on Nov. 25.
During the address, Moe said not enough was being done to support children in classrooms and announced the expansion of the Specialized Support Classroom Program from the current eight schools to 200.
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“The fact that they were talking about education as a priority is one of the most promising things,” said STF President Samantha Becotte.
She said the speech gave the teacher’s union hope about its ability to work with the province going forward in actualizing the government’s commitment.
However, Becotte said teachers still have a few questions about other measures the STF has advocated for, like integrating more mental health counsellors, speech language pathologists, and educational psychologists to help deal with classroom complexity issues.
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)
Becotte said classroom complexity was one of the STF’s three main priorities ahead of the provincial election, along with increased funding and a solution to classroom violence.
The provincial government has committed to increasing funding for school divisions, and also to providing funding for 12,000 new child-care spaces.
It also committed to improving the reading levels of kids from Kindergarten to Grade 3, which Becotte said was important for student success.
Becotte expressed some disappointment, however, in not hearing the premier directly address classroom violence in the speech.
“I know we can’t likely prevent all of them (incidents of violence), but we need to focus on that as a priority,” she said.
New Education Minister Everett Hindley said he would consult with the STF and school divisions to discuss and address their needs on a continuous basis.
“That’s part of the important engagement piece that I’m looking forward to on this file,” Hindley said.
“To make sure that we’re talking to those on the front line — talking to the teachers, talking to the support staff, to the school boards as well, and everyone that’s involved in the education sector to make sure that we’re doing it as much as we possibly can to support them so that, in turn, that they are able to provide students with the best pathway to success in their in their education.”
Hindley agreed that Grade 3 reading levels are a significant predictor of future academic success.
“You’ve probably heard the phrase (mentioned) by the premier and others that we’re really trying to focus on helping kids learn to read so that they can then — at that stage — read to learn,” he said.
“We want to ensure that the students right across Saskatchewan, regardless of where they live — if it’s in a school in Regina or Saskatoon, or perhaps it’s a rural community or in a remote northern community in this province — that kids right across Saskatchewan, particularly in that K-3 age, have every opportunity to succeed.”
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