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Levelling the Playing Field: A Comprehensive Resource Audit of Alberta Schools Support Our Students Alberta Foundation

Support Our Students Alberta Foundation !1

Support Our Students Alberta Foundation

SOS ALBERTA ANNUAL REPORT ON ALBERTA’S SCHOOLS RECEIVING PUBLIC FUNDS 2017

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Support Our Students Alberta survey was developed by Support Our Students Alberta Foundation with the support and collaboration of People for Education in Ontario, and in consultation with parents and educators across Alberta. Support Our Students Alberta Foundation owns the copyright on all intellectual property that is part of this project.

Use of any question contained in the survey or any of the intellectual property developed to support administration of the survey is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Support Our Students Alberta Foundation.

Questions about the use of intellectual property should be addressed to the Research Director, Support Our Students Alberta at [email protected]

Support Our Students Alberta Foundation is a registered non profit organization working to support public education in Alberta’s schools.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.supportourstudents.ca

DOCUMENT CITATION: These reports should be cited in the following manner: Levelling the Playing Field: A Comprehensive Resource Audit of Alberta Schools, Support Our Students Alberta Foundation (2017)

SOS AB: Alberta School Resource Audit 2017 !2

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.supportourstudents.ca


CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Survey Results: Quick Facts

Survey Trends: I. Health II. Specialization III. Fundraising

Conclusions

Participant Comments

Areas of Participation



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Support Our Students Alberta Foundation is supported by individual donors, organizations and the dedicated work of volunteers. Support Our Students Alberta also works collaboratively with organizations across the province and country. In particular a special thanks to People For Education who inspired us with their annual survey and ongoing advocacy.

This year, the first of it’s kind in Alberta, a survey asking about resource allocation in schools was sent to every principal across Alberta. Principals received a paper copy and an electronic copy of the survey.

Thank you to the volunteers and donors who generously gave their time and services to help put this survey together.

Most importantly, thank you to those who took the time to complete the survey and share their stories with us. We appreciate your participation!

Research Director: Elsa Campos, B.A., MSW, RSW Writers: Carolyn Blasetti, B.A., B.Ed Barbara Silva, B.Sc Chem Engg, B.Ed


http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/


INTRODUCTION: AUDITING FRONT LINE RESOURCES

The purpose of our survey is to measure how resources manifest on the front lines for Alberta children. While Alberta students continue to perform well on provincial and international standardized tests. Standardized tests provide a snapshot in time but do not really tell the ways in which we meet or fail to meet the day to day needs of students. Although Alberta's public education system is world renowned and highly regarded internationally, Alberta continues to have one of the lowest completion rates in the country. We are also faced with 1

ever increasing complex student needs. Equity of access to resources is a topic we often 2

discuss with students, parents, teachers, administrators and legislators. We hear about the disparity between schools in how schools are staffed, funded and access to programming and supports. The questions are often posed: Do Alberta students have equitable access to the resources they need to achieve a rich, diverse and robust education? Can we better meet the needs of the whole child by auditing what front line resources are accessible to children across the province?

Support Our Students Alberta (SOSAB) set out to find a way to answer these questions. Our purpose is to find alternative and more comprehensive measurements of school and student achievement by reducing the emphasis on standardized tests. And unlike the provincial Accountability Pillar survey and Annual Education Results Report, conducted by Alberta Education which is primarily for school board use, our survey and annual report aims to reach the general public, parents and policy makers in an alternative platform. 3

This year the province will spend 8 billion dollars to educate over 700,000 students across a wide range of settings: From small schools in remote rural locations to large schools in urban areas. Evidence shows a broadly based education with diverse opportunities for learning, 4

with equitable access to enriched programs increases chances for success. In order to 5

provide all students with access to a wide range of learning opportunities, regardless of the size of their schools or their location the province must work with schools boards and communities to ensure a consistent and equitable funding model is in place.

Statistics Canada; http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2010004/article/11360-eng.htm 1

Alberta Education; https://education.alberta.ca/diverse-learning-needs/special-education-statistics/everyone/2

students-with-special-education-needs/

Alberta Education; https://education.alberta.ca/accountability-pillar/about-the-pillar/ 3

Government of Alberta; finance.alberta.ca/publications/budget/budget2016/index.html 4

People for Education, Ontario (2014). Measuring What Matters: Beyond the 3 “R’s”.5


http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2010004/article/11360-eng.htm

https://education.alberta.ca/diverse-learning-needs/special-education-statistics/everyone/students-with-special-education-needs/



https://education.alberta.ca/accountability-pillar/about-the-pillar/


School Data: The data collected represents resources available to approximately 22,600 students across Alberta. Five percent of all schools responded. 86% were from the public system (including separate and francophone), 1% Charter school, and 13% Private school participation.

Urban and rural responses were categorized based on population, using 60,000 residents as a marker for differentiation. 34% respondents were classified as urban. 57% were classified as rural. School addresses have been removed and/or were not provided to maintain anonymity and keep responses private. Schools were asked for the first three characters of their postal code.

This survey has representation across all categories of school (private, charter, separate, francophone and public).

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SURVEY RESULTS - QUICKFACTS

Libraries/Learning Commons: ● 70% of respondents reported having no teacher librarians ● 64% of respondents reported having a library assistant, 76.6% of whom work less than 1.0 FTE

inside the responding school

Guidance/Resources Teacher: ● 53% of respondents do not have a guidance counsellor. Of those who do, 69% reported working

less than 1.0 FTE within the school represented ● 51% of respondents do not have a resource teacher. Of those who do, 42% reported working less

than 1.0 FTE within the school represented ● 68% of those working as a guidance counsellors do not have additional qualifications in guidance

and career education

Arts ● 37% of respondents did not identify having a specialist music teacher. Of those who do, 47% are

assigned less than 1.0 FTE in the school represented ● 69% of respondents did not identify having a specialist visual arts teacher. Of those who do, 74%

are assigned less than 1.0 FTE in the school represented ● 76% of respondents did not identify having a specialist drama teacher. Of those who do, 78% are

assigned less than 1.0 FTE in the school represented

Physical & Health Education: ● 45% of respondents reported no specialist physical education teacher. Of those who do, 42% are

assigned less than 1.0 FTE in the school represented ● 95% of respondents reported no specialist health teacher

Special Education: ● 52% of respondents reported no special education teacher. Of those who do, 49% are assigned

less than 1.0 FTE in the school represented ● 73% of respondents reported having specialist education assistants. ● 68% of those special education assistants reported not having any additional post secondary

qualification in special education

First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education: ● 81% of respondents provide professional development for staff around indigenous cultural topics ● 58% have had an indigenous guest speaker to their school ● 40.3% held consultations with Indigenous community members about education priorities

Fundraising: ● 81% of schools have clear guidelines for school fundraising ● 45% of respondents fundraise for learning resources ● 28.5% of schools will raise >$40,000 this school year



Survey Trends

I. HEALTH Mental illness is a major contributor to chronic disease and the Canadian Institute for Health Information has projected that mental illness will be among the leading causes of disability by 2030. Chronic disease currently represents 90% of the illness burden in Canada. We are 6 7

continuing to see a rise in mental health concerns among high school students. A British Columbia study of 15,000 Grade 7 to 12 students found 16% of students had seriously contemplated suicide and 7% had attempted suicide. The Canadian Mental Health 8

Association reports approximately 5% of males and 12% of females aged 12 to 19 have experienced a major depressive episode. It’s hard to get a precise read on how anxiety levels are changing for high school students in Alberta, but in a study that looked at worldwide anxiety levels, North American students were found to be a population experiencing one of the steepest rises of anxiety. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, mental health disorders in youth are ranked as the second-highest hospital care expenditure in Canada, surpassed only by injuries. 9

Efforts to support early intervention strategies such as knowledge and skill building for healthy living, including building strong curriculum for overall wellness, is the single most effective way to support wellbeing and reduce future health risks and costs. 10

In this section of the survey, we asked questions specific to the resources available that support health needs including; mental health specialists, nurses and other professionals working to support physical, mental health and healthy development in children. The areas showing the lowest available supports include resources for; psychologist, nurse, social worker and child/youth worker.

National Institute of Mental Health; https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/directors/thomas-insel/blog/6

2011/the-global-cost-of-mental-illness.shtml

http://makealbertabetter.ca/wellness-alberta-applauds-swann-report-recommendations/ 7

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/Long-Reads/The-State-of-Student-Mental-Health-8

Calgary-2016/

http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/#.WOPE44WcEb4 9

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/suicide-prevention-10

framework.html?_ga=1.227037661.131325089.1479915909


https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/suicide-prevention-framework.html?_ga=1.227037661.131325089.1479915909



http://makealbertabetter.ca/wellness-alberta-applauds-swann-report-recommendations/

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/Long-Reads/The-State-of-Student-Mental-Health-Calgary-2016/



https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/directors/thomas-insel/blog/2011/the-global-cost-of-mental-illness.shtml



http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/#.WOPE44WcEb4


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23% of respondents reported a psychologist as “not available” for their school 58% of respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school 47% of respondents reported a social worker as “not available” for their school 47% of respondents reported a child and youth as “not available” for their school

* Other options provided included “pay for extra service”



Urban Rural Divide The chart below shows inconsistency of available health services across urban and rural schools by identifying areas where services are NOT AVAILABLE.

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20% of urban respondents reported a psychologist as “not available” for their school 29% of rural respondents reported a psychologist as “not available” for their school

36% of urban respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school 71% of rural respondents reported a nurse as “not available” for their school

57% of urban respondents reported a social worker as “not available” for their school 45% of rural respondents reported a social worker as “not available” for their school

58% of urban respondents reported a child and youth as “not available” for their school 37% of rural respondents reported a child and youth as “not available” for their school

* We have chosen to target areas where no service was available. Other area of measurements were also asked including “pay for extra service”.



The chart below shows inconsistency of available health services across urban and rural schools by identifying areas where services are ‘regularly scheduled.’

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12% of urban respondents reported a psychologist as “regularly scheduled” for their school 12% of rural respondents reported a psychologist as “regularly scheduled” for their school

20% of urban respondents reported a nurse as “regularly scheduled” for their school 0% of rural respondents reported a nurse as “regularly scheduled” for their school

4% of urban respondents reported a social worker as “regularly scheduled” for their school 5% of rural respondents reported a social worker as “regularly scheduled” for their school

8% of urban respondents reported a child and youth as “regularly scheduled” for their school 5% of rural respondents reported a child and youth as “regularly scheduled” for their school

It is also of note the disparity for regularly scheduled time of Speech Pathologist and Occupational Therapist across urban and rural schools.

60% of urban respondents reported a speech pathologist as “regularly scheduled” for their school 45% of rural respondents reported a speech pathologist as “regularly scheduled” for their school

60% of urban respondents reported an occupational therapist as “regularly scheduled” for their school 33% of rural respondents reported an occupational therapist as “regularly scheduled” for their school



SUMMARY Themes identified included schools reporting an increase in student complexity specifically around mental health and trauma. It is evident through the trends observed, there are inconsistencies with health resources available to schools. Access to health services was inconsistent across rural and urban school settings in Alberta. We are finding more and more students come to school with needs and this was “The only needs that get one-on-one assistance are those with medically diagnosed, severe needs like severe autism, Retts Syndrome, and Fragile X. In order to get behaviour support, a student has to be a danger to himself and/or others, and even then it can sometimes take a very long time to get support in place. More kids are coming to school with ADHD, diagnosed and not yet diagnosed, anxiety disorders, psychological effects from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, trauma, and other family issues. Kids are exposed to, and are even doing, drugs at an alarming rate. Kids are suicidal and self-harming.” - Principal. Overall, administrators are reporting low access to health supports across all areas. This is significant because as teachers and school administrators are reporting higher levels of need for health services, resource allocation is not showing the capacity to meet the need in those areas (psychologist, nurse, and social worker). The highest level of available resources are for speech pathologists, occupational therapist and family liaison workers but the areas where there is the highest identified need include psychologists, social workers and mental health/health professionals, which have been identified by participants as least available in schools. The data also shows discrepancy between health resources available to rural versus urban school settings. Overall, there are less health services available and “regularly scheduled” for schools in rural communities than in urban with the exception of a family liaison worker. With increasing levels of concern by educators and parents for student health, mental health wellness and mental illness, the survey highlights a gap that persists between demand and availability of service. Respondents of this survey are reporting significantly low availability of services that would support overall wellness. One respondent observed, “Are all identified students receiving recommended support? The answer is Yes, but to a degree- not enough, not often enough...and if you are not assessing very many children, you are not held accountable for services a child may benefit from (which would be identified in an assessment) but are not documented because the assessment never happens. The entire model through which Alberta Health Services supports are offered-SLP, OT, PT- is inefficient.”



Survey Trends

II. SPECIALIZATION The Canadian Education Association(CEA) notes:

Of all school factors that influence outcomes for students, the quality of instruction makes the most difference. Because teaching and learning are reciprocal processes, teaching has to be engaging to both students and teachers for student learning to occur. Yet, teaching takes place in policy and organizational contexts over which the teacher has little control, such as provincial curricula and assessment policies, accountability regimes, preservice and in-service education, collective agreements and the diversity among students who make up today’s classrooms and communities. 11

The significance of understanding the gaps related to areas of specialization are shown in the classrooms and schools daily. Teachers report not feeling “equipped” to enhance instructional materials in areas where they have no specialization. Special education assistants report lack of support and knowledge for how to work with kids with complex behavioural, educational, emotional and social needs. This sets up an environment for the “perfect storm” where resources including staff expertise are not meeting the needs of students. In 2010 an 12

inclusive education model was established in Alberta. This is a far reaching policy and those 13

involved in public education strive to make inclusive education a success but since its inception inclusive education has faced many challenges. A 2015 study from the ATA, The State of Inclusion in Alberta Schools, looked into inclusive education and had four key findings: 1. Classrooms are large, complex communities; 2. Supports and resources for inclusion are in decline; 3. Multiple, multifaceted supports are required; and 4.Teachers value the ideals of inclusion. Successful inclusive education initiatives require classroom staff 14

including teachers and support staff to have adequate, on-going training to meet the unique needs of the modern classroom. Unfortunately, teachers report feeling overburdened by 15

complexities in their classroom and special education assistants (who are intended to support teachers with complexities) are indicating having no specialized training to help equip them for increasing needs. 16

http://www.cea-ace.ca/programs-initiatives/teaching-the-way-we-aspire-to-teach11

http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/grant-frost/2015/01/3/teachers-crisis-crisis-teaching12

Overview of Inclusive Education https://education.alberta.ca/inclusive-education/inclusive-13

education/?searchMode=3

The State of Inclusion in Alberta Schools 2015 https://www.teachers.ab.ca/14

SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Research/COOR-101-5%20The%20State%20of%20Inclusion%20in%20Alberta%20Schools.pdf

Recommendations for Training Educational Assistants for Alberta’s Classrooms http://15

www.teacherresearch.ca/blog/article/2016/10/28/312-recommendations-for-training-educational-assistants-for-albertas-classrooms

How Teacher Training Hinders Special Needs Students https://www.theatlantic.com/education/16

archive/2017/03/how-teacher-training-hinders-special-needs-students/518286/


https://education.alberta.ca/inclusive-education/inclusive-education/?searchMode=3

https://education.alberta.ca/inclusive-education/inclusive-education/?searchMode=3

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/how-teacher-training-hinders-special-needs-students/518286/



https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/Publications/Research/COOR-101-5%20The%20State%20of%20Inclusion%20in%20Alberta%20Schools.pdf




http://www.cea-ace.ca/programs-initiatives/teaching-the-way-we-aspire-to-teach

http://www.teacherresearch.ca/blog/article/2016/10/28/312-recommendations-for-training-educational-assistants-for-albertas-classrooms



http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/grant-frost/2015/01/3/teachers-crisis-crisis-teaching


The chart below represents the percentage of respondents indicating NO specialist teachers in the areas of; Teacher Librarian, Library Assistant, Guidance Counsellor, Resource Teacher, Music Teacher, Visual Arts Teacher, Drama Teacher, Physical Education Teacher, Health Teacher, Special Education Teacher and Special Education Assistant. The results are as follows:

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70% of respondents reported NO Teacher Librarian in their schools 36% of respondents reported NO Library Assistant in their schools 53% of respondents reported NO Guidance Counsellors in their schools 51% of respondents reported NO Resource Teachers in their schools 37% of respondents reported NO Music Teachers in their schools 69% of respondents reported NO Visual Arts Teachers in their schools 76% of respondents reported NO Drama Teachers in their schools 45% of respondents reported NO Physical Education Teachers in their schools 95% of respondents reported NO Health Teachers in their schools 52% of respondents reported NO Special Education Teachers in their schools 27% of respondents reported NO Special Education Assistants in their schools



Urban Rural Divide The chart below shows inconsistency of available services of specialization across urban and rural schools by identifying areas where there are NO specialized professionals in topic areas and/or services.

80% of urban respondents reported NO teacher librarian for their school 57% of rural respondents reported NO teacher librarian for their school

25% of urban respondents reported NO library assistant for their school 37% of rural respondents reported NO library assistant for their school

68% of urban respondents reported NO guidance counsellor for their school 40% of rural respondents reported NO guidance counsellor for their school

44% of urban respondents reported NO resource teacher for their school 51% of rural respondents reported NO resource teacher for their school

25% of urban respondents reported NO music teacher for their school 39% of rural respondents reported NO music teacher for their school

79% of urban respondents reported NO visual arts teacher for their school 61% of rural respondents reported NO visual arts teacher for their school

83% of urban respondents reported NO drama teacher for their school 68% of rural respondents reported NO drama teacher for their school



54% of urban respondents reported NO physical education teacher for their school 39% of rural respondents reported NO physical education teacher for their school

96% of urban respondents reported NO health teacher for their school 93% of rural respondents reported NO health teacher for their school

58% of urban respondents reported NO special education teacher for their school 48% of rural respondents reported NO special education teacher for their school

32% of urban respondents reported NO special education assistant for their school 26% of rural respondents reported NO special education assistant for their school

Summary The reports from school administrators show areas of specialization are different across the province. Overall, there was not one area of specialization where respondents reported a high level of FTE specialist. More schools report having library assistants, music teachers and special education assistants than any other area of specialization. However, when asked if special education assistants have any additional training in that area, 68% of respondents with special education assistants said no. 53% of respondents reported having no guidance counsellor and of those that did 68% had no additional qualifications or education. As noted in the health summary, Alberta schools are facing an ever increasing complex student population. The lack of staff, like special education assistants and guidance counsellors coupled with the lack of additional training for these staff points to a very real deficit in schools for this kind of specialization. 51% of respondents reported having no special education teacher. One public school administrator commented that an ongoing challenge is support for students. “We have a FSLC[Family School Liaison Counsellor] come once a week. Easily half the kids that need to be seen are not because of time restraints. We could easily employ a counsellor 2-3 days per week. Yet, Educational Assistants are being cut back more and more; FSLC time is being cut back – FSLC’s are burning out because of the pressure they feel of not having enough time to help all these kids; kids are falling through the cracks; teachers are expected to do more and more all the time. No longer do they simply teach, they are EA’s, behaviour specialists, learning support/resource teachers, counsellors, psychologists, and life coaches.” The impact of inadequate staffing and specialization in key support areas can have repercussions throughout school communities. Across rural and urban schools, respondents reported inconsistent availability of both specialist teachers and specialist support staff. Schools in an equitable education system theoretically have similar access to needed resources including adequate and quality staffing. Alberta follows an inclusive model of education. Ideally this should allow the system to be more responsive to the varied needs of students but in practice there is a disparity in how schools in different regions are able to address these needs through staffing. One respondent described this disparity as being a particular challenge for smaller schools, “Small numbers mean we have to double and triple grade classes. This puts pressure on the teachers. We also are not able to offer many extra option classes because of expense and size of the



school. We have a large number of students who are struggling learners, but we have success with them because of the caring of the teachers to make sure students learn. The teachers have to do more to offer the same as at a larger school, be that coaching, teaching, clubs etc.” Across all schools surveyed there was inconsistent availability of specialist staff. It is important for systems, boards to be responsive to the individual needs of schools, one respondent summarized, “The challenge for us and all schools is to design programming for the plethora of student learning styles and needs, which we are mandated to do, given limited and often shrinking resources. Incredible and increasing responsibility has been given to schools / teachers to provide needed programming for an ever-increasing complex population.” The result of this pressure to meet the diverse needs of students with limited resources is why we see such a variety of responses to questions about specialized staffing.



Survey Trends

III. SCHOOL GENERATED FUNDS Fundraising initiatives take place in most schools across the province. Whether they are public, catholic, charter or private schools; students, parents and staff participate in a wide variety of fundraising activities throughout the school year. Along with school fees, parents contribute through fundraising to the out of pocket cost of sending their children to school. Schools fundraise by selling everything from chocolates, flowers, pencils, magazines to using e-commerce fundraising ventures. Monies raised are used for technology items like iPads, 17

SMARTboards, library books, field trips and PE equipment. In Alberta, schools are able to 18

access funds through charitable gaming (casino, bingo or raffle fundraisers). Casinos in particular can provide schools with as much as $75 000. Some individual schools and 19

school boards do not participate in charitable gambling activities because of moral objections or because there are not enough volunteers to organize a parent association. In general most charitable gaming proceeds in Alberta go to organizations located in Calgary and Edmonton. 20

Private schools in Alberta receive public funding, charge tuition, fees and often have a large capacity to fundraise. In some cases private schools raise millions of dollars and this further contributes to inequity for Alberta students. A 2013 study by People for Education showed 21

that as public schools increasingly rely on supplementing school budgets, activities and resources with fees and fundraising that, “This reliance increases the gap between “have” and “have- not” schools”. Fundraising efforts are not equitably distributed across Ontario and 22

People for Education found that, “The top fundraising schools also have the highest average family incomes, and the top 10% raise as much as the bottom 81% combined.“ 23

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/companies-pitch-new-fundraising-schemes-to-cash-strapped-17

schools-1.2535902

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/7-things-to-know-about-school-fundraising-in-calgary-1.1703579 18

http://www.metronews.ca/views/calgary/urban-compass/2016/04/20/alberta-still-bets-on-big-gambling-19

revenue.html

http://aglc.ca/pdf/annual_reports/2016_aglc_annual_report.pdf 20

http://www.progressalberta.ca/the_elite_15 21

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fees-and-fundraising-2013.pdf 22

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fees-and-fundraising-2013.pdf 23


http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/companies-pitch-new-fundraising-schemes-to-cash-strapped-schools-1.2535902



http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/7-things-to-know-about-school-fundraising-in-calgary-1.1703579

http://www.metronews.ca/views/calgary/urban-compass/2016/04/20/alberta-still-bets-on-big-gambling-revenue.html



http://aglc.ca/pdf/annual_reports/2016_aglc_annual_report.pdf

http://www.progressalberta.ca/the_elite_15

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fees-and-fundraising-2013.pdf

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fees-and-fundraising-2013.pdf


The chart below describes the amount of money raised through a parent association by the schools who responded.

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8% of respondents indicated raising less that $1000 14% of respondents indicated raising between $1001 - $5000 16% of respondents indicated raising between $5001 - $10,000 37% of respondents indicated raising between $10,001 - $20,000 10% of respondents indicated raising between $20,001 - $30,000 2% of respondents indicated raising between $40,001 - $50,000 10% of respondents indicated raising more than $50,000



Urban Rural Divide The chart below shows the difference in money raised through fundraising between rural and urban schools. Comparing amounts raised by school communities we see that more urban schools raise greater than $50,000 than rural schools, and more rural schools raise between $10,001 - $20,000.

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6% of urban respondents indicated raising less that $1000 11% of rural respondents indicated raising less that $1000

13% of urban respondents indicated raising between $1001 - $5000 18% of rural respondents indicated raising between $1001 - $5000

19% of urban respondents indicated raising between $5001 - $10,000 14% of rural respondents indicated raising between $5001 - $10,000

31% of urban respondents indicated raising between $10,001 - $20,000 39% of rural respondents indicated raising between $10,001 - $20,000



13% of urban respondents indicated raising more than $50,000 4% of rural respondents indicated raising more than $50,000



Summary: Behind every response given about fundraising there is a unique story about how much and how every school community is able to fundraise. Thousands of dollars are raised annually by the schools that responded to our survey. Most of our respondents were from rural schools and 74% of respondents said they did not access any casino funds. Overall most schools raised funds in the range of $10,000 to $20,000. But some schools did no fundraising at all while other schools raised up to $80,000 last school year. This disparity was illustrated by two comment responses from rural public schools. The first school described the need to raise $50,000 to build a playground as they are a newly built school and although they didn’t have access to casino funds they were able to raise money through donations from corporate and non-profit organizations. The other school stated, “We are challenged with the small budget that we have as well as, due to negative impacts of the oil industry, a reduced amount of funding that our school has generated.” The experiences of these two schools highlights how the ability of schools to generate funds impacts the day to day experience of the school community. In both cases principals were very much aware of the challenges of fundraising. Without an ability to fundraise the first school would have no playground and in the second school the concern is not having extra funds to supplement a tight budget. One school was able to solve its problem of no playground through its ability to fundraise however, the other school expressed concern that the ability of the school community to generate extra funds was limited by the larger economic forces affecting the wider community. This example highlights the inequity that is created between school communities because of fundraising. 97% of respondents did some form of fundraising and 45% indicated that they used these funds for learning resources. School communities who can access fundraising rely on these school generated funds to supplement school budgets. But the ability of schools to generate comparable funds varies widely across the province leaving some schools at a disadvantage because their school community does not have the same capacity to fundraise.



Conclusion

Three main themes, Health, Specialization and School Generated Funds (Fundraising) emerged from this resource audit.

Across all areas discrepancies between rural and urban schools were reported.

I. Health: Alberta children do not have adequate access to physical and mental health resources. We know health barriers inhibit children from experiencing the full advantages of public education. Addressing mental and physical health needs of children is an important factor in achieving academic success. Recommendation: ● SOSAB will continue to advocate for wrap around services that permit children to

attend schools free of socio economic hurdles such as access to mental and physical health resources.

II. Specialization: There is the lack of subject area specialization available in schools. It is most effective to provide children with the supports they require, but only if those supports are properly placed and executed. Children with learning challenges or mental health needs deserve the appropriate support, which ultimately benefits the entire school community. Recommendation: ● Create learning environments where teachers and support staff are able to specialize

through further education or training so they can more effectively support students in specific areas students will be better prepared to learn at optimal levels.

● True inclusion and equal access to quality education requires us to change the ways in which schools are built, how teachers are educated, and the supports available to children and families inside of schools.

III. School Generated Funds: A continuing source of inequity is a school's ability to supplement resources through fundraising. In our small survey sample alone, thousands of dollars were reported being raised by schools. If we consider the entire number of schools in Alberta, millions are being raised annually by schools through fundraising. This is another area we will continue to monitor as a major contributor to growing inequity.

Recommendation: ● Improve overall funding model for schools to ensure funding is equitable across the

province. Schools and school boards should not have to rely on parents/community to supplement funding shortfalls by fundraising.



● Charitable gambling funds should be distributed equitably across the province through the provincial education budget without schools having to volunteer at casinos or apply for monies.

● Schools and parents should not be involved in the business of raising funds for public education. Boards could still have/retain ability to receive donations through board foundations and distribute them to where they are most needed within the board or to specific projects as needed. But money would not be administered by individual parents.

We look forward to conducting this audit annually, and encourage all schools to participate. It provides an alternate comprehensive measure to how successfully Alberta is meeting the needs of students. Participation is voluntary but critical in supporting public education advocacy. School participation will help guide policy recommendations, that will ultimately serve Alberta children.

RESEARCH METHODS Unless cited from other sources, the statistics and quoted material in this report originate from Support Our Students 1st Annual School Survey of Alberta’s Schools. The surveys were mailed to principals in every publicly funded school in Alberta in November of 2016. Surveys were also available for online completion in English. This year we received 77 total responses. It is important to note, because Alberta funds public schools, charter school, and private schools, the results in the survey reflect a wide range of institutions.

DATA ANALYSIS The analysis in this report are based on both descriptive and inferential statistics. The chief objective is to present numerical information in a format that is accessible to multiple audiences. For geographical comparisons schools were classified as either rural or urban/suburban using postal codes Calculations have been rounded to the nearest whole number and may not amount to 100%.



COMMENTS: Sample of comments received from respondents:

“Being very far from major centres makes all extra presentations and field trips more costly. Access to services like mental health are limited due to nothing local and difficult schedules in surrounding communities. Budget makes me pick and choose priorities. (public school)” (Wainwright Region)

“Our school is a very small school located in a remote area of Alberta. The population is less than 400 persons and has a high rate of unemployment. We also have a high absentee and dropout rate which we are trying to reduce through our programming. We are challenged with the small budget that we have as well as, due to negative impacts to the oil industry, a reduced amount of funding that our school has generated. One of the biggest positives is the sense of family we have at our school. It is a model of mutual respect and caring. This is felt between students and between staff.” (North Central Alberta)

“It is impossible to care about reading and math if a child just saw his mom get high before he left for school; or maybe she didn’t have any dinner or breakfast, and has nothing packed for lunch; or maybe he was punched by his step-dad walking out the door. I have parents coming to me in tears not sure how they are going to feed their kids, or clothe them for winter, let alone put a present under the tree for them at Christmas. I vent, but kinds are dealing with more and more, but are receiving less and less help.” (International Border Region)

We have an outreach program called "Sanctuary" for students with high anxiety and internalizing/avoidance behaviours and social anxiety. The program has: 14 students; 2 FTE teachers and 2 Educational assistants (Calgary)

“Major challenges continue to be socio-economic and related to trauma, grief, anxiety and depression” (Calgary)

“We are bursting at the seams, and money for infrastructure is a challenge.” No Postal Code Provided

“Small numbers mean we have to double and triple grade classes. This puts pressure on the teachers. We also are not able to offer many extra option classes because of expense and size of the school. We have a large number of students who are struggling learners, but we have success with them because of the caring of the teachers to make sure students learn. The teachers have to do more to offer the same as at a larger school, be that coaching, teaching, clubs etc. Parents are supportive of providing for the transportation of field trips, sporting events, so the students do not miss out on these opportunities.” (Wainwright Region)

“While we don't have special ed teachers - we do have a number of students with special needs, and there are Educational Assistants here who do a phenomenal job of helping these students out…” (Kananaskis Improvement District)

“Incredible and increasing responsibility has been given to schools / teachers to provide needed programming for an ever-increasing complex population.” (Calgary)

“Lack of funding from our school division, in the area of human resources is a major challenge.” (Lethbridge)



AREAS OF PARTICIPATION BY POSTAL CODE

Eastern Alberta Wainwright Region Central Alberta Western Alberta North Central Alberta NW Alberta SE Alberta International Border Kananaskis Improvement District Central Foothills Medicine Hat Taber Lethbridge Brooks Canmore Calgary Red Deer County Olds Lacombe Red Deer Sylvan Lake Rocky Mountain House Camrose Edmonton Drayton Valley Edson Spruce Grove St. Albert Morinville Peace River Vegreville Cold Lake Bonnyville Athabasca Lloydminster
