SOFA

You are invited to attend a public meeting with Minister of Education Dave Hancock on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 at 7 p.m. at Central Memorial High School Theatre, located at 5111 – 21st Street S.W. in Calgary.  

This event is co-sponsored by the Calgary Board of Education and the Save Our Fine Arts  (SOFA) Committee.   It is also endorsed by the Calgary Catholic School District, Candian Rockies School Division (Bow Valley) and the Palliser School District (Lethbridge).

Following opening comments from Naomi Johnson (Chief Superintendent of the CBE), the Minister of Education will deliver a presentation on the Inspiring Education Steering Report and the Inspiring Action Strategy.  He will also address how fine arts programming will be represented in the new curriculum.  

There will also be a panel discussion on the topic of fine arts education.  We can confirm the following people will be participating:  Hon. Dave Hancock (Minister of Education),  Malcolm Edwards (Music Education Professor, University of Calgary), Jane Rogerson (CBE Area Director), Dr. Andra McGinn (Superintendent of Instructional Services, Calgary Catholic School District), Fay Kerwood (former Principal of the CBE Monterey Park Elementary School in Calgary, 2006 Canadian Outstanding Principal Award Winner, 2006 Global Television Woman of Vision Award Winner), and Sam Gregory (Grade 12 honors student at Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School in Calgary, one of the original founders of SOFA).  If you have a question you would like to ask a question of one of our panelists, please CLICK HERE. 

Who should attend?  Parents, students, and teachers from Public, Catholic and Charter school systems; musicians; performers; artists; business leaders; politicians; and the media.   Anyone who is concerned about fine arts education and wants to see it maintained and enhanced.

Come meet the following people who have confirmed their attendance as of the date of this posting:

• Alberta Government:   Honourable Dave Hancock (Minister of Education), Honourable Lindsay Blackett (Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, MLA for Calgary-Northwest), Honourable Cindy Ady (Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation, MLA for Calgary-Shaw),  Ellen Hambrook (Assistant Deputy Minister, Education Program Standards and Assessment, Alberta Education, Edmonton), Teresa Woo-Paw (MLA, Calgary-Mackay), Kent Hehr (MLA, Calgary- Buffalo), Harry Chase (MLA, Calgary-Varsity), Dave Taylor (MLA, Calgary-Currie), Kyle Fawcett (MLA, Calgary-North Hill), Wayne Cao (MLA, Calgary-Fort, Deputy Speaker & Chairman of Committees), Art Johnston (MLA, Calgary-Hays),  Joan Engel (Acting Curriculum Director, Arts, Communications and Citizenship Branch, Alberta Education, Edmonton), Spence Nichol (Executive Assistant to Minister of Education, Edmonton), Christine Bouchard (Team Member, Curriculum Standards and Process Redesign Project, Alberta Education, Edmonton).
• Calgary Board of Education:   Naomi Johnson (CBE Chief Superintendent), Cathy Faber (CBE Superintendent, Learning Innovation), Jane Rogerson (CBE Area 5 Director), Pat Cochrane (CBE Chair, Trustee for Wards 8 & 9), Pamela King (CBE Trustee, Wards 5 & 10), George Lane (CBE Trustee, Wards 6 & 7), Sheila Taylor (CBE Trustee, Wards 11 & 13), & Carol Bazinet (CBE Trustee, Wards 12 & 14), Ronna Mosher (Director, Curriculum Design and Assessment), Leslie Yeates (Specialist, Fine and Performing Arts).
• Calgary Catholic School District:  Dr. Andra McGinn (Superintendent of Instructional Services), Mike Ross (Director of Secondary Education), and Holly Schile (Consultant of Fine Arts),  Serafino Scarpino (Chair, Trustee Wards 1 & 2), Mary Martin (Vice Chair, Trustee Wards 13 & 14), Linda Wellman (Trustee, Wards 3 & 5), Marg Belcourt (Trustee, Wards 4 & 7),  Lois Burke Gaffney (Trustee, Wards 6 & 8), Rosemarie Goerlitz (Trustee, Wards 9 & 10), Cathie Williams (Trustee, Wards 11 & 12).
• Canadian Rockies School Division (Bow Valley):  Trustees Esme Comfort, Carol Picard, and Arlene Rheaume.
• Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils (CAPSC):  Eryn Kelly (Co-President), Leslie Newton (Co-President)
• Alberta Teacher’s Association:  J.C. Couture (Executive Staff Officer)
• Fine Arts Industry:  Paul Brandt (singer, songwriter, Top 10 Recording Artist) via video presentation, Murray Ord (Motion Picture and Television Executive Producer, Actor, SOFA Executive Member), Dr. Haley Simons (author, educator, recording artist, founder of Creative Alberta, and one of Canada’s most accomplished pianists).
• Others: Ken Chapman (lawyer, author, blogger, and considered by Venture Magazine as one of Alberta’s Most Influential People),  Vera Goodman (teacher, best selling author) 

For more information:

• CLICK HERE - for a map showing the location of Central Memorial High School
• CLICK HERE - for a 1-page fact sheet addressing “Who is SOFA?”
• CLICK HERE  - for a copy of the above poster

For more information, check out the Calgary Board of Education’s website at  http://www.cbe.ab.ca/ under “What’s New”.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the future of education in our province.

On August 26th, Education Minister Dave Hancock met with four members of our SOFA committee in Edmonton to discuss fine arts education in Alberta.  For more information on this meeting, please see an earlier post below.

On September 30th,  SOFA received a written response to the questions we asked Mr. Hancock.    Over the past few days, we’ve forwarded his response to anyone who has registered on our SOFA website with a valid email address.

If you received a copy of our email and have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to send us a quick note at saveourfinearts@gmail.com.

Watch for more updates from SOFA soon!

On August 26th, Education Minister Dave Hancock took time out of his busy schedule to meet with four members of the SOFA committee.  Also present at the meeting was Christine Bouchard from Alberta Education, and Sean Yam who is the Minister’s Executive Assistant.

During the one hour meeting, a wide variety of items were discussed, including Mr. Hancock’s Inspiring Education strategy, the importance of fine arts education, and the use of ‘locally developed courses’ by School Boards to supplement core subjects.

It was very apparent during the discussion Mr. Hancock is quite supportive of fine arts education.  His goal is to create the opportunity for as many students as possible to take fine arts courses.  He intends to have the curriculum re-designed to allow for both a ‘rigourous’ and ‘exploratory’ option.  His desire to offer exploratory courses is so that all students will have the opportunity to benefit from taking a fine arts course, even though they may not have taken any earlier in their schooling.  However, he also stated it will be up to each local community working in conjunction with their principal to determine what kind of fine arts programming is offered.  Parental and community involvement will be critically important in this process.  He does not intend to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach in regard to fine arts programming throughout Alberta.

SOFA is pleased to hear that Mr. Hancock is supportive of expanding fine arts education.  However, we remain concerned over the availability of specialized educators in Alberta to support the type of programming indicated above.

During the meeting, Mr. Hancock agreed to respond to our questions in writing with the understanding that his response will be forwarded via email to those who have registered on our website.  This will be sent out as soon as a response is received.

SOFA members also asked Mr. Hancock if he would be willing to attend a public SOFA meeting in Calgary to discuss how fine arts fits into the new Inspiring Education stratgegy.   He indicated he was definitely willing to do so, provided the meeting is held in late fall when he will have more flexibility in his schedule.  We will post the date of this meeting on our website once it has been determined.

At the end of our meeting, Mr. Hancock was presented with a “Save Our Fine Arts” T-shirt and agreed to have a picture taken with SOFA members inside the Alberta Legislature.  Pictured below with Mr. Hancock (center) from left to right is Bill Campbell (parent and human resource professional), Murray Ord (parent and motion picture/television industry executive), Lyle Bennett (parent and Director of Sales for a well known chain of music stores), and Sam Gregory (grade 12 student and aspiring future politician).

It is interesting to note that Mr. Hancock has a particular interest in education, including the fine arts.  His wife is currently a high school principal, his son is a teacher, and his daughter is a recent graduate of the Victoria School of Fine Arts in Edmonton.   We can only guess this results in some lively discussion at home.

SOFA sincerely wishes to thank Mr. Hancock, Christine Bouchard, and Sean Yam for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with us.

Some great news!

On July 7th, Education Minister Dave Hancock announced the Government will be providing $48 Million to the School Boards to prevent the layoff of teachers.

If you are interested in reading Mr. Hancock’s comments on the above (which are posted on an Alberta Government website), CLICK HERE

To read the front page article in today’s edition of the Calgary Herald, CLICK HERE.  To read the Edmonton Journal’s version, CLICK HERE.

Mr Hancock stated, “… There should be no layoffs of teachers or support staff unless they (the School Boards) have a rationale for it that’s based on a change in student numbers or a change in programming.”

Now that the Alberta Government has addressed the funding shortage, SOFA will be watching the school boards with keen interest to ensure there will not be a ‘change in programming’ to fine arts courses and that fine arts teachers will not be negatively affected.

Below are a number of letters that SOFA has received and we feel are of great importance. These include letter’s from University professor’s,  letter’s too and from Dave Hancock – the Minister of Education and letter’s sent too and from Susan McLeod, one of the proposed frameworks authors.

To view the letter’s involving the Minister of Education, please click here.

To view letter’s involving Susan McLoed, author of the proposed framework, click here.

Please take some time and read any or all of the letters!

Dr. Ed Wasiak is the Associate Professor of Music Education at the Faculty of Education,  University of Lethbridge.   He is also the President of the Canadian Music Educators’ Association (the national voice for music education).

On January 31st, 2010, he sent the Honourable Dave Hancock, Minister of Education a letter outlining his concerns with Alberta Educations’ proposed fine arts education framework.

He has given SOFA permission to publish his letter on our site.  If you would like to read his letter to Dave Hancock, CLICK HERE

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Further to Dr. Wasiak sending the above mentioned letter to Mr. Hancock, he received the following email note from Susan McLeod (Alberta Education) on February 1st:

Dear Dr. Wasiak,
 
I have received your response to the proposed framework and have saved it in my files for consideration as we complete revisions to the draft document.
 
I anticipate that these revisions will be complete and the newer version of the proposed framework will again be posted online sometime this spring.  It is our hope that a newly revised framework will address the comments and concerns of our stakeholders in a most satisfactory manner.
 
Thank you for your participation in the curriculum design process as a past focus group member and your ongoing interest in the draft K-12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework.
 
 Susan McLeod
Curriculum Manager – Arts Education
Arts, Communication and Citizenship
Alberta Education – 812F – 44 Capital Blvd.
10044 – 108 Street, Edmonton AB Canada T5J 5E6
Tel (780) 422-3217  Fax (780) 422-0576
Toll free (780) 310-0000
susan.mcleod@gov.ab.ca

Below is a reply recieved from a SOFA committee member from Eduction Minister Dave Hancock. Altough similar to the letter below, it raises some different points!

Dear Sam:

Your MLA, Heather Forsyth, forwarded to me your December 1, 2009 e-mail regarding the K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework – June 2009 Draft.  I am always happy to see students show such an interest in important issues, such as education.

I understand you met with the Arts Education curriculum managers at the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils on November 18, 2009, and they addressed your questions.

I wish to address specific concerns in your e-mail.  The proposed changes to the Arts Education curriculum are summarized on the Fine Arts Updates Page on our website at www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/finearts/program-updates.aspx.  Click on Proposed Changes to the K–12 Fine Arts Programs of Study to see a chart that outlines what will remain the same and identifies proposed changes.  What is expected to remain the same includes the scope and sequence of skills for each arts discipline, along with the effective and promising practices currently found in Alberta’s classrooms.  The excellent programs enjoyed in our schools, such as ensemble band classes, are not expected to change.  As always, schools and school boards will be responsible for deciding which programs to retain when new curricula are implemented.  The purpose of this framework is to support and encourage effective arts programming, which may include performing ensembles.

The K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework – June 2009 Draft is not a program of studies.
It provides the philosophical foundation for programs of study in each arts discipline.  Future music programs of study will provide more detail regarding specific learning outcomes and suggested programs, such as performing ensembles.  However, the General Learning Outcomes given in the draft framework do include Connecting and Belonging (working as an ensemble) and Creating and Expressing (including performing).

With respect to teachers with specialized training in the arts, staffing for schools is the responsibility of school jurisdictions.  Small or isolated schools may be unable to recruit such teachers for a variety of reasons; therefore a new curriculum must be accessible to all who are responsible for instruction.  When new programs of study are developed, they are supported with learning and teaching resources, as well as professional development opportunities for teachers to support new program implementation.

The proposed program organization in the K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework – June 2009 Draft was developed as a response to requests for increased flexibility and variety.  The intent of the proposed single credit structure was to allow opportunities for schools to create programs to meet their needs by combining single credits.  In this way, schools could create groups of one-credit courses that would be similar to existing three- or five-credit courses, while adding new opportunities for all students to access the arts.  Distributed learning will also play a role by offering courses through the use of emerging technology, such as videoconferencing and digital resources.

We are working with post-secondary institutions to ensure students who wish to pursue career opportunities in arts education will have the required courses and credits to access these programs after Grade 12.  Representatives from Alberta’s post-secondary schools will continue to be involved in the curriculum development process, just as they have been involved in the creation of the Arts Education Framework, which is currently posted for feedback.

Two professors from the University of Calgary provided written text that contributed to the development of the draft framework.  Dr. Shelley Robinson conducted a literature review (Promising Practice and Core Learnings in Arts Education) and Dr. Robert Kelly’s work on creativity informed the development of the draft (there is a section on the creative process in the proposed framework).  His book appears in the bibliography section of the draft K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework.

After January 31, 2010, the K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework – June 2009 Draft and the Online Discussion Questions will be removed from Education’s website.  The draft will then undergo further revisions based on responses to the online discussion questions and responses gathered from e-mails, letters and face-to-face meetings.  All responses will be carefully considered during this revision.  Once the revision is complete, the document will again be posted online for stakeholder engagement.  We will then focus on beginning to develop programs of study, and we hope to begin implementation in 2014.

If you have further questions or concerns, please contact Susan McLeod, Curriculum Manager–Arts Education, Curriculum Sector, at 780-422-3217or by e-mail at Susan.McLeod@gov.ab.ca .  You could also contact Katherine Deren, Curriculum Manager–Arts Education, French and International Education Services, at 780-422-1988 or by e-mail at Katherine.Deren@gov.ab.ca.

Thank you for your interest in arts education.

Yours truly,

Dave Hancock, Q.C.

Minister of Education

ON NOVEMBER 27TH, 2009 LYLE BENNETT (SOFA CO-CHAIR) SENT A LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE DAVE HANCOCK, MINISTER OF EDUCATION.  YOU CAN VIEW LYLE’S LETTER IN ONE OF OUR PREVIOUS POSTS.   ON JANUARY 12TH, 2010, LYLE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING LETTER FROM MR. HANCOCK:
Dear Mr. Bennett:

Thank you for your November 27, 2009 e-mail regarding the review of fine arts programs and your positive response to the Rationale, Vision, Guiding Principles and Creativity sections of the draft K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework (June 2009).  You stated that you feel there is a degree of inconsistency between these sections and the proposed program organization.

As you know, the draft K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework was posted online in September 2009 for all stakeholders to offer comments and suggestions.  Education’s intention is to create a proposed program organization based on the stated requirements of interested Albertans, especially students.  This includes flexibility and the option to build groups of courses that will develop skills.

In terms of next steps, after January 31, 2010, the draft document will undergo further revisions based on stakeholder feedback.  Once the K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework has been revised it will then be validated with stakeholders.  Programs of study for dance, drama, music and visual art will then be developed.  Resources to support the new curriculum will be acquired or developed and authorized.  As a final step, Education works with local consortia to ensure professional development support is available for teachers.  We have revised/extended our targeted implementation date for arts education to begin at the Kindergarten to Grade 6 level in the 2014/2015 school year, which will allow us extra time to complete this work.

In your e-mail, you outline a number of concerns with the draft framework, including what you see as an implied emphasis on generalist rather than specialist teachers for arts education.  There was certainly no intent to imply this.  Education’s role is to develop programs of study and authorize resources in consultation with stakeholders.  Each school division is responsible for determining how the programs of study are taught and for hiring staff based on specific qualifications.  School administrators designate teaching duties and assignments.  For various reasons, schools may be unable to access teachers who have specialized training in the arts.  In these cases, curriculum must be accessible to all who are responsible for instruction.

The scheduling of classes is completed by school administrators.  Since the single-credit courses proposed for high schools are meant to be combined, schools may retain current three- or five‑credit structures.  Schools will combine courses in ways that meet both their needs and the needs of their students.  The one-credit structure was proposed in response to educators who asked for the flexibility to provide all students with opportunities to access the arts.  You may be interested to know that there are no prerequisites or entry requirements stated in the current fine arts programs of study.  The junior and senior high music programs state that entry is at the discretion of school jurisdictions, and programs must remain flexible to accommodate a variety of student experiences and ability.

In the draft K–12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework, the General Learning Outcome of Connecting and Belonging specifically refers to experiences such as the teamwork required for performance of all types, including large ensembles.  It also means making connections with the community and with cultural groups.

I am pleased to hear that you met with Joan Engel, Director of Arts, Communication and Citizenship, Curriculum Sector, on December 3, 2009 and will continue to meet with staff on a regular basis during our curriculum development process for arts education.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns.  I appreciate your input and interest in arts education.

Yours truly,

Dave Hancock, Q.C.
Minister of Education

cc:    Honourable Lindsay Blackett,  MLA, Calgary-North West

Art Johnson, MLA, Calgary-Hays

THE FOLLOWING LETTER WAS SENT TO THE HONORABLE DAVE HANCOCK, MINISTER OF EDUCATION FROM LYLE BENNETT, SOFA CO-CHAIR. WE WILL POST MR. HANCOCK’S REPLY WHEN/IF WE RECEIVE IT.

Honorable David Hancock
Minister of Education
#224 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Ave
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6

Dear Mr. Hancock:

Firstly, it is positive that Alberta Education is doing an update of the K-12 Fine Arts Curriculum after 20 plus years.  Change is not necessarily bad as long as it is respectful of the current programs that are working well and seeks to improve the quality of education of one of our most valuable resources, our children.    I have read the document along with the consultation report and agree wholeheartedly with your Rationale, Vision, Guiding Principles and Creativity however, begin to have some grave concerns when I read the Program Organization and beyond.  These last pages seem to be inconsistent with the philosophy espoused in the previous pages to the point that it seems as though different people with different values could have written them.

I have come to understand that this draft is very preliminary and appreciate that your Ministry extended the deadline to allow for more input from students, parents, teachers, musicians and other interested citizens, as this came as a surprise to many of us.  We have been told that the deadline for input is now January 31, 2010.  Can you please explain or have someone explain what the next steps in the process will be after this deadline has been reached and what the time frame to completion will be?

Presumably as this process unfolds there will be more opportunities for consultation and input from concerned parties.  Could you please outline what these opportunities will be and at what stages in the process these will occur?
 
Many of the issues that concern me such as an implied emphasis on generalist as opposed to specialist educators, an apparent lack of skill development emphasis in favor of exploration, multiple entry points with no prerequisites, incredible timetabling challenges with modular courses and no mention of the teamwork experience of large performing groups I assume will be addressed as this process evolves.
 
Many people are interested in working to a mutually successful conclusion to the Update.
 
Sincerely,
Lyle Bennett
Concerned Parent, Co-chair, Save Our Fine Arts

Thank you for reviewing the draft K-12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework (June 2009) and contacting me and ministry officials regarding your concerns.

The draft K-12 Arts Education Curriculum Framework proposes a unified vision for arts education in Alberta across the four arts disciplines – drama, dance, visual arts, and music – from elementary through senior high school. It outlines opportunities for learning in, about and through the arts. This means retaining the traditions and rigour of each discipline, while exploring opportunities to infuse the arts across subject areas. I have heard concerns that the draft framework proposes doing away with current courses that provide focused instruction in a specific arts discipline. This is not at all the case. In any future arts program of study, students will still have the option of enrolling in courses like full-year or half-year band or drama at the Grades 7 to 9 and 10‑20‑30 levels. The current draft proposal calls for maintaining the Grades 7 to 9 and 10‑20‑30 arts course streams for students seeking mastery in a particular field of the fine arts, but also expanding the curriculum to enable students interested in receiving instruction in greater breadth (and perhaps less depth) in a variety of arts courses to do so as well.

This is the initial stage in our regular curriculum development process and, as such, is the first time the proposed draft framework has been available for stakeholder response and feedback. It was posted on September 18, 2009 to coincide with Arts Days in Alberta, and this is your opportunity to participate in shaping the revised framework that will provide guidance to the development of more specific programs of study. In the next phase of development, individual programs of study for elementary, junior high and senior high programs will give specific learning outcomes in greater detail.

I have heard from you and others that more time is needed to respond to the draft framework; therefore, the timeline for response has been extended to January 31, 2010. The framework and the online discussion questions are available in English at www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/finearts/program-updates.aspx and in French at www.education.alberta.ca/francais/teachers/progres/core/beaux-arts/proget/revision.aspx .
In addition to extending the timeline, an online fact sheet has been created, and two questions have been added to the online discussion questions to encourage Albertans to add suggestions and comments.

Education has already received several hundred responses to the online questions, in addition to receiving numerous e-mails, letters and face-to-face responses. I assure you that all feedback will be carefully considered during future revisions to the draft framework and the subsequent development of programs of study. Education is also exploring additional ways of encouraging discussion about the framework for arts education in Alberta. These may include posting frequently asked questions and initiating a discussion board.

While I certainly appreciate that you have taken the time to communicate with me on a matter that you are obviously passionate about, I would suggest that the best way to have your voice heard and have a meaningful impact on designing the best possible arts curriculum is by participating in the curriculum development consultation process and by working closely with the officials listed below, as they are the front-line policy and curriculum experts leading the redesign.

For further information, please contact Susan McLeod, Curriculum Manager, Arts Education, by e-mail at susan.mcleod@gov.ab.ca or by phone at 780-422-3217. You can also contact Katherine Deren, Curriculum Manager, K-12 Arts Education, by e-mail at katherine.deren@gov.ab.ca or by phone at 780-422-1988 (toll-free by first dialing 310-0000).

Thank you again for your interest in arts education and for taking the time to share your comments and concerns.

Yours truly,

Dave Hancock, Q.C.
Minister of Education