Wishart: ‘Stronger strategy’ needed

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Published on Sunday, May 20, 2018

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

Neepawa Banner & Press

While a recent cross-Canada test showed shortcomings among Manitoba students, provincial Education minister Ian Wishart is optimistic about a soon-to-be released initiative. Last week, the 2016 Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) results were released.

This test is given every three years to Grade 8 students and focuses on reading, math and science skills, with the primary focus changing with each test.  The 2016 test focused on reading skills and showed that Manitoba students lagged those in other provinces in all three categories.

Wishart said the results showed some encouraging progress, in particular, that reading skills were up across Canada. He added that there’s still a lot of work to be done, especially in the areas of numeracy and science.

While not planned to coincide with the release of the PCAP results, which were originally to be released last year, Wishart said they are putting the finishing touches on a new initiative to help numeracy and science in particular. “We knew we needed to come out with a stronger strategy,” he said. He explained that the new initiative was developed with input from educators and parents.

While the full details haven’t yet been revealed, Wishart said it will have two components.  The first will be a focus on early years students, an area which he explains offers the “biggest response”, as the students carry those improved skills forward with them through school. The second will be a learning for life strategy, which Wishart said will build skills beyond just math and science. He explained that this strategy will involve solutions more tailored to individual students’ needs. “It will draw on the experiences of [individual] teachers, they know their students best,” he said.

Wishart explained that the provincial government has increasingly moved towards having decisions and solutions made at the local level. He said to that end, they previously eliminated the cap on class sizes, allowing schools and divisions to make decisions that best meet their needs with the money previously allocated to the cap. “It was not giving us results,” he explained.  He said they also found that in order to create more classrooms, schools were losing music rooms and science and computer labs.

Details of the new initiative will be announced in the next few months. “We want it out before summer,” he said.

Update on NACI expansion

Last summer, Wishart was in Neepawa to announce an expansion of Neepawa Area Collegiate Institute (NACI), to accommodate a growing student body.  He said that the project has gone to tender and they are still planning for the 38,000 square foot addition to be ready for the 2019-2020 school year. It will accommodate 450 students in Grades 5 to 8.

The project will also include a new daycare, to be located on the school grounds, but in a separate building. The new 6,000-square foot centre will accommodate 20 infants and 54 pre-school children. Wishart said the building will follow a standard design they are using across the province and will look more like a house. “It will have a family friendly look,” he explained.