October 16, 2019
Green MLAs identify top priorities for this week’s Education Summit
Fredericton – MLA Megan Mitton, MLA for Memramcook-Tantramar and Green Education critic will bring the priorities of the Green caucus to the Education Summit this week.
“I am excited about some of the proposals, like giving more control to principals and schools in their local decision making,” says Mitton. “We need to make sure that we are supporting our youth to meet their full potential as human beings, and that needs to look beyond their future economic contributions to the province. In particular, I share concerns that some teachers have expressed to me that some of the proposals could undermine the progress we’ve made around inclusion for children with special needs. One of the actions in the plan is to put additional resources in classrooms where composition is impacting the teacher’s ability to teach while a longer term response is developed. I would like to see this implemented immediately to address the lack of funding for Educational Assistants in some school districts.”
David Coon, Leader of the Green Party and MLA for Fredericton-South is pleased to see the government reinforcing the importance of duality in our public school system. “It’s important to remember that the anglophone and francophone school systems are unique; both have strengths, and both have areas for improvement, which may be quite different. One size will not fit all.”
MLA for Kent-North, Kevin Arseneau, is concerned that this document is proposing changes that need more research behind them. “As an educator, I fully support the evolution of what a classroom looks like and student-centered pedagogy. However, this Green paper is lacking science, statistics and educator input that we all should be asking for before we make significant changes to our learning environments.”
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