This activity is now part of ongoing department business. The department publishes annual reports on student performance, which are available online. For information, contact the Research and Planning Branch at 945-0350.

1.2

Bill 13 (Appropriate Educational Programming) was passed in April 2004. On June 10, 2004 , the Bill received Royal assent to come into effect on a yet to be determined date fixed by Proclamation.

Follow-up consultations will be held across the province to assist in the development of regulations that will guide practice in Manitoba schools. A pilot project on special needs funding and accountability has been initiated and a policy handbook related to special needs education has been sent to all school divisions. After consultations with almost 200 parents across the province, Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth in partnership with the Student Services Administrators Association of Manitoba have developed a document titled Working Together: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Special Needs in School.

To support parents and schools the document Working Together: A Guide to Positive Problem Solving for Schools, Families, and Communities was developed with input from parents and educators.

These documents were released in spring 2004.

1.3

While the planned activities are completed, increasing success for Aboriginal learners continues as a priority with specific actions now incorporated into ongoing department support.

Highlighted initiatives include

• an Aboriginal Perspectives document was released in 2003 with regional sessions offered to curriculum developers, teachers and administrators throughout the 2004-05 school year
• regional sessions were also offered for educators on incorporating Aboriginal perspectives into curricula and classrooms

The following activities are planned for the 2005-06 school year

• sharing and information sessions will allow school divisions an opportunity to showcase their Aboriginal Academic Achievement (AAA) initiatives
• Helping Your Child Succeed in School: A Guide for Parents and Families of Aboriginal Students (previously released to the field for feedback consultation) will assist families and communities to increase their involvement in the school
• regional sessions on Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives: A Theme-Based Curricular Approach will continue
• the Aboriginal Education Directorate is leading a newly funded project: Building Student Success with Aboriginal Parents
• department staff will visit schools with funded projects and with AAA grants to provide consultation and support toward increasing Aboriginal student achievement.

A range of information regarding Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth support in the area of Aboriginal Education can be accessed online.

1.4

In 2001/02, a review of English as an additional language (EAL) programming was launched. As a result, Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth announced a three-year plan to enhance access to and strengthen ESL programming in Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) schools. The implementation of the K-12 ESL Action Plan is well underway with enhanced EAL funding for the 2006/07 school year, the development of a draft K-12 EAL curriculum framework, and the introduction of a new Intensive Newcomer Support Grant, among other initiatives.

See updates on the 2001-2004 K-S4 ESL Program Review and the implementation of the Kindergarten to Senior 4 ESL Action Plan 2005-2008.

* Manitoba is implementing a change from using the term English as a Second Language (ESL) programming to English as an Additional Language (EAL) programming. Both terms (ESL and EAL) are used interchangeably during the transition period.

Belonging, Learning, and Growing: Kindergarten to Grade 12 Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity was released in October 2006. The report summarizes the results of the consultation process, provides some information on diversity in schools, and presents the Department’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity 2006–2008.

See the Diversity and Equity Website.

Provide curricular supports for effective practices.

As students and schools change, Manitoba’s education system must respond. The department regularly supplements its material and consultative supports to meet those changing needs. It published Independent Together: Supporting the Multilevel Learning Community to describe effective practices for teaching in multilevel classrooms. The department also initiated grants for the study of class size reductions. The Instructional Resources Unit plans to prepare a bibliography on non-graded schools. Manitoba was the lead jurisdiction in a Western and Northern Canadian Protocol project to develop a support document on classroom-based, formative assessment.

The WNCP document, Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind, was finalized for distribution in January 2006.  Professional learning initiatives to support effective classroom-based assessment practices are in the planning stages.

Increase student literacy with information and communication technology (ICT).

Our students increasingly function in a global community where knowing how to think critically and creatively, manage ideas and information, solve problems, and design and present solutions using ICT is a requirement of functional citizenship. A development team for Technology as a Foundation Skill (TFS) – A Model for Implementation has been formed to

• define Literacy with ICT;
• create a developmental continuum that describes how K-8 students can use ICT responsibly and ethically in their lifelong learning;
• describe what grades 2, 4, 6, 8 students need to know about and be able to do with ICT as a learning tool;
• develop formative and summative assessment and reporting methodologies for Literacy with ICT, including student profiles and electronic portfolios;
• design professional learning opportunities to support Literacy with ICT; and
• publish a Parent Report on how to recognize the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and reasoning required for ICT literacy in students, classrooms, and schools.

This work is scheduled for pilot in 2005-06 and implementation in 2006-09.