The Prairie South School Division board of education voted on Tuesday in favour of endorsing the provincial education plan priorities for 2021-2022. 

There are three main priorities that the province is looking at for next year, including learning response, reading, and mental health and wellbeing. 

Director of education Tony Baldwin said the school division knew these priorities were coming and budgeted appropriately. 

“We had some level of awareness at that point that these three priorities would likely be the focus of provincial work next year, and so the budget process that we went through incorporated them as part of that work,” he said. 

Each priority was outlined with an action plan that was put together by several leaders in the education sector. Holy Trinity's director of education Sean Chase was the leader in the reading action plan with Baldwin as the secondary leader. 

The plan looks at students' reading levels that have not progressed over the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The plan includes collecting reading data for students in Grades 1-3 this month. By September, school divisions will review the reading proficiency of students in Grades 4 and 5. Reviewing the literacy skills with emergent readers will happen as necessary. 

Meanwhile, teachers in older grades will increase their knowledge of literacy strategies as part of the plan.  

Overall, the plan is intended to get a picture of which students need more skill development and increase the emphasis on English Language Arts in grades 1-3. 

Baldwin added that the reading plan is based on a plan implemented by the superintendent of learning Amanda Olson.

Learning response looks at the challenges students and staff will be facing as students return back to a brick-and-mortar schools after learning virtually during the pandemic. 

Finally, mental health and wellbeing addresses mental health needs for students and staff due to the COVID-19 situation. 

Trustee Crystal Froese was in favour of endorsing the priorities but has concerns about the cost to implement the plan. 

“It is a really ambitious plan, yet we still need additional operational funding to be able to dot the I's and cross the T's on everything we're trying to accomplish here in our division,” she said. 

The plan that was presented to the school division was only a one-year plan. The school division will be able to give additional input as the province puts together a 10-year plan.