Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the only difference between the September 20th business plan and now is that there are some reductions. Maybe the Minister could specify reductions to the educational authority? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Mr. Lovely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What was included in the business plan in September was reductions to the number of teachers in Aboriginal language and culture-based education, and teaching positions in territorial schools. We did not proceed with those reductions, and those are the differences, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, one of the activities contemplated in the business plan was a planning study for shared service administration across the NWT school boards. Could the Minister please update us on that initiative?
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Currently, we're just in the preliminary stages. We're just developing a working group to get started on that work. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that was the answer that we got when we asked about that in September, so I'm wondering if there is some kind of a goal to get this work finished now that it's six months on and the same activity is taking place? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you. That work is going to go to an RFP here, probably within the next couple of weeks. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister tell us what the RFP is for? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you. That is going to be a review of all of the administrative services with all the education authorities and how they can better have shared services going forward. So that's pretty well what it entails. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Another of the commitments or ideas that was shared during the business plan is the implementation of a comprehensive accountability framework for the whole grade school system. Could the Minister update us on the development of that accountability framework? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. They have been completed and letters and packages have been sent out to all the education boards last December.
Last December?
December.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to know from the Minister what his plans are to share this accountability framework with the Regular Members, especially those on the Standing Committee on Social Development. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is something that we could definitely do a presentation with committee when we can find a scheduling time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Moving on to my next issue, it has to do with the Alberta Achievement Tests. Could the Minister talk about the progress being made to find a new student assessment tool and when that assessment tool will be in place? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you. From my understanding Alberta is not removing them; they're still using them as tests, and we are going to be doing the same as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the business plan alludes to the progressive retirement of the AATs. Could the Minister please clarify? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Deputy Minister Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We received word from Alberta just quite recently, actually, that they had reconsidered the elimination of the AATs at the senior levels in particular and are looking to continue those at least for the near future. So we'll continue to work with them and continue to implement those evaluation tools. Thank you.
Thank you, Deputy Minister Haener. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Also in this section, as part of the mandate, Members agreed that there would be a plan for universal daycare that would be introduced by the fall. Could the Minister give us an update on the development of that plan? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are still expecting to have an approach, a plan, in place for the fall time. In light of all the changes that we are making within the department and all the initiatives that we're doing, that's just on top of the workload that we have, but we're still hoping that in the fall time we'll have something.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My next question has to do with inclusive schooling. Can the Minister tell us whether the inclusive schooling will be extended to include junior kindergarten students? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned with questions in the House regarding this, students who are entering junior kindergarten will have access to all the supports and resources in the school setting. So at this time, we're just going to continue with the funding for inclusive schooling the way it is, but junior kindergarten students who are in the school system will have access to more resources, more teachers, moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, according to the presentation we had at lunchtime, children often enter school with significant developmental deficits in all sizes of communities in the NWT so it stands to reason that their need for inclusive schooling resources will be greater perhaps than for other higher grades. So I'm wondering if, in fact, the Minister will consider increasing those resources to meet the needs of the additional students? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Currently, all the education authorities are working on the roll-out plan for junior kindergarten moving forward. I want to just emphasize again that junior kindergarten is a play-based approach, and I think that students who have gone through it already that we've seen, we've seen some really excellent improvements in the development's readiness. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the research doesn't support that statement; there haven't been excellent improvements. Since the EDI was introduced, the measurement in every community size has decreased. So it seems to me that putting inclusive resources into schools as a priority is essential for children to succeed in education, so I'd like to hear the Minister's plan to do that? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With junior kindergarten rolling out, we'll continue to monitor and evaluate how things are going. Right now we have it in 20 schools and our superintendents are saying that the funding is adequate enough to meet the needs of the students who are entering junior kindergarten right now, and if you look at the line item, we still fund inclusive schooling over $25 million across the Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Committee, I would like to welcome Mr. Patrick Joss from Ulukhaktok, I believe, who has joined us in the gallery, and anyone else who has joined us this evening. Always good to see people in the gallery. Masi. Any further questions from committee? Mr. Vanthuyne.
