Yesterday I blogged on the predicted overall cuts to education. Today I wanted to highlight the Double Whammy effect for our most vulnerable kids. But first, back to Ed. Ed said during his televised address on Wednesday night:
"And we’ll focus on helping the vulnerable... supporting the programs and services Albertans need most, like health care, education and support for seniors."
Nobody would disagree with that statement in Alberta- nobody that I know or have ever talked to, that is. But in fact, vulnerable kids in Alberta will be served a double whammy by the planned budget cuts. One through the cuts to education, and the other through cuts to Children and Youth Services. (Now, we haven't actually heard yet if and how much ACYS will be hit, but they are already pulling back spending at a noticeable rate.) Some may even get the trifecta, through cuts to healthcare.
The majority of our most vulnerable children are in classrooms around the province. Many, but not all, in metro areas. They face multiple barriers to learning, being healthy and becoming well-adjusted adults who will contribute to society. They (and sometimes their family members) are currently being supported by a myriad of services, in the classroom, at home or in foster care, and through the health system. There are a multitude of imperfections in how those services are delivered and how many resources are available. But on the whole they do help to support children with learning differences, mental health issues, chaotic home situations, and physical challenges. It is a fragile, fragmented but fundamentally positive safety net. We already know kids in care are having a hard time reaching their potential - high school completion rates for these students is sitting at 28.9% vs a provincial rate of 78.6 % for 5 year completion according to the Child & Youth Advocate's report.
With cuts simultaneously to education (meaning larger class sizes), supportive community-based services funded through ACYS and health care, that safety net looks like it might have meteor-sized holes in it over the coming years.
So Ed, get real. Decide that you're not going to deliver a double, possibly triple whammy to vulnerable kids. Besides looking pretty bad on the resume at election time, it will also really hurt down the track when you have to add prisons, acute care beds and services for the homeless to your list of needs in about 10 years. Looks like a bad financial move to me, Ed.
RURAL ALBERTANS ARE BEING SCREWED BY THE UCP
1 year ago
I was at a meeting with a network of educators specializing in support of students with learning disabilities. They expressed fear that this period of cutbacks was "1994 all over again." With the cuts in 1994, services for students with exceptional learning needs appeared to evaporate in front of everyone's eyes and children suffered. The result -- private schools opened to addres their needs, and/or parents pulled kids and began to home school. It is not that there was not services -- there was just not enough to address needs. The potential of many graduates (or survivors) of the system was not maximized. We must protect our most vulnerable. How we treat them is reflective of our entire system and or values as a province.
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