Latest updates: Alberta teachers, students head back to school after three-week strike

Alberta uses notwithstanding clause to prescribe teachers plump for to act

Anger simmers over Alberta’s use of notwithstanding clause

Breaking down Alberta's use of the notwithstanding clause

Alberta education minister defends using notwithstanding clause

Alberta uses notwithstanding clause to order teachers back to work

Alberta parent ‘angry,’ ‘disappointed’ with government’s back to school order

Teachers union says province has launched 'an assault on the rights of every Albertan'

A look into Alberta's new class size and complexity task force

Outside Harry Ainlay, Grade 11 student Logan Forrest said he’s missed sports.

“It was kind of nice having three weeks off but it’s time we came back. I was missing football,” he said just before school was set to start.

Forrest said he did not expect to be out of school for this long.

“I expected it to be like, a week, maybe,” he said.

“Not much of a delay, but it’s pretty bad now.”

There are four students carrying protest signs into the school here at St. Oscar Romero. They tell me they’re not protesting today, but they’re keeping them here overnight for a planned walkout in support of teachers tomorrow.

Lloyd Sansaet, who is in Grade 11 and on the student council, says it’s because they’re worried about a decline in the quality of public education.

“We’re really frustrated because we’re going back to the same conditions,” says Olivia Abhilash who is 16 and also on the student council.

She adds now they also have to contend with having lost three weeks of classes while many of them prepare to apply for university and diploma exams.

They say their parents know about the planned walkout and support them. It’s now beginning to rain as students continue to flood in at St. Oscar Romero.

Grade 11 student Liam McMullin told me he is ready to go back after being away for three weeks.

"It's been quite a while. I've lost a lot of my skills, but I am ready to be back and ready to learn just as much as I did before," said McMullin.

It’s dark right now but soon students and parents will be descending on this school. The bell here will ring at 8:35 a.m.

Plenty of school buses are on the road today.

The sun is coming up and staff and students are starting to arrive.

Hi there, I’m Joel Dryden, a reporter based in Calgary covering the return to school here in southern Alberta.

Our reporters are in the field watching how today plays out. That includes Colleen Underwood, who met father Daryl Suttie this morning, dropping his daughter off at Sir John A. Macdonald School in north Calgary.

Suttie’s worried that teachers are going to be forced to play catch-up, given how long schools have been on pause.

In a video just posted to social media, Joanne Pitman, Calgary Board of Education (CBE) chief superintendent of schools, thanked families for their patience and said it’ll take some time for schools to reconnect and settle back into their normal operations.

School buses are running, though parents are being advised to expect some delays as students return to classrooms.

Hi all, Liam Newbigging here. I’m one of the reporters who’s been covering the teachers’ strike over the past few weeks.

It’s currently a dark and cold morning outside St. Oscar Romero High School in west Edmonton where I’m seeing students and staff begin to trickle in.

More updates coming soon.

Some students may have savoured the extended break, but the strike caused stress for others — particularly high school students.

Some student-athletes, for example, missed out on opportunities to get in front of the eyes of scouts, which could affect their opportunities to compete at the next level, let alone earning scholarships.

Diploma exams scheduled for Grade 12 students in November became optional, although there are no changes to the January and June exams.

Smith has cited irreparable harm to students as a driver for back-to-work legislation.

Does class size impact student academic performance?

A key issue in the Alberta teachers’ strike is class size and complexity. While the province rejects capping class sizes, an education expert weighs in on how teacher-student ratios impact academic success.

One of the top issues for teachers is how to address student complexity in the classroom.

Last summer, the province appointed an action team to look at aggression and complexity of students in Alberta schools. The final report is expected next month.

After that, a task force examining class size and complexity in the classroom will start implementing solutions and gather more data on the issue from school boards. The task force aims to allow the government to get feedback from teachers, educational assistants, parents, superintendents and school trustees.

Schilling said Tuesday he experts teachers will be providing input on the task force as “partners rather than props.”

Breaking down Alberta's use of the notwithstanding clause

Unlike the Ralph Klein government, which passed legislation through public-emergency provisions, the Smith government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause in Bill 2.

The notwithstanding clause, Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is a legal tool that allows a government to override some protections in a piece of legislation. Such provisions would expire in five years, but the government could re-enact them.

Bill 2 also sets financial penalties of $500 per day for individuals who defy the back-to-work order and up to $500,000 for the union per day, if it doesn't comply with the legislation.

---

---