Calgary school board rejects alternative Christian programs
CALGARY, AB–The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said no to faith-based alternative programs in public schools three years ago and have done so once again.
Three Calgary private schools have been lobbying to join the public board. In response, CBE trustee Carol Bazinet re-opened the debate at a recent board meeting. Bazinet told the Calgary Herald alternative programs shouldn't be rejected on the basis of faith alone.
"How do we in today's society look at diversity and how do we look at what we should have as alternative programs within our public education system?" was the question she posed to the group.
Board chairman Gordon Dirks supported the plan, citing similar plans in other parts of the province. After a vigorous debate, four of the seven trustees voted against the proposal.
The CBE may be the last hold-out in the province, with faith-based alternative programs springing up around the province. Most recently, the Rocky View School Division north of Calgary unanimously approved an alternative Christian education program to be run out of Mitford Middle School in Cochrane, a two-year pilot project for students in kindergarten to Grade 4.
Alternative faith-based programs have been operating in Edmonton public schools for more than a decade. Bruce Wilkinson, emeritus professor of economics at the University of Alberta co-founded an alternative program called Logos in 1996 that continues to run in nine Edmonton public schools.
"When the proposal went to the trustees for their approval in January 1996, the final vote was eight to one in favour," Wilkinson said in a recent interview with the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) Review.
Gloria Chalmers, manager of alternative programs with Edmonton Public Schools, said the Logos program was based on Christian principles and would not include the teaching of specific religious doctrine.
"Our School Act says we can develop alternative programs based on language, culture, religion, pedagogy or subject-matter. We are committed to working with parents and community to provide choice within public education," Chalmers told the Review.
Wilkinson said he believes alternative programs strengthen public schools and said that Calgary has "wakened up" to that realization by starting some of their own. "But not, as of yet, a Christian one," he says.
According to Lynn Ferguson-one of the Calgary public board trustees who opposes faith-based public education-a democratic society recognizes that there are differences between people, but those differences have to be respected.
"It's parents' responsibility to provide religious education... It's not the role of public school," says Ferguson.
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