Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to introduce Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act. This bill seeks to change the age of entitlement to access kindergarten programs from five years old to four, as well as reduce the minimum hours of instruction required to 945 hours for grades 1 through 12.
The goal of these two major initiatives, also known as junior kindergarten and STIP, is to improve the NWT education system for all learners so that they can meet the challenges of today and into the future, and be successful in whatever they choose to do. Junior kindergarten will provide all NWT families, regardless of their income or geographic location, the option of enrolling their four-year-old children in a free, play-based, developmentally appropriate program. As this Legislative Assembly has recognized, early childhood development is critical to a child's future success, and there is a direct link between the quality of early education and care and positive future outcomes.
We also recognize that we need to provide teachers with time to plan and develop their own learning. This government knows that in order to improve our students' academic results, we not only need JK offered in every community, we also need our teachers to have time, during their regular work week and school year, to develop their skills and properly plan, implement, and assess their students' learning. In order to improve student outcomes, we must ensure educators have access to the experiences, resources, training, and professional development to improve their workload and wellness situations, so they can focus on excellence in teaching. This is what the Strengthening Teacher Instructional Practices initiative is all about.
Before the end of this school year, I will provide the Standing Committee on Social Development with a complete monitoring, evaluation, and accountability framework for the STIP pilot project, where we anticipate seeing improvements in:
● teacher satisfaction through pre- and post-school year surveys;
● teacher human resource statistics, such as sick days;
● use of professional development time;
● student attendance; and
● student course completions.
Significant change will take time, and the evaluation will likely evolve as schools try new approaches with their school calendars. As such, the evaluation plan will include a reporting schedule outlining the appropriate measures, as the initiative evolves over time. I want to reiterate that I believe the territory-wide implementation of junior kindergarten and the opportunity to build in time during the school year for teachers to complete their professional duties and strengthen the quality of instructional practices will be game changers. I strongly believe that, in years to come, we will look back at this moment in time to these two strategic initiatives and see them as a vital step on the road to success for our young children, our youth, and our territory. I will be happy to answer any questions Members may have. Mahsi.