Editor's note: The Athabasca Advocate reached out to municipal leaders from the town, county, village and school division to submit their perspectives on some of the highlights and issues in 2020 that didn't necessarily involve COVID-19. This is what Aspen View Public Schools board of trustees chair Candy Nikipelo had to say.
ATHABASCA – Describing 2020 as a ‘challenging’ year has become an almost laughable cliché. However, if we focus not on the challenges themselves but on how we have adapted and persevered to overcome them, Aspen View Public Schools can be very proud of what we have accomplished in 2020.
January of 2020 brought formal approval of the replacement of H.A. Kostash School in Smoky Lake. We are very grateful for the community support for this project, and proud of the partnerships that have been working over the past several months to ensure the new school remains the hub of the Smoky Lake community. We look forward to construction starting in early 2021.
The provincial budget announced in February 2020 introduced a new funding framework for K-12 education, for which Aspen View advocated extensively over the past several years. The new funding framework provides more predictable funding and recognizes the unique circumstances faced in small and rural schools. While declining enrolments and changes to inclusive education programming continue to be challenging, we believe the adoption of a new funding framework is a positive step.
In April, the Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to close Grades 10-12 at Grassland School. We believe this decision balances Aspen View’s commitment to provide the highest quality of student education possible, with its obligation to act in a fiscally prudent manner while still supporting rural community sustainability. The community support demonstrated for Grassland School throughout the process was overwhelming, and we are confident that support will remain as it moves forward as a K-9 school.
The proposed establishment of a Separate School District in Athabasca was an ongoing issue throughout the first half of 2020, until the proposal was defeated in June by more than two-thirds of Catholic voters. Aspen View Public Schools sincerely thanks the many members of the Athabasca community who helped us spread our message that ‘We’re Better … Together.’ We are so very grateful for their support of Aspen View, public education, and the dedicated administration and staff at each of our schools who remain committed to providing the highest quality of education to all students, of all races, faiths, languages and educational needs.
Of course, March 15, 2020 marked an abrupt shift for all our school families with the cancellation of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Board of Trustees is very proud of the amazing job our administrators, teachers and support staff did to pivot quickly to a new reality while supporting our students and families and ensuring that learning continues.
Over the summer, our division leadership worked diligently to ensure a successful return to school for the 2020-21 school year. While we were glad to welcome most students back to in-person classes, Aspen View also introduced new online learning options for school families. A survey of our Aspen View Online School families, conducted in November, showed that families are happy to have an online option, and their feedback will help Aspen View improve and enhance this program moving forward.
2020 has shown us how important it is, as administrators and educators, to be flexible and agile. From online learning and physical distancing protocols to alternate graduation ceremonies and virtual board meetings, we have all learned to do familiar things in new ways. Though we’re happy to turn the page from 2020, I hope that this spirit of resourcefulness and creativity remains with us into 2021 and beyond.
