Atlantic provinces should emulate Alberta’s charter school success story

For parents in Atlantic Canada, this may sound strange. But there’s a new charter school in Alberta.

What’s a charter school? In Alberta, the only province that provides government funding for charter schools, they are autonomous non-profit public schools. They are not independent (or private) schools, they cannot charge tuition, nor are they allowed to be religiously based. In other words, they are accessible to everyone.

And in Alberta, they are very popular.

The province’s new charter school—which is technically the eighth campus of the Foundations for the Future Charter Academy (FFCA)—opened in Calgary in September. Again, with nearly 4,000 students currently enrolled and approximately 14,000 on its wait list, FFCA is a popular choice for Calgary parents. It’s not hard to see why. Not only does FFCA have clear behaviour standards (such as school uniforms) but it also offers a more traditional approach to education. This means teachers provide direct instruction and students do homework. That would be music to the ears of many parents across Atlantic Canada.

The benefits of FFCA’s educational approach are obvious. According to the Fraser Institute high school rankings, FFCA’s two high schools took the first and second spot of all the publicly-funded schools in Calgary. In addition, FFCA’s elementary schools ranked 28 out of 858 in Alberta. No wonder Albertan parents are beating down FFCA’s doors.

But FFCA is not the only charter school success in Alberta. In some cases, communities have used the province’s charter legislation to prevent schools from closing. For example, last year Wetaskiwin Regional Public School Board announced the permanent closure of Gwynne School in the hamlet of Gwynne about 60 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. However, parents and other community members refused to accept this decision and applied for a charter from the provincial government. Last month Gwynne Valley Rural Academy opened its doors for approximately 120 kindergarten through Grade 9 students.

Despite these successes, charter schools have their critics. Some advocacy groups want to end the so-called privatization of education by placing charter schools under the authority of government school boards. This would be a disaster. Why? Because a key reason charter schools are successful is likely because they’re not under the control of government school boards but rather operate autonomously under their own independent boards. This makes it easier for them to offer innovative programming that adapts to the needs and interests of parents and their children. It also enables them to put the interests of each local community first, which is why parents have been able to use provincial charter legislation to save their local schools from closing.

In addition, placing successful charter school authorities such as FFCA under the authority of government school boards is a surefire way to lose the distinctive educational approach that’s made them popular. Creating more bureaucracy is not in the best interest of students or parents.

As for the argument that charter schools undermine and underfund the public school system, in reality, charter schools expand the choices available to parents who want to keep their children in public school. Instead of paying tuition fees at independent schools, lower-income parents can often find the programming they need in charter schools, which do not charge tuition. More music to the ears of parents in Atlantic Canada.

Indeed, in every Atlantic province most parents have no choice but to send their kids to government public schools, and many parents would likely welcome more educational options including charter schools. For this to happen, provincial governments in the region must follow Alberta’s example and pass charter legislation of their own. Parents and students in all provinces deserve to have just as many options as parents and students in Alberta.