Alberta Education announces increased mental health supports

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Alberta Education announced increased funding for mental-health supports for K-12 schools Wednesday — but did not address the reasons many parents say are causing stress in students, including learning disruptions, absences and rising illnesses.

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Education Minister Adriana LaGrange attended a francophone school in Calgary to announce a “doubling” to existing annual funding for mental health, adding another $10 million each year to the existing $10 million a year over two years, previously announced in Budget 2022.

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The additional money will support up to 60 “mental health pilot projects” in urban and rural areas to improve mental health in students and provide additional training for staff.

“The relationship between positive mental health and academic success is of significant importance and one that is a top priority for our government,” LaGrange said.

“I have heard first-hand from parents, teachers and other school staff that learning disruptions and temporary school closures over the past couple of years have impacted the mental health and wellness of many students, if not all, in one form or another.”

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But parents and education advocates have argued for weeks that it is the lack of stronger health measures, such as mask mandates, that are causing disruptions, stress and anxiety among students.

“This government has put students in a completely untenable situation,” said Amanda Hu, spokeswoman for Fresh Air Schools.

“Kids are scared to go to school because they see sickness all around them.

“They’re seeing classmates not being able to come to school, or they can’t come to school because they are sick and they want to do the right thing. But then they feel guilty because they are missing out, or they can’t help with a group assignment, or they’re falling behind.

“How can all of that not impact your mental health?”

Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman for Support Our Students, added, “Families are incredibly stressed right now. And it’s because they’re caught in this constant cycle of kids being away and missing school and falling behind.

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“And this is exactly what happens when you don’t use any mitigation measures.”

LaGrange was pressed several times about why the province won’t commit to a mask mandate Wednesday, even after Premier Danielle Smith has made it clear several times in the past week that she will not reinstate mask mandates in schools.

And when asked whether Alberta Education would consider allowing individual school boards to implement their own mask mandates without approval from the province, LaGrange essentially said no.

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“School boards are not allowed to mask students without a chief medical officer of health order, and I’m not going to anticipate or speculate on what the new chief medical officer of health will say.”

Since being elected in the UCP leadership vote last month, Smith has replaced former CMOH Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who led the province throughout the pandemic, with Dr. Mark Joffe, vice-president of Alberta Health Services.

LaGrange said families have told the government that masking has also increased their anxiety.

“I have heard from many parents and students that it was masking that contributed to mental-health challenges and feelings of anxiety.

“Some have even had issues with breathing properly and learning properly.”

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School boards in Alberta’s big cities have seen illnesses and absences skyrocket in the past several weeks, with the Calgary Board of Education now reporting 12 per cent absenteeism this week, and the Edmonton Public School Board nearing 14 per cent.

As well, the Calgary Catholic School District says about 35 per cent of its schools are now experiencing absenteeism greater than 10 per cent, meaning they are on outbreaks. And two classrooms have been forced to shift to online learning at home.

Hu added that even if the province adds funding to mental-health supports, anxiety and learning loss will continue to rise along with illness and learning disruptions.

“I have no idea how any learning outcomes can be achieved the way things are going.”

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LaGrange added that Wednesday’s funding announcement will be on top of the $45 million provided last year to address pandemic learning loss in grades 1 to 3 students across Alberta.

But school boards have said they are still short funding, with the CBE reinforcing at a board meeting only two weeks ago that this year’s $1.15-billion operating budget is essentially the same as last year’s while they welcomed a record 5,886 additional students this year.

Public school officials have also said investments to support students with special needs are falling behind, with Alberta Education leaving a funding gap of about $50 million to address growing complexities in increasingly crowded classrooms.

eferguson@postmedia.com