Demystifying Education

04/08/2026

RTD Connect is hiring facilitators for the upcoming school year! Facilitators must be teachers certified in the province of Alberta, experienced in the world of home education (either previously a facilitator or a homeschool parent) and willing to work as part of an amazing team. Interviews will be held April 20-24. Please contact Golda for more information [email protected]

03/16/2026

03/13/2026

Congratulations! Because you are home educating, your student (and you!) is invited to join us on a once-in-a-lifetime international travel experience with other homeschoolers. Please be sure to register for this info session to learn more details about this upcoming 2027 travel opportunity to Scotland and Ireland!

When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them by engaging with other cultures, discovering more about themselves, developing independence, confidence, empathy, and self-awareness. They get the opportunity to consider their impact in the world and become inspired to embrace new opportunities. These skills are critical to encouraging personal development and growth within students and creating the global citizens of tomorrow. I would love to have your child join us on this adventure!

Join this meeting to learn:

● How this opportunity will benefit your child

● What we'll see and do on the trip

● Safety on tour

● Who is EF Educational Tours

● How to enrol on the trip

Our meeting will be held virtually on Monday March 16th at 7:00 PM. One parent must be in attendance.

To receive the meeting details, virtual link and to qualify for the door prizes, you must register using this link: https://bit.ly/40f5xXZ

Can’t make the meeting but want more information? Register and select “No but send info.”

02/18/2026

Everyone in Alberta should read this study about educational funding:
https://aristotlefoundation.org/study/more-choice-more-savings-how-educational-choice-saves-alberta-taxpayers-billions/

01/07/2026

Alberta is the most free province in all of Canada (Least amount of taxes, too).

Alberta faith-based independent school options equal more freedom for other Alberta schools.

Albertans know that religious rights protect other human rights. Protecting religious and human rights gives Albertans more freedom and less government control.

Duty to Accommodate: Organizations have a positive duty to accommodate an individual's religious practices to the point of "undue hardship".

Albertans' right to religion is protected at both the provincial and federal levels, primarily by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Human Rights Act. These laws ensure individuals can freely hold and practice their religious beliefs (or no beliefs) without government interference or discrimination in society.

Constitutional Protection (Canadian Charter)
The foundation of religious freedom in Alberta and all of Canada is guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a part of Canada's Constitution.

Section 2(a) guarantees "freedom of conscience and religion" for everyone. This protects the right to:
Hold sincerely-held personal religious convictions or beliefs.
Express those beliefs through worship, practice, teaching, and dissemination.
Not be forced to act contrary to one's beliefs or conscience.
Be non-religious or an atheist.

Section 15 guarantees equality rights, ensuring everyone is equal under the law without discrimination based on religion (among other grounds).

Provincial Protection (Alberta Human Rights Act)
The Alberta Human Rights Act provides additional protection against discrimination in areas of provincial jurisdiction, such as employment, housing, and public services.
Prohibited Discrimination: Employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against individuals based on their religious beliefs, including Indigenous spirituality.

Support ALL Alberta students
Sign & share

www.studentsfirstalberta.ca

01/07/2026

🚨 If Cherry-Picking Is Wrong, Let’s Apply the Rule Fairly.

Public education advocates — including the ATA — regularly accuse independent schools of “cherry-picking” students.

But that accusation ignores three inconvenient facts.

First:
Some publicly funded schools and programs in Alberta require applications, exams, recommendations, auditions, or portfolios.
They are selective by design — and publicly funded.

Second:
Independent schools receive only 70% of the base operating funding and no funding for buildings or capital costs.

Third:
Many independent schools do not exclude high-needs students by ideology.

In fact, several independent schools are Designated Special Education Programs (DSEPs) — specifically created to support children with complex learning, behavioural, and developmental needs.
These schools relieve pressure on the public system by serving students who would otherwise require significant public resources.

Beyond DSEPs, many independent schools that are not designated as special education schools still support students with IPP’s, learning differences, and additional needs — often with fewer resources than the public system receives.

When independent schools limit enrollment, it is usually because they lack the staffing, space, or funding to responsibly support additional students — not because they are unwilling to do so.

Calling that “elitism,” while ignoring:

- selective public programs

- affluent catchment schools

- capacity-based limits inside the public system

isn’t about equity. It’s about protecting a narrative.

Elitism already exists in Alberta’s public system.
It’s just hidden behind geography instead of tuition.

And until we’re honest about that, we’re not defending fairness —
we’re defending hypocrisy.

If you support independent education and parental choice, add your name at studentsfirstalberta.ca.

01/05/2026

🚨 Public Education Isn’t Equal — It’s Just Zoned

Public education in Alberta is often sold as the great equalizer:
open to everyone, fair to all.

That sounds good — until you look at how access actually works.

Neighbourhood public schools operate on strict catchment boundaries. If you don’t live inside the right lines on a map, you don’t get in. Period.

So when the most stable, enriched public schools are located in neighbourhoods with $700,000–$800,000 homes, access isn’t based on merit or need — it’s based on housing wealth.

• Wealthy families buy the house and get the “free” school
• Working-class families are zoned out — no appeal, no bursaries

Meanwhile, independent schools are accused of “not accepting everyone.”

But here’s the hypocrisy:

Independent education does not operate on catchment boundaries.
Public schools do — and they enforce them rigidly.

We’re told public schools “must accept all kids.”
In reality, they accept all kids who live in the right postal code.

And there are exceptions.

Students identified as gifted can access specialized public programs outside their catchment.
Selective public schools and programs use applications, assessments, and eligibility criteria.

So some students get special access.
Others are told, “Sorry — that’s not your school.”

Same public curriculum.
Very different access.
Very different outcomes.

That isn’t equality.
That’s economic sorting — with selective privileges — disguised as fairness.⁩

If you support independent education and parental choice, add your name at studentsfirstalberta.ca.

12/23/2025

This is a new organization in Alberta. I had the pleasure of speaking to the executive director today. They have an amazing vision for the future. They need support and are wanting to be better known since they are new. Please share and sign up!

5000 Albertans have stepped forward to support independent schools, and we’re still growing!

Add your name today at StudentsFirstAlberta.ca

12/21/2025

This is very true. Inclusion includes independent schools and parents who make different choices for their children!

🧠 DEI — Freedom to Choose: But only when it’s their choice

The modern left constantly invokes "DEI" — diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But only when it benefits them.

Because when those same principles are applied to education, suddenly the rules change.

- DIVERSITY -
DEI celebrates difference — until families choose schools that don’t reflect progressive ideology. Then diversity becomes a problem to be “managed” or eliminated.

One centralized, state-approved education system isn’t diversity.
It’s ideological uniformity.

- EQUITY -
Progressives claim to fight for marginalized communities — yet support policies that remove affordable alternatives for families who don’t have the means to move, homeschool, or pay private tuition.

When independent schools are defunded, wealthy families still have options.
Working-class families lose them.

That isn’t equity.
That’s gatekeeping.

- INCLUSION -
Inclusion is celebrated — unless a school reflects religious belief, cultural tradition, or values outside the progressive consensus.

Those families aren’t included.
They’re tolerated at best — and targeted at worst.

Here’s the hypocrisy DEI won’t admit:

If diversity only counts when everyone thinks the same,
If equity only applies when choice is restricted,
If inclusion excludes anyone who dissents —

Then DEI isn’t about justice.
It’s about control.

Educational pluralism exposes this contradiction — which is why it’s under attack.

Not because it’s harmful.
But because it limits the power of those who believe they should decide how every child is educated.

If you support independent education and parent choice, stand with us! Add your name at studentsfirstalberta.ca

12/19/2025

12/19/2025

This is something close to my heart. I believe in parental choice for their child's education and the recent attack on that choice in Alberta leaves me feeling worried. Don't sign the petition to defund independent (private) schools and please vote no on any referendum. The affects way more kids than people think!

STOP BLAMING INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL STRUGGLES 🛑

It’s time for a reality check. The claim that independent education is a “problem” or a “drain” on Alberta’s system is false. Research shows the opposite: public schools would be in a far worse crisis without independent education.

While critics fixate on the $9.4 billion public education budget, independent schools have become the scapegoat. Here’s why that narrative is wrong—backed by Cardus’ "Good Schools, Good Citizens" report:

1. We ARE PART of the foundation. 🏛️
Independent education isn’t an “add-on.” It has been a core part of Alberta’s pluralistic system for decades. The world’s strongest democracies don’t operate education monopolies—they protect choice. Alberta’s strength is pluralism.

2. We contribute MORE—for LESS. 📉
Independent schools deliver the same curriculum at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers. If these students were forced back into the public system, the $9.9 billion budget would be stretched even thinner. Independent education effectively subsidizes the public system.

3. The data is clear on civic outcomes. 🎓
Cardus reviewed 34 quantitative studies and found independent schools consistently foster higher political knowledge, stronger community engagement, and greater tolerance for differing views—showing advantages in civic formation in 50 measured instances.

4. All schools serve the public good. 🤝
The public good isn’t confined to government-run buildings. When students become responsible, civically engaged adults, society benefits—no matter where they were educated.

Bottom line:
Blaming independent schools for systemic problems is easy—but dishonest. Independent education is an Alberta success story that benefits everyone. It’s time to stop the division and respect parental choice.

If you support independent education & parent choice, stand with us! Add your name at studentsfirstalberta.ca.
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Source: https://bit.ly/4skISqe

11/17/2025

Another coffee night! 7pm tomorrow night:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pkGZX8wPT12kx2dUeMTyDA #/registration