Prairie Rose moves forward despite lingering pandemic effects

By Samantha Johnson
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Assistant superintendent for Prairie Rose Public Schools Boyd Craven presented the 2022-23 Annual Education Results Report to the board of trustees at the last meeting.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be evident and PRPS is continuing to work with schools to close learning gaps for students. Adding additional literacy resources and instructional leadership development, such as PAT and diploma analysis with teaching staff, along with technology initiatives and assessments, have provided teachers with useful benchmarking and indicators for achievement.

Increases were seen in the five-year high school completion rate (85.3% to 89%), diploma acceptable standard (71% to 77.7%) and diploma excellence standard (10.9% to 11.8%). In provincial achievement tests for Grades 6-9, the standard result was about the same (68.6% to 68.4%) and there was a slight decrease for excellence (13.7% to 11.9%).

Under the Alberta Government Measure Evaluation Reference, citizenship falls under a high category with PRPS achieving 86.5 per cent, compared to the provincial average of 80.3 per cent. Prairie Rose Possibilities allows schools to initiate projects and partner with the community in ways that serve their unique context. The result is creating immersive learning experiences for students where they engage with local heritage, culture, landscape, opportunities and experiences.

Parents, students and teachers were surveyed regarding education quality, and an overall 89.2 per cent agreed it was increasing. All Grade 4-12 students were supplied with Chromebooks, portable internet was provided to families without access and the tech team assisted families who had difficulty getting online to ensure students and families remained connected with schools.

Family school liaison support was increased by about 20 per cent within PRPS as a response to increasing mental health concerns. Increasing education assistant support was also a priority, with PRPS investing $3.5 million in this service.

“I would say those are extremely impressive results,” commented trustee Cathy Hogg following the presentation. “Big props to our teachers and our students, I’m very proud of our division.”

The full report can be found at https://www.myprps.com/annual-reporting.

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