New curriculum ready for francophone schools | Nouveau curriculum prêt pour les écoles francophones

Posted on Mar 17, 2023

Francophone teachers and students will benefit from updated K-6 French curriculum and resources in September.

French is an integral part of Alberta’s culture and heritage, which is why Alberta’s government is committed to strengthening French learning in schools. Feedback from francophone Albertans and school authorities informed content updates to prepare the draft kindergarten to Grade 6 (K-6) French First Language and Literature curriculum for piloting this school year.

“Alberta’s government remains committed to ensuring francophone perspectives, cultures and identity are foundational in updated curriculum. Thanks to the valuable insights of francophone Albertans and education partners, the new K-6 French First Language and Literature curriculum will foster students’ appreciation of the beauty and richness of the French language and cultures.”

Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Education

Starting this fall, K-3 students in francophone schools across the province will learn from new French First Language and Literature curriculum. Francophone school authorities will also have the option to implement new French curriculum for grades 4 to 6 if they choose.

“The FCSFA appreciates the willingness to listen and the cooperation of Alberta Education. We are committed to continue this cooperation with the province to be able to offer a French First Language and Literature curriculum that meets the needs of our francophone students.”

Tanya Saumure, president, Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones de l’Alberta

In the final K-6 curriculum, francophone cultures and perspectives are woven through all grades to support students in developing a positive relationship with the French language and francophone identity, as well as a sense of belonging to diverse francophone communities. There are also opportunities for students to study a wide variety of texts from many communities, cultures and perspectives. The content aligns with top-performing jurisdictions such as Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec. Albertans can access the final curriculum online to see what has changed.

Francophone education partner engagement

Since the draft K-6 curriculum was initially released in March 2021, Alberta’s government has listened to all feedback from classroom piloting and engagement with Albertans, including francophone education partners and their communities.

For the 2022-23 school year, Alberta Education allocated $3.5 million to procure and develop French curriculum resources, including a grant of $250,000 to the Fédération des conseils scolaires

francophones de l’Alberta to assist with reviewing and recommending French-language resources for new K-6 curriculum being implemented this school year.

In addition, all four francophone school authorities are currently participating in the classroom piloting process and have provided valuable feedback on curriculum content, learning and teaching resources and implementation supports.

“FrancoSud appreciates the collaborative approach with the Ministry of Education. Many of our teachers had the opportunity to participate in the revision and the piloting of the new French First Language curriculum. They told us that this curriculum clearly establishes the content to be taught and supports the cultural and identity journey of our students.”

Marco Bergeron, board chair, Conseil scolaire FrancoSud

“The French First Language curriculum remains a cornerstone of the cultural, language and identity mandate of francophone schools. Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord appreciates the consultation process established by the Ministry of Education with francophone school boards to improve the content of this program.”

Étienne Alary, board chair, Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord

Support for francophone school authorities

Alberta’s government is helping to ensure francophone teachers are prepared for the coming school year by providing a variety of supports and resources in French online, including:

the final K-6 French First Language and Literature curriculum
the Provincial Resource Review Guide, with guidelines for selecting learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculums
bridging resources to assist with transitioning from the current curriculum to the new curriculum
videos and support documents with an overview and orientation to the new curriculum
tools that support teacher planning, collaborating and sharing

information about flexible professional learning opportunities

“The Conseil scolaire du Nord-Ouest is proud of the work accomplished by its teachers in revising and piloting the new French First Language curriculum. This collaboration with the Ministry of Education for this important project will allow our students to have access to a program of study that will support their language, identity and cultural development.”

Sylvianne Maisonneuve, board chair, Conseil scolaire du Nord-Ouest

“CSCE appreciates the fact that Alberta Education has provided the necessary supports for our teachers piloting the new Français curriculum. These teachers acknowledge that the curriculum is well-structured and clearly outlines expectations for teaching French as a first language with a cultural component that reflects our needs as a community.”

Reginald Roy, board chair, Conseil scolaire Centre-Est

In the coming weeks, Alberta Education will continue to identify, develop and procure resources to support teaching and learning of the new French curriculum.

Quick facts

Approximately 3,900 students will be learning from the new K-3 French First Language and Literature curriculum during the 2023-24 school year.
In August 2021, the Fédération des conseils scolaires francophones de l’Alberta received a

$75,000 grant to engage with their communities so their unique perspectives on the draft K-6 curriculum could be heard.

In January 2022, the Fédération des conseils scolaires francophones de l’Alberta provided a report with advice and recommendations on progression of learning, age appropriateness and francophone perspectives in the draft curriculum. The report is available online.
In 2023-24, approximately $47 million has been allocated for the K-6 implementation process. This includes funding for school authorities:

On a per-student basis to purchase additional curriculum resources to support implementation of new K-6 curriculum in three subject areas.
On a per-teacher basis to support professional learning.
In addition, Alberta Education will retain funding to purchase, license and develop high-quality learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculum.

Alberta’s government remains committed to piloting and implementing curriculum based on the balanced and measured approach recommended by the Curriculum Implementation Advisory Group.

Related information

Online and French version