N.B. government announces public consultations, timeline for restructuring K-12 education

The New Brunswick government is restructuring its K-12 education system.

The New Brunswick government is moving forward with plans to restructure K-12 education across the province, which could include rearranging the school day schedule, loosening grade levels and incorporating more artificial intelligence within the classroom.

The government released a discussion paper on Friday for the anglophone and francophone school sectors, meant for guiding public consultations this fall. The discussion papers cover a series of scenarios, including the replacement of traditional grades (K-8) with flexible developmental groupings (primary, elementary, middle), and shuffling the school day to include both required curriculum and student-selected options before high school.

The discussion paper also makes note of a decline in math, reading and science scores. The current 10-year education plan titled “Everyone At Their Best” includes 52 measures, with 24 showing improvement, 23 showing a decline with eight having no data or measurements tracked.

The province says about 700 teachers and other education experts have offered early advice on the current 10-year education plan, and the plan to come.

“We were very pleased to see the discussion paper highlight that establishing that stable workforce must be our top priority, and nothing matters more to student success than having qualified and supported teachers in well resourced schools,” said Heidi Ryder, president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association, during a news conference on Friday.

The province says surveys and in-person/virtual meetings will be part of public consultations. The new education plan will be released next spring.

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