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Background Information

• In March 2020, COVID-19 was the impetus for creating a new reality for school divisions across the Alberta and beyond. At the onset of the global pandemic, school divisions in Alberta quickly shifted to an online model to provide students with continuity in instruction and learning. Subsequently, school divisions entered several months of shifting back and forth between face-to-face and online instruction while at the same time adhering to a number of new health and safety protocols. As the pandemic continued, concerns about the learning disruption, began to surface.
• In June 2021, Alberta Education provided school divisions with the opportunity to apply for new funding to utilize targeted interventions, with focus on Grades 1, 2, and 3, to address COVID-19 learning disruptions.
• To apply for the funding, school authorities were to provide information such as:
  • a description of the programming;
  • information on the assessment(s) and benchmarks to be used;
  • aggregated assessment scores; and
  • parent communication plan.
• A number of school authorities applied for the additional funding, which resulted in an interesting collection of stories of practice that demonstrated a variety of strategic, innovative, research-based, and sustainable approaches to address learning disruption.