A Historical Listing of Significant Events in Manitoba’s Elementary-Secondary Education, Post-Secondary Education and Training Systems 1989 – 2006 Compiled by C. Jean Britton June 30, 2006 ISBN # TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................... iii SECTION 1 – CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF ACTIVITIES Year-by-Year Descriptions Prior 1989............................................................................................. 2 1989 ..................................................................................................... 3 1990 ..................................................................................................... 5 1991 ..................................................................................................... 7 1992 ..................................................................................................... 9 1993 ................................................................................................... 12 1994 ................................................................................................... 13 1995 ................................................................................................... 15 1996 ................................................................................................... 16 1997 ................................................................................................... 17 1998 ................................................................................................... 19 1999 ................................................................................................... 21 2000 ................................................................................................... 23 2001 ................................................................................................... 25 2002 ................................................................................................... 28 2003 ................................................................................................... 31 2004 ................................................................................................... 33 2005 ................................................................................................... 36 2006 ................................................................................................... 39 Historical Data Tables Elementary-Secondary Governance and Enrolments......................... 44 Dates of Provincial Elections .............................................................. 44 K-S4 Curriculum and Student Assessments Schedule....................... 45 SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES OF MAJOR PROVINCE-WIDE POLICY INITIATIVES System-wide: 1990 Training Skills in Manitoba.......................................................... 49 1991 Departmental Strategic Planning ................................................ 51 1993 Distance Education and Technology .......................................... 52 2004 Aboriginal Education................................................................... 53 Elementary-Secondary Education: 1989 Special Education....................................................................... 55 1990 Answering the Challenge............................................................ 56 1993 Francophone School Governance.............................................. 58 1993 Legislative Reform...................................................................... 59 1994 Renewing Education: New Directions......................................... 60 1995 Manitoba School Division Boundaries – Review......................... 62 1996 Teacher Collective Bargaining and Compensation..................... 63 i TABLE OF CONTENTS, CONT’D 1998 Special Education Review .......................................................... 64 2002 K-S4 Education Agenda for Student Success ............................ 65 2002 Class Size and Composition....................................................... 67 2004 Education Finance...................................................................... 68 2004 Student Assessment................................................................... 69 2005 Healthy Living............................................................................. 70 Post-Secondary Education and Training: 1989 Adult Literacy.............................................................................. 72 1994 University Review ....................................................................... 73 1997 Apprenticeship............................................................................ 74 2000 College Expansion Initiative ....................................................... 75 2001 Manitoba Training Strategy ........................................................ 76 2003 Review of COPSE ...................................................................... 77 2003 University College of the North................................................... 78 ii Introduction The following document was prepared for the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) in partnership with Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (MECY) and Manitoba Advanced Education and Training (MAET). The document was created to support MCHP’s data analytical operation by providing contextual information related to education and training developments across Manitoba since 1989. The document is divided into two sections. The first is a chronological listing of key policy developments and activities related to K-S4 education, post-secondary education, and training, and the second is a descriptive summary of major education/training government reform initiatives that have shaped policy over the years. Over the time-span examined (ie, 1989 to June 30, 2006), a great deal of public consultation occurred which contributed to policy developments in elementary-secondary education, post-secondary education, and the training systems. Indeed, very little policy development and legislative amendments were made without first consulting stakeholders and the general public. The major initiatives that shaped the elementary-secondary education sector included Answering the Challenge (1990), New Directions (1994), and the K-S4 Agenda (2002); while for post-secondary education it was college governance (1991), creation of the Council on Post-Secondary Education (1997), and the College Expansion Initiative (2000); and for training the transfer of EI-funded responsibilities from the federal government to the provincial government (1997). Between 1989 and present, there have been relatively few disruptions to the education and training systems in Manitoba. Disruptions that did transpire, however, tended to occur primarily in local communities over specific issues (eg, saving Cartwright School in 1992, funding adult learners in Morris- MacDonald School Division in 2001, and striking support staff in River East and Transcona/Springfield school divisions in 2000 and Turtle River School Division in 2005). At a province-wide level, protracted tension was created between teachers and government when New Directions was introduced in 1994 and collective bargaining legislation in 1996, but this tension did not create disruptions for students in classrooms. The most recent province-wide struggle occurred in 2002 with school division amalgamation, a process that was difficult in some communities. The content within the following document is not meant to be fully inclusive of all policies and activities, but rather an attempt to highlight the large variety of developments that have occurred across Manitoba’s education and training systems. The chronological dating within respective years is often an estimate as many initiatives do not have exact start or stop dates. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author. Primary, but not inclusive, sources of information include: Departmental Annual Reports (1989-90 to 2004-05), COPSE Annual Reports (1997-98 to 2004-05), Education Manitoba magazine (Sept 1989 to June 1994; October 2002 to May 2006); Education Update newsletter (1997-98 to 2000-01); Government news releases (1995 to 2006); Winnipeg Free Press (1989 to 2006); Winnipeg Sun (1989 to 2006), Departmental Enrolment Reports (1989 to 2005); CMEC, FLMM, CCL websites; MTS’s Manitoba Teacher (1989 to 2006); Government of Manitoba web-site; many community and university newspapers (1999 to 2006), and a large number of Manitoba Government publicly released documents. iii SECTION 1 Chronological List of Activities 1 Section 1 – Chronological List of Activities Prior 1989 1956 – The Public Schools Act was amended to disallow teachers’ right to strike, and division boards’ right to lock out. 1967 – Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) was created to provide ministers of education and their advisors with a forum in which to share ideas and work together on projects of common importance. 1970 – Bill 113 confirmed the equality of French and English (the two official languages) as languages of instruction in Manitoba. Bill 113, being an amendment of Section 258 of the Manitoba Public Schools Act, allowed 100% teaching of French (Kindergarten to Grade 3) and 75% of French (Grade 4 to Grade 12). 1970 – New Careers Program was introduced as a provincially accredited adult PSE and training program to provide direct job entry education and training programs for individual who encounter persistent barriers to meaningful