Each year, the NLPS Board of Trustees is required to provide Alberta Education with an Annual Education Results Report (AERR) that details how the division is meeting the goals set for it by Alberta Education, and how it is addressing priority areas it has identified.
Here is the division's most recent AERR: 2020-2021 Annual Education Results Report
Northern Lights Public Schools recognizes that the COVID-19 Pandemic significantly impacted the implementation of the Three-Year Plan and the subsequent results. The Accountability Pillar reflects only the May results, consisting primarily of parent, staff, and student survey data. Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT) for grade 6 and 9 students were cancelled, and Provincial Diploma Exams (PDE) were made optional. The vast majority of students and parents exercised their right to not write PDEs. As a result, many of the specific measures are reported as “N/A”. Northern Lights Public Schools is pleased with the efforts made by schools and staff to try and address shortfalls in instruction due to COVID-19 related attendance issues and disruptions and proud of the work accomplished by staff and the rest of the school community in providing educational programming in an extremely challenging environment. Limited progress was made in the implementation of strategies above and beyond basic instruction as the mental well being of our students and staff took precedence. Additionally, Northern Lights Public Schools acknowledges the efforts and sacrifices of parents and students in ensuring that learning continued in very difficult circumstances.
Nevertheless, the May Accountability Pillar results provide updated data in five of the 12 measurements. Of the nine measures that remained the same, one improved, one improved significantly, and three did not see an improvement. Four of these measures did not show any data due to the cancellation of PATs and PDEs being made optional. The measures that did not see improvement reflect the toll COVID-19 has taken on our community, which include Education Quality, Welcoming, Caring, Respectful, and Safe Learning Environments, as well as Parental Involvement.
During the 2020-2021 school year, students received instruction in a combination of in-person and online. The division was able to reimplement some key system strategies using technology to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. These strategies included literacy, numeracy, technology, classroom management and early learning coaching series delivered by Learning Consultants, utilizing the Collaborative Response Model, continuing with the Generative Dialogue process that facilitates structured improvement related conversations between the Central Office Leadership Team (COLT) and school administrators, and utilizing commonly developed curricular assessments in core courses with students in grades 7 to 9. These and other key strategies are increasing the opportunities for every student to be successful.
More specifically, First Nations, and Inuit (FNMI) students continue to have results better than the provincial average in the area of High School Completion. In the 2020-2021 school year our three-year high school completion rate increased by 17.6 percent and our five year high school completion rate increased by 7 percent. Additional strategies include ensuring that all FNMI students have access to equal services as part of the Inclusive Education model, extending Regional Collaborative Service Delivery to students attending FNMI schools, using the Innovation in First Nations Education Grant to ensure improved success of our First Nations students, providing resources such as Literacy Seed Kits to all schools to enhance the connections between resources and FNMI students, and continuing to develop key community partnerships, Education Service Agreements (ESA’s) with First Nations, and positive relationships with Métis Settlements. High schools are actively providing support for FNMI students related to High School Completion. While some of the key strategies were interrupted due to the pandemic, ensuring success for First Nation, Métis and Inuit students in Northern Lights Public Schools remains a priority.
Provincial assurance model requires school divisions to report the following data sets. The results from 2020-2021 were significantly impacted by COVID-19 and decisions made at the provincial and division level. Some of the validity of data sets will increase as Northern Lights transitions back to normal operations:
Northern Lights Public Schools encourages growth in all staff through a variety of opportunities. Funds were budgeted for professional development at the administrative level, teacher level, and support staff level. This allowed all staff to participate in professional development for growth specific to their role in consultation with their supervisor. Northern Lights also organized professional development through outside agencies facilitating courses such as the Conversational Language Course through Portage College, and Educational Assistant Training and Violent Threat and Risk Assessment through the Learning Network. A Numeracy Academy Course through the University of Alberta was scheduled for last year but due to COVID-19 was postponed until the 2021-2022 school year. Additionally, System Day 2020 was an opportunity for all staff to participate in a variety of professional development sessions, and a half day of professional development was facilitated for all teachers and administrators in the spring.
Northern Lights Public Schools designs all Professional Growth Plans (PGP) around the Teaching Quality Standards and the Leadership Quality Standards developed by Alberta Education. Teachers developed their PGPs with their administrators at the beginning of the year and met periodically to discuss and track their progress. The Central Office Leadership Team (COLT) met with school administrators virtually on a monthly basis to develop their PGPs and facilitate the Generative Dialogue process to discuss teaching, learning, and the supervision and evaluation of teachers operating in a combined face to face and virtual environment.
Northern Lights Public Schools makes an effort to ensure FNMI student success. The board has undertaken specific learning opportunities rooted in expanding their understanding as leaders of our local First Nations, Metis and Inuit populations. Actions taken by Northern Lights to ensure FNMI students success within the six categories presented in the 2017 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, Promising Practices in Supporting Success for Indigenous Students include:
Each year Northern Lights Public Schools works with partners that include the Mental Health Capacity Building Project (Successful Families Successful Kids (SFSK)), Community Helpers (CH), and Mental Health Consultants to ensure appropriate supports are in place. Individual Program Plans, Behaviour Support Plans, Medical Support Plans, safety plans, and Success in School Plans are created to support the individual learning needs of students and are signed by the parents/guardians of the students. Additionally, supervision is provided to ensure that teachers are meeting the Teacher Quality Standard of establishing inclusive learning environments.
In order to meet student needs in the 2020-2021 school year, over 1,500 Individual Program or Support Plans were created to identify specific student needs ranging from severe needs to addressing gifted and talented needs. NLPS also worked to address the change in funding to support students requiring Program Unit Funding (PUF), serving over 30 preschool aged students across a vast geographic area. We also worked with Tribal Chiefs Ventures (TCVI), First Nations Health Care (FNHC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to solicit support through Jordan’s Principle, allowing our staff to address the needs of First Nations students requiring specialized supports.
Northern Lights Public Schools built a team of Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists & Assistants, to identify the educational impacts of students speech and language or occupational therapy needs and then plan and intervene with appropriate supports. In addition to the time spent working with students and staff on addressing universal needs, these staff met with students in groups or one on one to address complex student needs.
Northern Lights partnered with a number of school jurisdictions in the former Eastern Edge Regional Collaborative Service Delivery (RCSD) area to support a Low Incidence Team ensuring we have access to professionals to support students that are deaf or hard of hearing or have low vision. This partnership allows us secure access to individuals that work with staff and families to meet the needs of a few students with very specific needs.
During the 2020-2021 school year we have facilitated professional development activities for staff, resulting in improved opportunities for students. These included leading a Human Development course for our Educational Assistants in partnership with Portage College, Lakeland Catholic and Alberta Health Services. This resulted in staff completing the requirement for Level 1 Child Care. The division employed Jigsaw Learning to offer learning focussed on understanding and assisting students with a variety of needs. Additionally, we continue to support the ongoing training for seven Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Trainers (NVCI) across the division. Despite COVID-19 restrictions these trainers have hosted training for 168 staff members increasing the knowledge and confidence in staff and increasing the assurance that safe and appropriate practices are employed when intervention is required. Additionally, Northern Lights has one trainer, 13 School Administrator or Student Support team leads, nine teachers, three Counsellors and 20 Educational Assistants trained in Supporting Individuals through Valued Attachments (SIVA).
In 2020-2021 Northern Lights instituted a Manager of Student Advocacy Counsellors and Community Supports to supervise 23 counsellors at 26 schools emphasizing universal, individual and group interventions for all students. This manager led training for our counsellors specific to suicide prevention led the transition to virtual counselling programs and continued to connect with community Mental Health resources to support students with individualized needs.
Northern Lights partners with Alberta Health Services with a Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) project, running a Successful Families, Successful Kids (SFSK) program which offers programming for students, family and community over 12 months of the year. In the summer months alone SFSK had over 2,400 participants in their programs.
Variance Analysis of Spring Budget to Actual Expenditures 2020-21
The following chart depicts the financial performance of Northern Lights Public Schools for the year ending August 31, 2021.
| 2021 Actual | 2021 Budget | Variance Amount | Variance % | |
| Total Revenues | $83,378,344 | $82, 805,141 | $573,203 | 1% |
| Expenses by Program | ||||
| Instruction - Pre K | $699,241 | $835,930 | ($136,689) | -16% |
| Instruction - K - 12 | $60,018,066 | $61,204,450 | ($1,186,384) | -2% |
| Operations and Maintenance | $11,754,076 | $10,989,866 | $764,210 | 7% |
| Transportation | $5,663,610 | $5,796,305 | ($132,695) | -2% |
| System Administration | $2,469,923 | $2,952,104 | ($482,181) | -16% |
| External Services | $601,297 | $623,313 | ($22,016) | -4% |
| Total Expenses | $81,206,213 | $82,401,968 | ($1,195,755) | -1% |
While variances represent a discrepancy from plans, they do not reflect a complete picture. A quick view of the revenue discrepancy would indicate that predictions for revenue generation were very accurate. Revenue on a line by line basis fluctuated greatly. The initial projections for enrollment, revenue and expenditures assumed that the effect of the pandemic would subside. Initial projections also included that enrollment would remain consistent. COVID resulted in a reduction of School Generated Funds (SGF) activities and revenues. The division was impacted by the decision made by Alberta Education to record the reduction to funding in the current year, while recognizing the revenue for COVID mitigation in the following year. This resulted in a significant change.
The budgeting process was impacted specifically in the area of Program Unit Funding (PUF). Due to COVID, a number of parents chose not to enrol their children in pre-K or kindergarten programs. This choice not to enrol children for additional supports at an early age may have a negative impact on their development as they progress through the school system.
The pandemic caused an increase in online and homeschooling educational opportunities for students from across the province. Even though Northern Lights started an online program to meet the needs of students, the division experienced an unexpected decline in enrollment. The division chose to not adjust the number of certificated teaching staff, as it would be difficult to adjust mid-year if students returned. The number of support staff directly related to individual student needs was adjusted. As experienced in divisions across the province, many of the activities for students and staff did not occur during the year (e.g. fundraising, field trips, professional development, extra-curricular activities, etc). This resulted in a reduction in spending in the instructional envelope overall.
Operations and maintenance had a challenging year. In addition to regular duties, they were tasked with additional sanitization needs as required by Alberta Health Services. Northern Lights also experienced changes in funding for Infrastructure Maintenance and Renewal (IMR) and Capital Maintenance and Renewal (CMR) due to the new funding framework. As per direction from Alberta Education, a significant portion of the current year IMR funds needed to be capitalized. The timing of the communication of this change did not allow sufficient time for adapting plans. As a result, overspending in this envelope was imminent.
Transportation operated within their projected budget. Cost savings were recognized in this portfolio as a result of collapsing routes due to decreased enrollment. Issues with insurance premium increases for contracted bus operators posed difficulties. The division also experienced a deficiency of trained school bus drivers. Contracted Bus Operators (CBO) expressed concerns with continuing to provide service given the reduction to the already non-existent profitability for them.
System governance and administration adapted to the pandemic in 2020-21. Board meetings, professional development, and other division meetings were conducted virtually and travel was significantly limited for trustees and division office staff. Given the added responsibilities of the pandemic, the reduction of time spent travelling was diverted to managing COVID related issues. Due to the increased efforts in managing COVID and the additional stress and anxiety impacting students and staff, the growth and priorities of the division were impacted.
External services, consisting mostly of pre-school and out of school care, saw a significant reduction to their operations. The division received additional grants to assist with providing these services during the pandemic. These programs operated within their established budgets even though they experienced a reduction in children participating due to parents keeping their children home during the pandemic.
Northern Lights, as many other school divisions, was not able to expend the budget as planned. We continued to assess and adapt to meet needs as they arose due to the evolution of the pandemic. Reserves for the division lie at the lower end of the recommended Alberta Education range for school divisions of similar size. The slight growth of reserves will be used as the division continues to deal with COVID-19 and the operational requirements of ensuring the safety of students and staff.
Information in greater detail can be found at https://www.nlpsab.ca/accountability.
For further information, please contact Paula Elock, Secretary-Treasurer at Division Office (780.826.3145).
Stakeholder Engagement
COVID-19 significantly impacted the opportunities for face to face engagement during the 2020-2021 school year. Division efforts focused on providing students as high quality education as possible in an extremely disruptive year. High rates of COVID-19 in our region made the priority of keeping kids in schools. The Board of Trustees endorsed an extension of current priorities due to the delays caused by COVID-19. Engagement opportunities for stakeholders were limited and took place through surveys or online format.
The Board engaged school councils regionally in online forums to report progress and receive feedback on local issues. These meetings occurred for the school councils in the Bonnyville, Cold Lake, and Lac La Biche regions. The online format led to a strong participation with over 125 participants. The Board will continue to engage in regionalized meetings that will hopefully occur face to face when we are able.
Due to the impending space issues in Cold Lake at a number of schools, the division continued on with its Cold Lake Configuration process. A committee of parents representing all schools was struck to build scenarios that would address space issues and programming needs. This committee facilitated the collection of data from stakeholders in the Cold Lake region to determine the preferred grade configuration model. 1700 people participated in the engagement including parents, staff, and students to help the committee make a recommendation to the Board.
The Board provides ongoing opportunities for engagement on specific initiatives, policies and procedures, through an online platform identified as Engage NLPS. This platform allows for engagement of both stakeholders and staff in separate formats. Northern Lights continues to identify new ways to engage our stakeholders and increase participation in our engagement opportunities. These additional engagement efforts continually reaffirm our commitment to our numeracy and mental health and wellness priorities.
School councils are a vital component of the success of students in Northern Lights. They represent the voice of stakeholders in each individual school. To ensure school council involvement and ownership of the schools’ three-year plans and the reporting of its results, the division has utilized a template that is a combined document. A data driven, robust consultation process was enacted to determine the division priorities that resulted in a strong focus on numeracy and mental health of students. Schools create with stakeholders a three year plan that must include the division and any locally determined priorities. Individual school priorities are determined by school principals reviewing relevant data sets with school council, staff, and students depending on age. This document is reviewed frequently throughout the year at school council meetings by principals and must be signed off by the school council chair to ensure their knowledge and endorsement of the schools’ priorities and strategies. By November of the following school year the principal completes the results portion of the three year plan and reports directly to the school council.
In an effort to provide stakeholders the assurance that the division is meeting its responsibilities, Northern Lights Public Schools makes the Annual Education Results Report available in its entirety online at https://www.nlpsab.ca/accountability/aerr-3-year-education-plan and also provides a one-page summary to every household in the jurisdiction via Canada Post. Northern Lights Public Schools also operates a Facebook page, and Instagram and Twitter accounts. We recently added School Messenger, which allows the division, schools and individual teachers with opportunities to connect with students and parents.
The Annual Education Results Report was presented to the Board of Trustees at a public meeting on November 30, 2021. The approved report was posted to our website at nlpsab.ca and electronic copies were provided to school administrators and school council chairs. Print copies are available to the public upon request, at no charge, by contacting our Division Office at 780-826-3145. Electronic copies can be found at https://www.nlpsab.ca/accountability. Northern Lights Public Schools also develops and provides, in conjunction with school councils, Three-Year Education Plans. Copies of these school plans are provided to School Council members and are available on school websites.