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The College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan has become the first post-secondary institution in Canada to offer a post-degree certificate in English as an Additional Language Education.

The primary difference with this program, which is strictly optional for teachers, is that while the norm has been to prepare lesson plans for adults new to the country, this is meant to provide teachers with the expertise to work with English language learners at all grade levels.

According to Nadia Prokopchuk, EAL program specialist in the department of curriculum studies, the College is the first in the country to pursue a program of this kind that focuses solely on K-12 learners.

Even the woman sitting at the information desk was bemused by the question when asked to confirm directions for the school classroom at the recently opened Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

Like many others she was blissfully unaware of its existence in this, the sparkling new gem of the Saskatchewan Health Authority overlooking the banks of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon.

Luckily though, I knew the place existed because not only had I read about it but also the arrangements were already in place for the interview through Andra Thorstad, one of the two teachers along with colleague Marty Hoehn.

In thinking about our theme and the projects that will be presented at this year’s Learning From Practice conference, it is important that we continue to build on other conversations occurring throughout the province about the role of public education.

When Chris Scribe and Dawn Wallin were reviewing the evaluation committee comments on their successful Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight grant application, it reaffirmed what they already knew to be true: the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Education and its partners’ efforts to decolonize teacher education were unique in North America.

“We’re working to give our students field experiences in professional development schools with an Indigenous focus right from the ground up,” said Scribe, director of the College’s Indian Teacher Education Program. “This is something that people in the research community are taking note of.”

When it comes to the stated intentions of the Ministry of Education in wanting to reset its less-than-optimal relationship with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, don’t expect STF President Patrick Maze to be drinking the Kool-Aid.

This is Maze’s fifth term as President. In that time he has seen scant evidence of the government’s willingness to embark on a new path together in seeking education reform or providing more of an opportunity for teacher voice to be heard. The current stalled provincial collective bargaining process is a poignant example as far as Maze is concerned.