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Following through on a promise in the Speech from the Throne, the Government of Saskatchewan set aside $2 million in its spring budget to improve literacy levels for students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 across the province.
Education Minister Everett Hindley said improving reading levels is something everyone agrees on.
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“If kids and students are exiting Grade 3 at that Grade 3 reading level… they’re in a much better position to be successful in their further academics,” explained Hindley.
The decision to make the push for improved literacy came before Hindley’s time as minister, but he said there was probably some feedback from school divisions, teachers, parents and families that there needed to be a greater focus on reading ability.
Education Minister Everett Hindley said it’s important that the education system provides all the support necessary for students to improve and achieve the best results possible. (980 CJME file photo)
Hindley said there’s been a lot of talk about the challenges students have been facing in Saskatchewan classrooms, and he thinks literacy work is a part of dealing with some of those issues.
“Making sure we’re doing everything we can at that youngest age, right at the beginning of elementary school, to provide all the supports necessary to improve and try to achieve the best K-3 literacy results that we can for our students,” he said.
The minister couldn’t explain where that money would be going to specifically. He said it could be resources, training and possibly screening, after consultation with teachers and school divisions.
“We’re working closely with teachers to ask them ‘What are you using right now to help strengthen K-3 literacy? What’s working and what do you think you might be able to utilize to help build upon that?’” said Hindley.
The Regina Public School Division saw a 10 per cent dip in literacy among early years students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The director of education said the division worked hard to get that back up in the last few years, and that work will likely continue.
Hindley spoke about the literacy focus in the same breath as the provincial education program and the Saskatchewan Student Assessment Program.
The assessment program, Hindley said, will give a snapshot of students’ performance in math and English language arts.
“And I think it’s something that will truly help us best direct the dollars that we have to students and to teachers, to make sure that they are succeeding in education,” said Hindley.
The minister didn’t give a date for when assessments might start, but said more details will be coming later this spring.
The provincial budget also included $4.6 million to expand the Mental Health Capacity Building initiative to more schools, a $1.6 million increase. That initiative is currently running in 19 Saskatchewan schools. Hindley couldn’t say how many more schools that increase will pay for or which divisions they’ll be in – he said that’s being determined by the health and education ministries.
Overall, education was allocated $4.428 billion in the province’s 2025-26 budget, including K-12 education, child care and advanced education. It’s slightly more than was allocated in the last budget — $4.414 billion, but slightly less than the expected spending for 2024-25 – $4.454 billion.
The budget for primary and secondary schools included a $186 million increase to funding, $130 million of which will go to fund the teachers’ new contract.
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