Students across Livingstone Range School Division will see a greater focus on strong academic foundations, mental well-being and planning for life after graduation under a new four-year education plan.

The plan for 2026 to 2030 passed June 15, setting out three priorities — academic excellence, a stronger sense of belonging, and a culture of innovation that connects classrooms to careers.

Superintendent Sean Beaton says the direction reflects months of consultation with parents, students, teachers and school administrators who identified the skills students need to succeed beyond high school.

The plan covers 14 schools across eight communities, stretching from Fort Macleod in the east to Crowsnest Pass in the west, including a virtual school, two outreach schools and 13 Hutterite colony schools. About 3,700 students are enrolled this year.

Built on community input

The plan was developed through what the division describes as a broad engagement process. Consultations began last fall, starting with administrators and department leaders, then moving to conversations with school councils across the division.

Nearly 400 parents responded to an online survey in March and students weighed in through the Livingstone Leaders group.

“We believe the priorities, priority statements and the short-term goals reflect the feedback we received from all stakeholders,” Beaton tells Shootin’ the Breeze.

Trustees also reviewed results from division-wide assessments and engagement tools, including the Measurable Results Assessment along provincial data and accountability reports.

Beaton attended many of those meetings himself.

“Parents want us to focus on tangible, real-world competencies,” he says. “They explicitly asked for support in developing critical thinking, financial literacy, strong numeracy and essential interpersonal skills.”

That feedback pointed to gaps. High school completion rates have fallen, especially for Indigenous students, access to support services has shrunk and Grade 9 achievement has stagnated. The new plan is built to close those gaps.

Goal 1: Academic excellence

A major focus of the plan is academic success, especially in foundational skills.

Under the academic excellence priority, the division aims to strengthen learning through structured supports in literacy and numeracy, along with targeted academic improvement strategies.

The plan calls for an instructional framework that will bring together literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning approaches by 2030. A literacy and numeracy framework is expected by 2027, with consultant Myron Dueck helping shape assessment practices.

Grade 9 students currently hit the acceptable standard on provincial achievement tests 62 per cent of the time. The division wants that number at 65 per cent by June 2027.

Schools will use early intervention teams to catch struggling students sooner and specialized literacy and numeracy teachers will support junior high classrooms directly.

“We are answering the call for strong foundational skills by building out comprehensive literacy and numeracy frameworks,” Beaton says.

Goal 2: Schools where students feel they belong

The second priority, a sense of belonging, centres on mental health and equity.

A new social and emotional learning framework is coming by June 2027, based on the widely used Collaborative Social and Emotional Learning Framework. A steering committee including mental health therapists, family-school liaison counsellors and the division’s clinical team lead is building it now.

Student well-being is already supported through extensive mental health services across the division, but more work is needed, Beaton says.

“The division does not receive enough funding from Alberta Education to provide this level of support,” he says. “That being said, the LRSD board of trustees, along with the administration team, feel the level of support we provide is essential to student success.”

Belonging also means closing the gap for Indigenous students. The division plans to hire Indigenous success coaches to mentor students through graduation and a superintendent’s elder advisory committee will guide culturally responsive supports.

The division is also partnering with a post-secondary institution on community-led research to understand why some Indigenous parents feel disconnected from their children’s schools and how to improve communication between schools and Indigenous families.

Goal 3: A clearer path after graduation

The third priority, a culture of innovation, is about life after high school.

Every Grade 11 and 12 student will meet one-on-one with a career practitioner at least once a year, starting this fall, and the division is building a tracking dashboard so no student falls through the cracks.

Career practitioners will also promote dual-credit courses and off-campus programs, which let students earn credits toward trades or college while still in high school. The division plans an information campaign for parents this fall, hoping more families will learn these options exist.

“The overarching goal in the first year of the plan is to develop a unified instructional framework for the division,” Beaton says. “Parents can expect to see comprehensive information regarding career pathways, high school completion and our academy programs.”

AI enters the classroom, carefully

For the first time, the education plan also includes guiding principles for the use of artificial intelligence in schools.

AI will be treated as what the division calls a “co-pilot, not an auto-pilot,” meant to support teachers and students, not replace the relationships between them. The division says any AI tools used in classrooms must protect student privacy and data.

“Parents and teachers have asked the division to ensure the tools being used in classrooms are safe and adhere to current privacy requirements in Alberta,” Beaton says. “We need to ensure we teach students how to safely and effectively use these tools in their daily life.”

Ambitious but achievable, superintendent says

Beaton acknowledges implementing the plan will come with challenges, particularly given the number of simultaneous priorities.

“The goals for the first year of the plan are ambitious,” he says. “The biggest challenge will be competing priorities. However, many of the component parts already exist across the division. This plan unifies these practices by providing a clear multistep plan.”

The division will track progress annually and adjust the plan each year through 2030.

Staff wellness is also part of the strategy — the division plans to strike a wellness committee this year to support teachers, since officials say staff well-being directly shapes student success.

As the division moves into implementation, Beaton says the goal is to ensure families see their input reflected in schools and to strengthen partnerships between educators, students and parents.

“I hope they see opportunities to be partners with us and are encouraged by the direction we are going,” he says, adding that success will be measured school by school, student by student, over the next four years.