A Saskatchewan mother is frustrated with the education system that forced her to pay for reading and math tutoring after she found out her children were only at a Grade 1 level while being in Grade 6 and 7.Over the course of 10 months, she paid $12,528 to Sylvan Learning in Saskatoon for tutoring. After a few months, her children’s levels increased to approximately a Grade 3 level, something she said should have been taught to them in the Saskatchewan school system. .She reached out to her MLA Nadine Wilson (Saskatchewan Rivers), leader of the Sask United Party, who sent a letter to the new Education Minister MLA Jeremy Cockrill (The Battlefords).In Wilson’s letter, she mentioned the school told the mother the tutoring was working and she should keep paying for it, even though it is something the school should have taught the children. An email response from Daphne Panio, ministerial assistant to Cockrill, said it was a school board issue, not one for the ministry of education.“The ministry respects each board of education’s authority and believes boards of education are in the best position to assess the needs of their students and make responsive decisions,” said Panio.“While government provides funding, school divisions have the responsibility to make staffing, programming and resource decisions within their allocated budget to meet local priorities and address the needs of their students and staff.”Wilson brought the mother and her two children to the legislature as guests.They “have found success outside of the public system, drastically improving grade scores and academic performance,” said Wilson.“Mr. Speaker, these options are costly, very costly and force parents to pay out of pocket to help their children receive the basic education that they deserve.”“When will this government put proper assessment tools in place to make sure parents can trust that their children are not left behind?”Cockrill did agree to meet with the mother to hear her concerns. However, as of Tuesday morning, the mother has yet to receive a response from Cockrill, the ministry of education or the school board as she continues paying for private tutoring to educate her children in math and reading.
