The people of Calgary Fish Creek continue to identify education as one of the top priorities for the provincial government to address. They want the children in this province to receive education that will give them the tools they need to excel in the future. For their sake and our benefit, Alberta students need to be positioned to compete in a rapidly changing economic environment. Not only do our students need the basics, we need to build education programs that recognize our changing demographics and needs so that we are equipped for a smaller workforce, a more competitive economy and changing technology that will require above-average learners. Success in education means that educators (teachers) have the tools and resources that will stimulate long-term learning in our children. What are the resources and tools are teachers need? It is a difficult question to answer and we need to work with our teachers to find out what works best, what are the current obstacles to effective learning and how can we empower individual teachers to unleash the potential in each child? Children grow and learn at different rates so why do we try to teach them at the same pace? We have gifted children, special needs children, ESL children and high-risk children that can all be in one classroom, and we somehow expect them to learn at the same level. This isn’t being honest, and likewise, it isn’t helping our students. The allocation of funding to support these students must be addressed. There is no question more dollars have to get to the classroom, but how do you do that? Alberta currently spends more per capita than any other province in Canada. Many of you have indicated you believe funding should follow the student; this ensures that the dollars get to the classroom where they are truly needed. One must ask why and how much do we spend on standardized testing for Grade 3 students? I supported the elimination of standardized testing for Grade 3 students for more information please visit Hansard. The drop out rate in Alberta is staggering. We need to find out why and what we can do to keep these young adults in school. What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong and how do we inspire them to stay in school? These are just a few of the very complex issues facing our students, and I welcome your input and ideas on how to better equip our students to excel in their studies, to truly make Alberta a leader in education and to make sure that we help them get the most out of the significant investment we make in them.