Edmonton parents turn to innovative education solutions as Alberta teachers’ strike continues

As Alberta’s school strike continues, Edmonton education companies are offering creative ways to keep students learning.

“It helps me a lot,” said Dallas Leonard, a Grade 6 student. “It helps me being at grade level being here.”

Leonard has been attending a math learning centre for over a year, an added relief during the strike.

“It helps take that level of stress off of me,” said Dallas’s mother, Tessa Stang.

Stang says while she supports Alberta teachers, she says she’s grateful knowing her daughter won’t fall behind.

“To be able to have the comfort of knowing, once we do go back to school (they’re) going to hopefully be able to just pick up where they left off without any issues, and potentially even learn and grow in their education without having to take two steps behind, to go back or back pedal in their learning,” said Stang.

The owner of Mathnesnuim in west Edmonton told CityNews the company’s extended its hours with new discounted rates during the strike.

“We are planning in fact to open the centre in the morning, and we are planning to even give new registrations lower cost so everybody can afford it,” saidPriya Iyer.

Mathnesnuim is not the only academic company thinking outside the box during the strike. Education Station, an Edmonton retail company that specializes in educational toys and resources, has partnered with Alberta artificial intelligence company NeuroSoph to create ES Learning Buddy, an interactive chatbot for students in kindergarten through Grade 6.

“You can go to our website, you can pull up the chat and it will ask you what you need help with,” said Kaylee Mitchell, the general manager at Education Station. “You could simply put in the grade of your child and if they need help with math or language arts.”

The company co-owner says while they stand with the teachers, the new tool can support parents during these uncertain times.

“It’s only trained on the Alberta curriculum, so it’s very, very safe to use,” said Raymond Chan, co-owner of Education Station. “Today, my daughter is with me because of the strike, so we really wanted to help out.”

For Stang, while she’s grateful she can afford an out-of-school math program, she hopes Alberta can reach a deal that improves education quality for all students.

 “So many families this isn’t available for,” said Stang. “Be the government or whatever, if this was more easily accessible for everyone, it could just be so much better.”