History of the SCBSA

HISTORY OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION

IN SASKATCHEWAN

The first permanent Catholic Separate School Division was established in Prince Albert in 1887, years before the formation of the province.
The first Protestant Separate School Divisions were established in Esterhazy and Duck Lake in 1890.
The provision for minority separate schools predates joining the CanadianFederation and played a vital part in the passing of the Saskatchewan Act of 1905.

The Saskatchewan School Trustees Association (SSTA) was organized in 1916 as a forum for trustees to discuss problems and establish policies on issues common to all Saskatchewan School Districts.

An issue arose over language of instruction, and later on religious garb and symbols, resulting in the formation of the Catholic School Trustees Association of Saskatchewan (CSTAS) in 1920.

From 1920 to 1951 there were three trustee organizations in the province: Francophone, Catholic and Public.

In 1951 the CSTAS affiliated with the SSTA as the “Catholic Section” of the SSTA. The conditions of the affiliation were a permanent seat on the executive of the SSTA and the right to access government directly on issues of exclusive concerns to Catholic Boards.

In 1964 Catholic School Divisions received full funding for High School operations with the provision that students have a choice of the school they wish to attend.

WHAT/WHO IS THE SASKATCHEWAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION (SCSBA)

The SCSBA was officially formed as a non-profit corporation in November, 2006. This organization was formerly known as the Catholic Section of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association.

SCSBA has representatives from the eight Catholic School Divisions within the province.

The executive of the SCSBA consists of a Past President, President, Vice-President and six Directors appointed by the school divisions not represented by the elected officers.

The directors of Education form the Education Committee and are ex officio members of the executive and attend all meetings of the Board of Directors.

The main focus of the SCSBA is to support the Boards of Education of the eight Catholic School Divisions in ensuring the provision of a high quality Catholic Education in which our Catholic teachings and gospel values permeate every aspect of the operations.

The SCSBA supports Catholic School Divisions in providing a faith-based education through a curriculum which is permeated with the basic values of the Catholic Faith. Catholic Separate Schools are tangibly different from Public Schools because of the unique spiritual dimension. Although the Provincial Curriculum is followed, this permeation of gospel values ensures that Catholic Schools are not a duplication of Public Schools.

SCSBA continues to provide support for the development of curriculum resources to support teachers in their quest to ensure that Gospel values and Catholic teachings permeate all curriculum.

SCSBA provides numerous opportunities for faith development for all those involved in Catholic Education. Following is a list of some of those opportunities:

In 1995 Catholic Section sponsored a commission to ascertain the future of Catholic Education and Catholic School Divisions in the light of the Scarfe/Langlois Report that recommended fewer, larger Public School Divisions in Saskatchewan. Although this report made no mention of reducing the number of Catholic School Divisions, it was recognized, at that time, that Catholic School Divisions must examine their ongoing viability. The commission re-affirmed the constitutional right of parents in education, examined admission policies in Catholic School Divisions, examined cooperative ventures among Boards, both Public and Catholic, and made recommendations regarding the organization of Catholic School Divisions. This laid the foundation for the eventual voluntary amalgamation of Catholic School Divisions in the light of the government imposed restructuring of education in Saskatchewan.

SCSBA has supported Catholic School Divisions in examining admission policies, which has led to affirming existing policies that were in place.
SCSBA investigates any requests for the formation of new Catholic School Divisions as outlined in the newly formulated Protocol Agreement signed between the Public Caucus, Saskatchewan Learning, and the SCSBA.
SCSBA continues to maintain close connections with the Catholic community within Saskatchewan and works in communion with the Bishops of Saskatchewan.
SCSBA reviews it’s operations on a regular basis and we are in the process of developing a new strategic plan to lead us into the future.