Assurance Framework

Background

Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division (ECSSD) continues to develop priorities and goals to ensure the continued growth of student learning. The Assurance Framework for educational planning represents that the Evergreen Catholic School Board of Trustees is committed to developing clear goals, outcomes, and strategies to assure stakeholder confidence. Assurance provides the framework to continue to maintain close alignment with the direction and goals of the Ministry’s Alberta Education Business Plan 2025 while being aligned to the needs of our school communities.

The Evergreen Four Year Assurance Plan is the document which guides the strategic plans for the Division and schools for the upcoming years. The Assurance Plan is available in a web-based format in order to facilitate accessibility for all community members.

2025-2026 Assurance Plan Booklet

(To view the individual School Assurance Plans, please click here)

Foundation Statement & Priority Areas

Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division Mission:

Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and in partnership with the home and Parish, we are committed to serve each individual student in an atmosphere of faith, hope and love. We strive to educate the whole student spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically.

Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division Vision:

EVERGREEN CATHOLIC: Ever Growing, Learning, and Living in Christ

Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division Belief Statements:

In Evergreen Catholic Schools, we believe that:

- - Every person is made in the image and likeness of God.
  - Parents are the primary educators responsible for ensuring the child's development and faith formation.
  - Collaboration among home, school and parish fosters a comprehensive Catholic Education.
  - Our Christ centered learning environments foster the growth and development of the whole child.
  - Educational programs need to be student-centered and accessible.
  - Highly qualified, faith-filled staff create excellent learning environments.

Evergreen Catholic Schools has identified four priority areas connected to our vision statement and to Alberta Education domains:

Rooted In Our Faith

Ever Living in Christ: We openly celebrate our common bond of faith in God and we educate in an atmosphere of faith, hope, and love to prepare our students to live as compassionate, confident, and contributing citizens.

Cultivate Learning

Ever Learning in Christ: Students will gain the knowledge and skills to form the foundations for successful and fulfilling lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world.

Nurture Well-Being

Ever Growing in Christ: Students will explore life opportunities that develop their unique talents and potential, provide a sense of purpose and belonging, and affirm the dignity of work. They will become life-long learners, who will cultivate the virtues of wisdom, courage, self-control, justice, charity, and hope.

Grow Community

Beliefs: In Evergreen Catholic Schools, we believe that collaboration among home, school and parish is essential for comprehensive Catholic education, with parents as the primary educators responsible for their child’s development and faith formation.

Accomplishments

The Board of Trustees for ECSSD continually revisit and refer to the mission, vision and belief statements to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of today’s learner. This is an important point in time; education in Alberta is seeing great changes, driven by the fast pace of the globalization of information, and a change in funding formulations. The intent of these changes is to better prepare students for a highly competitive and technology-driven future. The most important element in making this a success will be a much more active engagement by students, parents and members of the community at large in the education process.

We are very proud of our previous results and wish to recognize and acknowledge the commitment and dedication of our school administration, teachers and staff as well as our central office administrative team, who collaboratively, provide all our students a positive faith-based learning experience and quality education. The support provided by our parents and community partners is also a very significant piece of our achievements.

We believe that our schools are strongly committed to the ideals of Catholic education, providing our students an opportunity not only to achieve academic excellence but also to grow personally, socially and physically in a Christ-centered environment. We are committed to the philosophy that our students are unique creations of God to be respected and nurtured.

Annually, the Minister of Education evaluates how well the education system is performing and meeting the expectations of parents and society. The Education Assurance Measures results provide assurance to Albertans regarding the ongoing performances of school jurisdictions and the provincial education system. Highlights of our achievements include the following:

Safe and Caring is Very High and has an overall evaluation of Excellent
Program of Studies is Very High and has an overall evaluation of Good
Education Quality is High and has an overall evaluation of Good
Drop Out Rate achievement is Very High and has an overall evaluation of Excellent
High School Completion Rate (3year) is High with an overall evaluation of Good
Education Quality (six year) is High with an overall evaluation of Good
Work Preparation is Very High and has an overall evaluation of Good
Citizenship is Very High and has an overall evaluation of Excellent
Rutherford Scholarship Eligibility Rate is Very High for an overall evaluation of Excellent.

Accountability Statement

The Assurance Plan for Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division commencing September 1, 2024 was prepared under the direction of the Board of Trustees in accordance with the responsibilities under the Education Act and the Fiscal Planning and Transparency Act. This plan was developed in the context of the provincial government’s business and fiscal plans. The Board has used its performance results to develop the plan and is committed to implementing the strategies contained within the plan to improve student learning and results.

The Board approved the Assurance Plan for 2025-2029 on May 28, 2025.

Margaret Cargill

Board Chair

Planning Cycle

School authority planning is an integral component of school authority assurance. The Board of Trustees, in collaboration with Senior Administration and key stakeholders, develops a plan that sets out our educational priorities, and assurance elements within the domains of education.

ECSSD Assurance Process Yearly Timeline

MONTH	TASK REQUIRED	Comments
January-February	Provincial and Local Assurance Surveys	Alberta Ed Accountability survey Division/School Assurance survey
March	Sharing Division survey results with school administrators	Gather survey results for analysis
March-April	Developing/Updating Division and School Assurance Plans	Review all data Engagement with stakeholders - parents, staff and students Determining priority areas for school budget Development of School Professional Learning Plans
May	School Assurance Plan Presentations	Includes budget presentations
May	Share and Post School Assurance Plan for all stakeholders	Due May 31
October	Accountability Pillar results for review	Review all data - survey data, PATs, DIPs
November	Reporting Annual Education Results Report (AERR) Share and post for all stakeholders	Due November 30

Our planning cycle involves the following opportunities:

Developing a Division Education Plan that aligns with provincial domains, outcomes and performance measures and the Division’s vision, mission and values;
Promoting community engagement;
Implementing strategies to maintain or improve student learning and achievement;
Monitoring the implementation of goals and adjusting as needed;
Focusing results to identify areas for improvement and to develop strategies and targets for the next plan;
Preparing budgets and allocating resources to support student learning, to achieve goals and to improve results; and
Communicating with stakeholders (parents, school councils, staff, students, the public and Alberta Education) about school authority plans and results.