School Information

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New Humble Community School

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“Not all classrooms have four walls.”

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This is the motto of New Humble Community School (NHCS), a K-6 rural public charter school about 10 minutes south of Calmar, Alberta, Canada.  This motto reflects the school’s philosophy of learning through agriculture, land stewardship, and hands-on activities. These pillars are complementary because “Agriculture is, by nature, a hands-on discipline” (Mable & Baker, 1996, p. 2).

 

New Humble Community School was established in 2021 as a public charter school, following Black Gold School Division’s decision to close the former rural public school. In keeping with the expectation that public charter schools have a unique focus, NHCS’ vision as stated in their charter is to “[foster] the growth of each individual student through innovative academics, stewardship and agriculture literacy.”

 

Public charter schools in Alberta are mandated by Alberta Education to share their innovation through research.  The partnership between the University of Alberta and NHCS was borne of this requirement. Our research is founded on the principles of mutual benefit, reciprocity, and capacity building. This was a methodological choice I made because I wanted the approach to conducting the research to align with the values that are inherently important in rural communities.

What are Public Charter Schools?

 

Some people think charter schools are private schools, like in the American education system.  This is false.  

 

Alberta public charter schools receive the same per student funding as other public schools, but they do not receive all the funding ‘envelopes’ that public schools do (e.g. facilities). Public charter schools do not charge tuition; they are non-profit associations run by a Board of Directors.

 

Charter schools offer unique programs (e.g. STEM), philosophies (e.g. place-based education), and pedagogies (experiential learning). Some are vocation-based; some are denominational. Charter schools reflect a community’s desire for specific outcomes from their children’s learning.  In Alberta, there are charter schools in cities like Edmonton and Calgary, as well as rural communities since the 1990s. 

In 2020, the Choice in Education Act was passed in the Alberta legislature, reaffirming Alberta’s commitment to educational choice. There are 36 public charter schools in Alberta.