FAMILY LIFE
Mark and Sheree have been married close to thirty years. Their son Benjamin graduated from Archbishop MacDonald High School in Edmonton and has started studies at the University of Alberta. Mark and Sheree have a small farm located west of Granum, Alberta that includes Mark’s Grandfather’s homestead. In 2007 the homestead was designated a Century farm by the Alberta Government recognizing that the homestead has remained in the Swanson family for more than 100 years.
FROM A FAMILY OF TEACHERS
Mark was born at Claresholm, Alberta and grew up there with a brother and five sisters. His father was a grain buyer and ran a small cattle operation. Mark and his brother spent countless hours after school helping their father on the farm. Mark’s mother was an elementary school teacher. Mark and three of his sisters followed in her footsteps and became teachers.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND K TO 12 TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Mark attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton and obtained a Bachelor of Education degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree. He began his teaching career as a substitute teacher with the Willow Creek School Division in Southern Alberta, going on to be a teacher and school leader with the East Central Catholic School Division in Wainwright (Vice-Principal), the Palliser School Division in Lethbridge (Principal), and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Regional Division in Leduc (Principal). In his teaching career Mark taught social studies and religion from grades 5-12.
During summer breaks Mark earned a Master of Arts in Religious Studies (Gonzaga University) and a Master of Education in Teaching (University Lethbridge). In 1995 he started a Ph. D program in Educational Policy Studies (University of Alberta) and was awarded the doctorate in 1999.
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS WITH EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS
Mark expanded his contributions to education by taking on executive leadership roles with the Alberta Government’s Department of Education, including serving as Registrar for teachers. In the post-secondary sector he served as Dean of Education at Concordia University of Edmonton. Mark was recruited into an executive position at the Alberta Teachers’ Association and retired in 2023.
COMMITMENT TO CATHOLICISM
Throughout his lifetime, Mark has demonstrated a commitment to the Catholic Church and the growth of his faith. He has provided longstanding service in many lay ministries, including serving as a member and chairperson on two parish councils. Mark is a proud member of the St. John Bosco Council of the Knights of Columbus. Most recently, Mark joined the governance board of Directors at St. Joseph’s College, Edmonton.
Mark is now ready to share his education and extensive work experience at the Edmonton Catholic School’s Board table as the Trustee of Ward 73.
Statement of beliefs
Statement of beliefs
I BELIEVE IN PUBLICLY FUNDED CATHOLIC EDUCATION
Catholic schools are part of Alberta’s public school system. They are governed by the same legislation as non-Catholic public schools. Catholic schools provide an alternative to secularism. They offer a model for living in service to others.
I BELIEVE IN RIGHT SIZED FUNDING FOR SYSTEM GROWTH AND STUDENT SUCCESS
Over time there has been increasing concern about insufficient funding for K-12 education leading to growing class sizes, increasingly crowded schools, and insufficient supports to address classroom complexity.
I BELIEVE IN EDUCATION THAT FOSTERS RESPECT, HONESTY, LOYALTY, FAIRNESS AND GROWTH
These five “core” values taken from Edmonton Catholic’s Mission, Vision and Values are key to living in a civil society. Catholic schools play an important role in fostering their growth.
I BELIEVE IN SAFE AND CARING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND STAFF
Parents send their children to school where they will spend more of their waking hours than elsewhere. This simple action speaks about the trust they place in schools and in the adults working there. Schools must ensure students are safe, cared for and feel welcome. Teachers and st
Priority areas
Appropriate funding that matches system growth and increasing classroom complexity.
“Safe schools for all”.
Maintaining fully funded Catholic Schools as the alternative to secular public schools.
Views on funding
At one time Alberta prided itself in being in the middle of the pack in terms of education funding. Stats now indicate that it is dead last ($11,601) and that is deplorable given the resource wealth and budget surpluses Alberta enjoys. It is time to invest in the future of the province – in the education system. Alberta needs to commit to spending at least the average amount ($13,332)spent by the 10 provinces. The average would at least put us back into the middle of the pack. School boards are well positioned to advocate for increases in education funding. They do a lot of planning and analysis of results but they also connect with those who are on the front lines – leaders leading overcrowded schools and teachers working in increasingly complex and crowded classrooms. Trustees see the fantastic results that students are capable of achieving – they also see the inadequacies of a system suffering from insufficient funding. Symptoms? Problems with attraction and retention.
How learning conditions can be improved
In 2003 (22 years ago!) Alberta’s Commission on Learning recommended that K to 3 classes be no more than 17 students, and classes from grades 4 to 6 be no more than 23 students. This has not been implemented and in fact, today’s crowded classrooms make these numbers look like a dream. Since 2003, in addition to overcrowding of classrooms, the composition of classrooms has become much more complex – not surprising given the dynamic and increasingly complex world we live in. Crowded classrooms, a two-pronged problem, are the outcome of an infrastructure deficit and insufficient funding for hiring more teachers. The latter is quicker to solve than the former, but both require an investment by the provincial government and the longer it waits, the greater the investment needed. Another consideration: are teachers fairly compensated for their work? Addressing these three prongs in a systematic way will bring relief to current learning conditions in schools.
How trustees and school boards can best support teachers
Trustees and school boards must continue to recognize at every possible juncture, the efforts that teachers are making with their students in what are becoming untenable circumstances. They need to help build an increased appreciation for the work of teachers and their value to society. In addition, they must be unrelenting in their advocacy for government to provide more resources to address the crowded and complex classrooms. Alberta is a rapidly growing province – 1st 1/4 of 2025 its population grew by 20,500 – considered to be a slow growth quarter. Trustees and school boards must press government to plan and more accurately project population growth and provide new schools on time to meet demands. We live in a rapidly changing world – schools are no exception. The classrooms of today are not like the classrooms that most of us remember. Trustees and school boards must continue to advocate for more teachers and more resources to address the needs of all students.
Views on the new K-6 curriculum
If I were currently teaching I know that I would struggle with the new curriculum and its implementation. It continues to be criticized because of the absence of practicing teachers at the writing table. Teachers have been invited to participate on the government’s Teacher Curriculum Consultation Group however their participation is in an advisory capacity only. The breadth of curriculum renewal (initially six subjects across K – 6 – now a seventh subject has been added) and the virtual lack of field testing and piloting has also placed teachers under immense stress. Couple all of this with a lack of resources and more screening assessments and digital standardized tests and you have a recipe for disaster. Teachers don’t place much faith in the development or the implementation processes. More work is loaded onto an already over-flowing plate. It’s hard to believe that this is considered an improvement by government to what was previously a world-class curriculum.