Latest news with #TracySchmidt
Hamilton Spectator
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Free Press to lead media literacy project
The Manitoba government is turning to Western Canada's oldest newspaper to teach students how to debunk misinformation and master other necessary skills for the digital age. The department of education is partnering with the Free Press and Winnipeg School Division to launch a media literacy platform with lessons on the tenets of journalism, algorithms and related subjects. 'A media literacy refresh' is necessary to respond to massive changes in how and where Manitobans consume information, said Tracy Schmidt, minister of education and early childhood learning. 'Kids are really at the forefront of that change, and I can attest to this as a mom,' Schmidt said, noting she's had to personally intervene and re-educate her own three children on topics they've 'learned about' via YouTube celebrities and other corners of the internet. Local teachers are designing the platform — with input from multimedia journalists and information technology experts — for their colleagues in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classrooms. The free curriculum-based resource will be available via . A beta version is anticipated to launch in early 2026. The final product is anticipated to include multiple web pages to simplify lesson planning, help schools launch newspapers of their own, and offer a self-study media literacy course to teachers. The minister said the new partnership is a fitting one, given her department and the Free Press have similar goals in that they both educate the population and want to build media-literate citizens. The work officially got underway in September, under the direction of Schmidt's late predecessor. Nello Altomare, 61, was a career educator and news hound who followed current events closely until his death on Jan. 14. The provincial government and the largest school division in Manitoba have each hired a certified teacher. The duo has set up an office in the Free Press newsroom in Winnipeg. 'We live in an age where there's more media than ever and yet less media literacy,' said Mike Power, chief executive officer of FP Newspapers Inc. 'The Free Press is delighted to be part of this important initiative, which will use our journalism as a teaching tool to inform and empower Manitoba students so they are better equipped to navigate an increasingly difficult digital landscape.' The platform is being designed to host a database of ready-to-use learning experiences that match relevant news stories to curriculum outcomes. The former will not be exempt from a paywall. These interdisciplinary packages, dubbed 'resource bundles,' are being organized under media literacy topics, such as data and privacy, propaganda and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Teachers will eventually be able to screen explanatory videos hosted by local journalists and assign students to read articles and whose contents can be translated into any language and adjusted to accommodate their reading level. A student newspaper incubator will, through a customizable template, allow students to create their own media outlets and have their stories published on the platform. The third and final element is a micro-credential in media literacy for educators. Successful graduates will earn a digital badge. The project is inspired by Journalism for All, an initiative to bring journalism education to all high schoolers in New York, as well as , and the New York Times Learning Network. The local partners have applied for a $100,000 community grant to carry out their vision to expand on the Free Press 101 resource. 'This is a project urgently needed to disrupt the momentum of misinformation and strengthen Winnipeggers in their personal agency and ability to discern truth, restoring trust and confidence in institutions of media, government, democracy and education,' they wrote in a submission to the Winnipeg Foundation. Schmidt said her hope is that Manitoba students will hone their critical thinking and media analysis skills, as well as understand how they can personally produce media in a responsible manner. 'If you talk to any kid these days and you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they'll tell you they want to be a social media content creator,' the minister said. 'Knowing that's what kids want to do, we need to make sure that they are being responsible actors.'
Winnipeg Free Press
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Free Press to lead media literacy project
The Manitoba government is turning to Western Canada's oldest newspaper to teach students how to debunk misinformation and master other necessary skills for the digital age. The department of education is partnering with the Free Press and Winnipeg School Division to launch a media literacy platform with lessons on the tenets of journalism, algorithms and related subjects. 'A media literacy refresh' is necessary to respond to massive changes in how and where Manitobans consume information, said Tracy Schmidt, minister of education and early childhood learning. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Education minister Tracy Schmidt says with many kids wanting to be content creators, 'we need to make sure that they are being responsible actors.' 'Kids are really at the forefront of that change, and I can attest to this as a mom,' Schmidt said, noting she's had to personally intervene and re-educate her own three children on topics they've 'learned about' via YouTube celebrities and other corners of the internet. Local teachers are designing the platform — with input from multimedia journalists and information technology experts — for their colleagues in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classrooms. The free curriculum-based resource will be available via A beta version is anticipated to launch in early 2026. The final product is anticipated to include multiple web pages to simplify lesson planning, help schools launch newspapers of their own, and offer a self-study media literacy course to teachers. The minister said the new partnership is a fitting one, given her department and the Free Press have similar goals in that they both educate the population and want to build media-literate citizens. The work officially got underway in September, under the direction of Schmidt's late predecessor. Nello Altomare, 61, was a career educator and news hound who followed current events closely until his death on Jan. 14. The provincial government and the largest school division in Manitoba have each hired a certified teacher. The duo has set up an office in the Free Press newsroom in Winnipeg. 'We live in an age where there's more media than ever and yet less media literacy,' said Mike Power, chief executive officer of FP Newspapers Inc. 'The Free Press is delighted to be part of this important initiative, which will use our journalism as a teaching tool to inform and empower Manitoba students so they are better equipped to navigate an increasingly difficult digital landscape.' The platform is being designed to host a database of ready-to-use learning experiences that match relevant news stories to curriculum outcomes. The former will not be exempt from a paywall. These interdisciplinary packages, dubbed 'resource bundles,' are being organized under media literacy topics, such as data and privacy, propaganda and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Teachers will eventually be able to screen explanatory videos hosted by local journalists and assign students to read articles and whose contents can be translated into any language and adjusted to accommodate their reading level. A student newspaper incubator will, through a customizable template, allow students to create their own media outlets and have their stories published on the platform. The third and final element is a micro-credential in media literacy for educators. Successful graduates will earn a digital badge. The project is inspired by Journalism for All, an initiative to bring journalism education to all high schoolers in New York, as well as and the New York Times Learning Network. The local partners have applied for a $100,000 community grant to carry out their vision to expand on the Free Press 101 resource. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. 'This is a project urgently needed to disrupt the momentum of misinformation and strengthen Winnipeggers in their personal agency and ability to discern truth, restoring trust and confidence in institutions of media, government, democracy and education,' they wrote in a submission to the Winnipeg Foundation. Schmidt said her hope is that Manitoba students will hone their critical thinking and media analysis skills, as well as understand how they can personally produce media in a responsible manner. 'If you talk to any kid these days and you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they'll tell you they want to be a social media content creator,' the minister said. 'Knowing that's what kids want to do, we need to make sure that they are being responsible actors.' Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Early childhood educator wages going up in Manitoba
Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba's education and early childhood learning minister, announces a new wage grid for early childhood educators in Manitoba on May 23, 2025. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)
Global News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Manitoba early childhood educators to see pay boost thanks to federal, provincial funding
Early childhood educators in Manitoba will see a big boost on their paycheques thanks to new money from both the provincial and federal governments. Manitoba's education minister, Tracy Schmidt, announced an expansion of the wage scale for early childhood educators, with some seeing as much as a $5-an-hour increase. Schmidt said Friday that the province understands the value of childcare to Manitobans. 'Whether it's here in Winnipeg, in rural Manitoba, in Northern Manitoba… our government is investing in the child care Manitoba families rely on,' Schmidt said. 'Investing in wages is essential to our recruitment and retention strategy, as we continue to expand and build new child care facilities right across our great province. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Early childhood educators are the foundation of a humming and productive economy. Because of their work, parents across Manitoba can go to school or build careers that power our province.' Story continues below advertisement The province and feds are also pledging more than $60 million in funding to help licensed child care facilities cover the costs of the wage increase. Jodie Kehl, executive director of the Manitoba Child Care Association, says it's a move that is a long time coming. 'ECEs, we know, are an essential foundation which will develop a high-quality and sustainable system for Manitoba children and families,' Kehl said. 'A competitively and fairly-compensated early learning and child care workforce will both stabilize and support our current sector and will position Manitoba to create further expansion in new spaces.'
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Child-care workers in Manitoba receive up to $5/hour boost to wages
Social Sharing Child-care workers at provincially funded centres in Manitoba are getting what Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt called the largest boost to their wages in the province's history, with some seeing hourly increases as high as $5. A new wage grid, retroactive to April 1, is being supported by an added $60.4 million from the provincial and federal governments ($56.2 million federally and $4.2 million provincially), Schmidt announced Friday in Winnipeg. Licensed and provincially funded early learning and child-care facilities are eligible for the funding. "This historical increase reflects the invaluable work that front-line early childhood educators do for our children and for our province and for our province's economy," Schmidt said. The highest increase will go to front-line early childhood educators' wages, with the amount dependant on their certification level and the size of the child-care centre in which they work. The top of the grid will see wages go from $22.90 to $27.56 an hour. "For the first time, wages will meet the MCCA salary scale for front-line positions and most of the administrator positions," Schmidt said about the wages advocated for by the Manitoba Child Care Association. The new grid also includes an immediate pay increase for child-care assistants in early childhood education training programs, she said. After advocating for significant salary increases for nearly two decades, to see it actually happen "feels surreal," said MCCA executive director Jodie Kehl. "Today is a great day to be an early childhood educator in Manitoba." The announcement was first made Friday morning to more than 900 delegates at the MCCA's annual conference, which erupted in cheers and tears, Kehl said. "Someone said to me she screamed so loud that the girl next to her, her Apple watch thought she'd fallen over, because it was just so noisy in there," she said. "I do think it's going to make a significant difference in many ECEs' lives." Schmidt said the province has been expanding child-care spaces but running up against a lack of people to staff them. The new wages will help recruitment and retention efforts, she said.
