Each time a provincial budget is released, along with it comes a "service plan" for each of the ministries. It is supposed to be the minister's accountability report. So what's new this year? Unlike some previous plans where teachers were not even mentioned, this time teachers are referred to several times in the report. The purpose for education is repeatedly put in economic terms, preparing students for the world of work. Not surprisingly, given the talk in education circles in the past few months, the recurrent theme in the service plan involves "personalization," "technology," and "skills for the 21st Century." The one concrete thing is distributed learning. "Online and distributed learning, offering more personalized schooling choices, more than doubled in demand between 2006-2007 and 2009-2010 to over 71,000 students." Note that this does not say that 71,000 students were successful in distributed learning courses. In fact, the ministry has acknowledged elsewhere that it does not really know what the level of completion is in these courses. Is anything else concrete in defining "personalized learning?" Not really. One strategy for personalized learning is to "Develop new forms of schooling to support the unique needs and interests of students." Another is to explore "other assessment processes that would provide developmental information at the individual learner level." The ministry will "Revise and streamline curriculum to better accommodate the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the 21st century, and to offer more personalized programming and instruction tailored to students' interests." The ministry also promises to "Support the development of networks among school districts, schools, and teachers to build capacity in teaching and share practices throughout the province." No sign of the money for these in the budget, though. Perhaps most significant among announced plans is to publish "a new and improved suite of goals, objectives, strategies, and performance measures tied to personalized and 21st-century learning." A significant portion of the service plan is dedicated to Aboriginal students. The report indicates that 51 of 60 school districts have signed an Aboriginal enhancement agreement that involves "shared decision making and specific goal-setting to meet the educational needs and interests of Aboriginal students." The service plan ends with information about major capital projects. Most of them have included space for a neighbourhood learning centre in the new school design, but no new funding is announced for operating these centres.