Highlights of the 2007/08 Association Program

On this page:

• Introduction
• Memorandum of Agreement
• Representation
• External Recognition and Awards
• Research and Studies
• Field Service and Member Education
• Publications
• Salaries, Benefits and Teaching Conditions
• Operations

The purpose of this document is to identify Association activities and accomplishments in the last school year that are particularly significant. Details of the Association’s routine activities with respect to making representation to outside groups and undertaking field service are published in the ATA’s annual report, which is presented to the Annual Representative Assembly each spring and distributed to schools shortly thereafter.

1. Met with representatives of the Government of Alberta on 2007 09 04, 2007 10 10, 2007 10 11, 2007 10 17, 2008 10 31, 2007 11 08 and 2007 11 13 to negotiate a memorandum of agreement regarding the unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan and collective agreements.
2. Reached a memorandum of agreement with the Government of Alberta on 2007 11 15 in which the government agreed to (a) assume responsibility for the $2.1 billion pre-1992 unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan, (b) award teachers a 3 per cent salary increase for 2007/08, (c) grant full-time teachers a $1,500 lump sum payment, (d) base salary increases for teachers for the next four years on increases in Alberta’s average weekly earnings index, (e) retain, for a five-year period, hours-of-work provisions that were scheduled to expire in four collective agreements and (f) establish a formal Alberta Education/ATA Consultation Committee. In letters accompanying the agreement, the premier and the minister of education further pledged that, during the five-year period covered by the agreement, the government would (a) make no changes to legislation governing the working conditions of teachers, (b) retain principals as members of the Association and (c) work toward realizing the Class Size Initiative recommended by Alberta’s Commission on Learning.
3. Established terms of reference for the Alberta Education/ATA Consultation Committee established through the memorandum of agreement and attended meetings of the consultation committee on 2008 05 16 and 2008 06 24.

1. Urged Alberta members of parliament to amend the Copyright Act to permit teachers and students to access Internet materials that are free and available to the public and that supplement the approved educational curriculum.
2. Urged the minister of education to undertake, in consultation with the education partners, a comprehensive review of the government’s approach to student assessment and reporting (including such initiatives as Grade Level of Achievement Reporting and prior reporting of provincial achievement test results).
3. Approved the Practice Review Bylaws, in accordance with section 8(3) of the Teaching Profession Act, for implementation on 2009 09 01.
4. Made a major presentation at the Deputy Minister’s Semi-Annual Meeting with the Deans of Alberta Teacher Preparation Programs and Other Education Stakeholders on 2008 04 17–18 to initiate a provincial induction and internship program and, in partnership with education partners, organized the second Teacher Induction Practices Symposium, which took place at Barnett House.

1. Received recognition as one of five finalists in the External Publications category of the American PR News Platinum Awards program for Parenting Through the School Years: A Guide for Parents of K–12 Students.
2. Received BRAVO! Awards from the Canadian Association of Communicators in Education for Parenting Through the School Years: A Guide for Parents of K–12 Students and Getting the Message Out, a comprehensive training binder for local communications officers.
3. Received from the Canadian Educational Press Association five Golden Leaf Awards of Excellence: one for a conference brochure (Leadership in Educational Accountability), one for the ATA News, two for the ATA Magazine and one for the cover design of a specialist council journal.

1. Cosponsored with Alberta Education on 2008 06 05–06 “Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta,” a symposium intended to generate long-term educational research among Alberta’s education partners.
2. Undertook, with the assistance of the University of Alberta, a study to define what constitutes a reasonable full-time assignment for a teacher working in a distributed (or distance) learning environment.
3. Embarked, in conjunction with three school boards, on an Accountability Pillar Pilot Project, the purpose of which is to develop and validate a new approach to accountability that measures a much broader range of student learning than what is addressed by the government’s Accountability Pillar.
4. Completed, in cooperation with the Alberta Assessment Consortium, a Leadership in Assessment Project, the purpose of which is to explore how collaborative professional inquiry among teachers can improve the literacy and numeracy skills of kindergarten to Grade 3 students in diverse classrooms.
5. Undertook, in cooperation with the University of Calgary, a project entitled “Leadership in Alberta Schools: The Experiences of School Administrators,” the purpose of which was to collect information about the experiences of school administrators that the Association and other stakeholders can use to develop policies and programs.

1. Developed a presentation exploring the impact that new technologies have had on teachers’ liability with respect to such issues as cyberbullying, the protection of privacy and maintaining appropriate boundaries.
2. Developed a presentation for school counsellors and administrators on confidentiality, the privacy of student information and the duty to report.
3. Began work on translating a number of the Association’s key publications into French.
4. Organized “Leadership Essentials for School Administrators,” the first Association-sponsored conference for school administrators new to their role and/or new to Alberta.
5. Enhanced the School Representative Program by preparing key contacts in each local to identify and train colleagues willing to serve as school representatives.
6. Implemented a process whereby active Association members are able, as a benefit of membership, to join one specialist council of their choice each year at no charge.
7. Developed “Facilitating Leadership,” a workshop designed to help administrators meet the requirements of Dimension 5 of the Principal Quality Practice document.
8. Developed four new workshops for teachers: “Here Comes Everyone—Responding to Cultural Diversity in Alberta Schools,” “Increasing Student Resilience—Releasing Diamonds from the Rough,” “Building Human Rights Communities” and “Learning Disabilities in the Inclusive Classroom.”
9. Organized “Leadership in Education Accountability: Sustaining Professional Learning and Innovation in Alberta Schools,” a curriculum symposium featuring international guest speakers Andy Hargreaves, Pasi Sahlberg and Stephen Murgatroyd.
10. Organized and staged “Alberta Youth—Growing up in the Boom Years,” a conference sponsored by the Committee on the Well-Being of Children and Youth.

1. Published a series of easy-to-read, research-based articles exploring emerging issues in education deemed to be of particular interest to parents.

1. Negotiated and settled, in a period of 69 calendar days, 62 five-year collective agreements. This bargaining marathon was undertaken to comply with the terms of the 2007 11 15 memorandum of agreement achieved between the Association and the Government of Alberta respecting the resolution of the unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan. Of the 62 collective agreements achieved, 54 involved settling agreements that were already open for bargaining and 8 involved reopening and renegotiating agreements that had been settled before the November 15 memorandum. All agreements resulted in improvements.
2. Received, effective 2008 09 01, an arbitration panel decision defining the maximum number of hours of instruction that teachers in Parkland School Division are required to provide in a school year: 907 hours for teachers at the elementary and junior high levels, and approximately 885 hours for teachers at the high school level.
3. Supported by recent judicial directives, concluded agreements with five school jurisdictions respecting the terms that jurisdictions can and cannot include in teachers’ individual contracts of employment.

1. Initiated a records management service for specialist councils, locals and convention associations.
2. Established standards for convention associations to follow in producing financial reports and initiated a process to standardize financial reporting by local associations.
3. Printed and distributed bar-coded membership cards to the Association’s 44,000 active and associate members.
4. Piloted an online event registration application for specialist councils and convention associations.

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