Annual report outlines ups and downs
In last year’s report to the Annual Representative Assembly, the ATA’s executive secretary predicted that “the year ahead could be a seminal one for the Association and for Alberta’s education system.“
At the time, Gordon Thomas was referring to revisions to the School Act and subsequent “conversations about the role of the teaching profession.” The executive secretary was not forecasting a devastating loss of teachers, a crippling shortfall of $100 million in education funding and the abrupt resignation of Alberta’s premier.
In this year’s report, Thomas reminded delegates that in 2010 the Association and the government entered into discussions about the transformation of education. “Our hopes at the outset of this process were to advance the transformation agenda. We were surprised that the government’s objectives were to re-open collective agreements and recover funding,” the executive secretary said. The discussions were derailed—the government did not present a proposal; the education minister failed to obtain caucus support for the transformation agenda; and Premier Stelmach announced his resignation.
Despite setbacks, Thomas expressed optimism that tripartite talks with the government and school boards will resume. “We are still interested in advancing the transformation agenda and hope to participate in a dialogue about transformation in the months ahead. To date, we have seen promises but not action.”
Thomas cited a number of areas the Association is watching closely. Teaching quality and professional autonomy are important elements of transformed education, he said. “We look forward to further discussions about how these elements can be achieved, along with issues related to the status and stature of the teaching profession.” In addition, teachers see “changes necessary to curriculum and assessment practices and are prepared to work with government and school boards to achieve these directions.”
A second issue relates to the new Education Act, which is being “lauded” by the government “as a vehicle for transformation for the education system.” Thomas warned delegates that it is too “premature to tell” what the minister of education has in mind. He assured teachers that this “will be an area for very close scrutiny in the year ahead.”
Another issue the Association is monitoring relates to the Professional Standards Branch’s recently released changes for the Teaching Quality Standard. The branch’s document Professional Competencies for Teachers, which was prepared without consultation with teachers, proposes extending the process for obtaining a permanent teaching certificate—a process that could take up to 10 years. “These directions are wholly unacceptable to the Association,” Thomas said. As the ATA is responsible for practice review of teachers, it is important that teachers are consulted, he said. To that end, he reported that the Association was meeting with the government and “the initiative has been returned to the drawing board.” He added, “We are now focusing our attention on the competencies or knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for Alberta teachers in the years ahead and the goofy certification scheme and the even goofier master teacher endorsement are goners.”
The potential loss of 1,000 or more teachers this June weighed heavily on the executive secretary: “The loss of teachers can only increase class sizes and further intensify our conditions of professional practice.” The $100 million education funding shortfall will only exacerbate the challenges associated with teaching diverse populations of students and, tragically, “we risk the loss of a generation of prospective teachers. It’s not the kind of transformation we have been seeking and is remarkably short-sighted.”
As is the custom, the executive secretary’s annual report recognizes ATA staff members who are being honoured for long service or who are retiring. In June, the ATA will recognize three staff who are celebrating 35 years of service and eight who have reached 30 years of service. “While this is truly worthy of celebration, it is also true that we will continue to lose key staff members through retirement,” he said. Thomas paid tribute to retirees Robert Bisson (coordinator of Member Services), Catherine Moir (executive staff, PD and Teacher Welfare), Brenda Haubrich (executive staff, SARO), Blair Coombe (print technician), Brian Jordan (chief financial officer) and Ernie Clintberg (associate executive secretary). Thomas pointed out that Clintberg was instrumental in developing and coordinating the plan to sign up all 62 bargaining units and 62 school boards to achieve the 2007 pension agreement.
