The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Role of the School Leader

In the Association’s view, the role of the school leader is to facilitate teaching and learning by acting as

• an educational leader who helps develop, promote and maintain a shared vision for the school community;
• an instructional leader who supports and ensures high-quality teaching;
• a decision maker who is responsible for establishing a collaborative decision-making model for the school;
• a manager who is responsible for organizing and operating the school to ensure a safe, effective and efficient learning environment;
• an advocate who promotes the school and public education in the community; and
• a colleague who works with teachers to provide an educational culture conducive to student learning and professional growth.

Advice on Administrative and Personnel Concerns

The Association has established the position of Associate Coordinator, Teacher Employment Services—Administrator Assistance to provide school leaders with advice on procedural issues related to discipline, transfers and terminations and to help school leaders resolve internal disputes with their school staff. In addition to helping school leaders resolve difficulties related to their own employment, the Association provides school leaders with advice concerning their role in personnel and/or legal matters involving their staff members.

The associate coordinator, who works out of Barnett House (the Association's Edmonton office), is Konni deGoeij, who can be contacted at 780-447-9400 (in Edmonton) or 1-800-232-7208 (elsewhere in Alberta). School leaders in southern Alberta can contact Keith Hadden, who works at the Southern Alberta Regional Office and can be reached at 403-265-2672 (in Calgary) or 1-800-332-1280 (elsewhere in Alberta).

In addition, all Teacher Employment Services executive staff are able to provide advice to individual school leaders about their particular concerns.

Conferences, Workshops and Presentations

The Association offers a variety of conferences, workshops and presentations designed to help school leaders fulfil their leadership responsibilities and to help school staff work together more effectively.

The association maintains a webpage of current and future professional development opportunities for school leaders. To view this page, school leaders and aspiring school leaders can visit www.tiny.cc/ATALeadersPD.

Council for School Leadership

The Association has 21 specialist councils, which are intended to foster the professional development of teachers with common interests in curriculum areas. One of these councils, the Council for School Leadership, sponsors a range of programs and activities for school leaders, including the annual uLead Conference. Further information about the council is available from Chris Gonsalvez or Tanya Thiessen, who can be contacted by telephone (toll-free) at 1-800-232-7208 or by e-mail at chris.gonsalvez@ata.ab.ca or tanya.thiessen@ata.ab.ca.

The ATA Library

School leaders are encouraged to use the Association’s extensive professional library, which has materials in both English and French. Library staff will research topics, gather information and send library materials to members upon request. Library staff can be contacted at library@teachers.ab.ca.

Publications

The Association has produced several publications that may be of interest to school leaders. Click here for a complete listing of Association publications. For publications specific to school leaders click here.

Each year, several organizations in Canada and the United States sponsor conferences specifically tailored to address the needs of school leaders. For further information, consult the Association’s Events Calendar.