Frequently Asked Questions

Please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer if you have any questions that are not answered below.

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Certificated Teachers Employed by Public, Separate, or Francophone School Authorities

Alternate Professional Development Requests

Do you want to be released from your convention attendance obligations to attend a workshop, conference, or other professional development event?

Any active member may request to be released from their convention attendance obligations to attend an alternate professional development activity that is scheduled during their assigned convention, provided the alternate activity:

is an organized professional development event that is permitted under the Association’s Protocol for Convention Attendance;
cannot be accessed at another time when it doesn’t conflict with convention attendance; and
presents the member with a learning opportunity that exceeds what is available in their convention program and will enhance their professional practice.

Please refer to the alternate professional development eligibility criteria, conditions and application information listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Alternate Convention Requests

Do you want to attend a convention other than your assigned convention?

Active members are assigned to conventions by the Association based on their employer and ATA local. Members may request to attend a convention other than the one to which they are assigned if they:

Work in distance learning or online learning programs and live outside of the geographic boundary of their assigned convention;
Are seconded from their school division, and either their duties make it difficult for them to attend their assigned convention or they are required to live outside of the geographic boundary of their assigned convention during their secondment; or
Find themselves in a convention attendance conflict that is beyond their ability to resolve. Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Do you want to attend another convention in addition to your assigned convention?

From time-to-time, members may want to attend other teachers’ conventions in addition to the one to which they are assigned. They may register as a Guest Delegate, provided they:

Are able to arrange substitute release time through their employer, in accordance with their collective agreement and division policy; and
Register with the convention they wish to attend and pay the convention’s required Guest Delegate registration fee.

Substitute Teachers

Can substitute teachers attend convention?

Active membership is automatically granted to any retired teacher on the first day of the school year that they are employed as a substitute by a Public, Separate, or Francophone school board. The substitute teacher remains an active member until the end of the school year or until they are no longer on their board’s approved substitute roster, whichever occurs first.

If you are retired teacher and you have worked as substitute teacher during the current school year, you are not required to attend convention, but may do so at your discretion, provided you notify your Association local of your desire to participate.

Teachers Employed Part-Time

Do you work part-time?

Unless otherwise specified in your collective agreement or employment contract, you must only attend your assigned convention on the days and times that you would be expected to be at during a typical school week.

Call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to Teacher Employment Services if you have questions about your collective agreement or contract.

Teachers Employed on Compressed Work Schedules

Do you work on a compressed full-time schedule (i.e. you work Monday-Thursday only but have a 1.0 FTE contract)?

Call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to Teacher Employment Services if you have questions about your collective agreement or contract.

Teachers in Central Office Positions

Do you work in a central office position?

Many certificated teachers employed as central office specialists, directors and consultants for retain active membership in the Alberta Teachers’ Association and are bound by the same convention attendance obligations as their school-based colleagues. Convention fees for these active members continue to be paid as part of their dues to the Association.

Were you given the opportunity to elect your level of Association membership?

When appointed to certain central office positions, individuals may elect their level of membership in the Alberta Teachers’ Association. If you elected to remain an active member, you must attend your assigned convention. If you elected non-membership or associate membership, you cannot attend convention until your active membership is restored (either due to a change in position or by appealing your election to the Minister).

Convention attendance eligibility for central office staff who were able to elect their level of membership is as follows:

Central office staff who elected active membership must attend convention.
Central office staff who elected to be associate members are not eligible to attend convention.
Central office staff who elected to be non-members are not eligible to attend convention.

Information about membership elections can be found here.

If you have any questions about your level of membership, call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Member Services Duty Officer.

Are you a chief superintendent (or deputy chief superintendent)?

Chief superintendents are not eligible to be active members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association so associate membership is the highest level of membership they can possess. Chief superintendents may attend convention as Guest Delegates provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

If you are a chief superintendent (or deputy chief superintendent) and would like to attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Chief superintendents may be invited by convention or local presidents to attend certain aspects of a convention’s program as observers. As observers, superintendent may not attend convention sessions or social events except those to which they have been explicitly invited.

Are you a therapist, clinician, social worker, or psychologist?

Although being a certificated teacher is not a requirement for associate membership in the Alberta Teachers’ Association, it is a requirement for attending teachers’ convention. Therapists, clinicians, social workers, and psychologists employed by Public, Separate, or Francophone school divisions may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Are not eligible for active membership in the Association;
Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

If you are an eligible therapist, clinician, social worker, or psychologist and would like to attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Teachers of Distance & Online Learning Programs

Active members who work in distance learning or online learning programs may request to attend a convention other than the one to which they are assigned (based on their employer and Association local) provided they live outside of the geographic boundary of their assigned convention.

Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Teachers on Leave

Do you need to access one of the leave provisions specified in your collective agreement during convention?

The Education Act defines the days on which conventions are held as “teaching days”. As such, active members may, with few exceptions, access all the medical, bereavement, parental and other leave provisions in their collective agreements on their assigned convention days as they would on any regular teaching day. Teachers approved for a leave of absence (of any type or length) are not required to attend their assigned convention.

For more information about requesting to be absent from convention through a negotiated leave provision, please refer to the Convention Attendance page.

Are you on a leave of absence but you would like to attend part or all of your assigned convention?

Although they are not required to meet their convention attendance obligations during a leave of absence, teachers on leave may attend convention at their discretion, provided they:

Have no outstanding membership dues; and
Their participation would not violate the conditions of their leave.

If you would like to attend convention while you are on leave, call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to Teacher Employment Services to discuss the conditions of your leave and to ascertain that you have no outstanding dues.

Teachers on Secondment

Are you seconded?

Active members who are seconded from their division to an external agency retain all rights and responsibilities associated with their level of Association membership including the legal and professional obligation to attend convention.

If you are seconded, you may request to attend a convention other than the one to which you are assigned (based on your division and ATA local) if:

Your duties while on secondment make it difficult for them to attend their assigned convention; or
You are required to live outside of the geographic boundary of their assigned convention during their secondment.

Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Teachers who Coach

Do you coach a school team that has advanced to provincial finals organized by the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA)?

Members’ legal and professional convention attendance obligations supersede their coaching commitments, however the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) have a formal agreement which provides for the release of teacher-coaches from their convention attendance obligations for those competitions which have the potential to cause attendance conflicts for many teachers. If a school team makes it to the ASAA finals in their sport and the competition is scheduled during teacher's convention season, the ATA will provide an opportunity for any teacher-coaches of these teams to request to be absent from a portion of their assigned convention.

Requests will only be considered if the member’s team will be competing at ASAA finals that are scheduled on the day or night of the member’s assigned convention dates. Typically these competitions are limited to rural wrestling finals, provincial wrestling finals, provincial curling finals, and provincial cheerleading finals.

If your school team has advanced to the ASAA finals in their sport, please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Do you coach a school team that is scheduled to participate in a competition or tournament other than the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) provincial finals?

Members’ legal and professional convention attendance obligations supersede their coaching commitments. The agreement between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) only provides for the release of members to coach at certain ASAA final competitions. Attending or planning other competitions or tournaments is contrary to the Association’s Protocol for Convention Attendance.

If you have a convention attendance conflict caused by an athletic event that is scheduled during your assigned convention, you may request to attend an alternate convention.

Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Teachers who are Convention Presenters

Do you want to speak at your own convention?

Professional development by teachers for teachers is a goal of convention boards as there are significant benefits for both the members who present and those who attend their sessions. However, because all active members have legal and professional requirements to attend their assigned conventions, teachers must attend at least half of their assigned convention; they can present up to one full day. In special cases, this requirement may be waived should a member be approved to attend an alternate convention.

Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Do you want to speak at a convention other than your own?

Active members may speak at conventions other than their assigned convention. If their speaking commitments do not conflict with their attendance at their own teachers’ convention, the teacher must simply arrange substitute release time through their employer as they would on any normal teaching day, in accordance with their collective agreement and division policy.

However, if the member is scheduled to speak at a convention that is held at the same time as their own, they are bound by the same attendance requirements as if they were presenting at their own convention; they must attend their own convention for one full day and may travel to and present at the other convention during the second full day of convention. In special cases, this requirement may be waived should a member be approved to attend an alternate convention.

Please refer to the specific eligibility, conditions, and application instructions for requesting to attend an alternate convention that are listed on the Convention Attendance page.

Certificated Teachers Employed by Other School Divisions in Alberta

Are you a certificated teacher who works for a Charter, Private, First Nation, Provincial, or Federal school authority in Alberta?

Certificated teachers employed by Public, Separate, and Francophone school divisions in Alberta are compulsory active members of the Association in accordance with the Teaching Profession Act. Certificated teachers employed by other Alberta school divisions are ineligible for active membership, but may become associate members of the Association. Associate members are afforded virtually the same rights and privileges as active members, but they are not subject to the Association’s disciplinary provisions.

Certificated teachers employed by Charter, Private, First Nation, Provincial, and Federal school divisions in Alberta may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Retired and Unemployed Teachers

Can you attend convention when you are retired or unemployed?

The purpose of teachers’ conventions is to maintain the currency of active members of the Association who work as classroom teachers, school leaders, and central office positions. Certificated teachers who are retired or unemployed may attend convention only if:

They remain active members of the Association by working as a substitute; or
They purchase an annual associate membership in the Association and pay the required quest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

Have you worked as a substitute teacher during the current school year?

Do you want to attend convention, but you can’t/don’t want to work as a substitute?

Retired certificated teachers who do not remain active in the Association by working as substitutes may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Notwithstanding the above, Convention Associations may need volunteers to staff convention venues. Retired teachers who volunteer may be able to attend some convention sessions and socials. Retired teachers who are interested in volunteering should contact their regional convention president for more information. For your convenience, a directory of convention websites and contacts can be accessed here.

Safe Travel to Convention on Winter Roads

Are you concerned that you will not be able to safely travel to convention due to inclement weather or winter road conditions?

On the two school days of your assigned teachers’ convention, you have a legal and professional responsibility to attend convention. If you are not able to make it safely to your assigned convention, however, your collective agreement may include impassable roads or inclement weather clauses that you can access. If your collective agreement does not include language specific to road conditions or weather, you may make use of the personal leave clauses of your agreement in most cases. Please be aware that using any of these types of leave may require you to pay substitute costs, forego a portion of your salary and benefits, or report to your school or another work location in your district. Refer to your collective agreement for more information.

Should you require any additional information or if you need assistance interpreting your collective agreement, please contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208 or 780-447-9400.

Education Students

Are you an Education undergraduate student?

Pre-service teachers who attend Alberta universities or colleges that serve as convention venues and those who are registered in the final year of their Bachelor of Education program may attend convention free of charge provided they:

Purchase a membership in the ATA student local at their university or college (or directly through the Association);
Register as a Student Guest Delegate with their ATA student local (or directly through the Association); and
Attend only the convention assigned to their practicum partner teacher(s) and those other conventions assigned to their university or college.

For specific eligibility and application instructions or to register as a Student Guest Delegate if your university or college does not have an ATA student local, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Are you an Education graduate student?

Certificated teachers who are pursuing graduate study part-time or as part of a negotiated leave provision in their collective agreement should refer to the sections of this page pertaining to part-time teachers and teachers on leave.

Education graduate students who are not employed by a Public, Separate, or Francophone school board during the course of their studies may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Members of Alberta Faculties of Education

Are you a member of a Faculty of Education at an Alberta university or college?

Professors, instructors, and researchers from Alberta’s faculties of Education often present sessions and workshops at teachers’ conventions. Should a faculty member wish to attend a convention sessions and events, they may register as a Guest Delegate, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Teachers Employed Outside of the Province of Alberta

Are you a teacher employed by a school authority outside of Alberta?

Teachers from outside of Alberta may attend convention as an Out-of-Province Delegate provided they:

Can provide the Alberta Teachers’ Association with proof of membership in their provincial, territorial, or state teachers' organization; and
Register with and pay the required Out-of-Province registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as an Out-Of-Province Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Will you be visiting Alberta during teachers' convention season while participating in a teacher exchange program?

Teachers visiting Alberta during a formal exchange program may attend convention as Guest Delegates at no cost. Please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer for more information.

Certificated Teachers Employed by Government or Community Education Programs

Are you a certificated teacher who works for a government or community education program in Alberta?

Certificated teachers who are seconded from their Public, Separate, or Francophone school board to work for government or community programs should refer to the section of this page pertaining to secondments.

Certificated teachers who are based in Alberta and who are employed by a municipal, provincial/territorial, or government department or not-for-profit community education programs may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Non-certificated Staff Employed by Alberta School Authorities

Can individuals who are employed by Alberta school authorities but who are not certificated teachers attend convention?

Conventions are closed professional development events for active members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association and those student and associate members identified above. Attendance by uncertificated school authority staff and members of the public is not permitted.

Can Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Cultural Advisors who are employed by Alberta school authorities attend convention?

Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Cultural Advisors and noncertified educators employed by First Nations school authorities employed by other Alberta school divisions are ineligible for active membership, but may become associate members of the Association. Associate members are afforded virtually the same rights and privileges as active members, but they are not subject to the Association’s disciplinary provisions.

Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Cultural Advisors and noncertified educators employed by Charter, Private, First Nation, Provincial, and Federal school divisions in Alberta may attend convention as Guest Delegates, provided they:

Register for and purchase an annual associate membership in the Association; and
Pay the required guest registration fee to the convention they wish to attend.

To attend convention as a Guest Delegate, please call 1-800-232-7208 and ask to speak to the Professional Development Duty Officer.

Politicians

Are you a school board trustee?

Public, Separate, and Francophone school board trustees may be invited by convention or local presidents to attend certain aspects of a convention’s program as observers. As observers, trustees may not attend convention sessions or social events except those to which they have been explicitly invited.

Are you a municipal, provincial, or federal politician?

The Alberta Teachers’ Association is a nonpartisan organization that will work with members from all political parties to meet its objectives and strategic directions. Teachers’ conventions are sometimes seen by politicians as ideal opportunities to meet with large numbers of engaged voters, but conventions are not the best Association event for such political networking.

From time to time, the Association may invite politicians to attend certain portions of the convention program as observers or active participants. In these cases, the Association will take reasonable steps to ensure that members from across the political spectrum are invited, as appropriate. Invited politicians may not attend convention sessions or social events except those to which they have been explicitly invited.

Media

Are you a journalist or reporter?

The Association welcomes members of the press at convention events, but requires that they check-in at the registration desk upon arrival to receive media passes which will grant them access to convention venues.

To sit in on a keynote, session, or workshop, members of the press must receive the permission of the speaker. The views and opinions expressed by speakers are their individual views, not the views of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

For media and interview requests, or for assistance coordinating your convention visit, please contact the Association’s Media Relations team at 1-800-232-7208.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association