The Alberta Teachers’ Association

“The Alberta Teachers’ Association, as the professional organization of teachers, promotes and advances public education, safeguards standards of professional practice and serves as the advocate for its members.”

– The Alberta Teachers’ Association
Mission Statement

In 1997 I was teaching in an elementary school in St. Albert when Alberta became the first province to introduce the Teaching Quality Standard (TQS). My principal at the time, Grace Christophers, encouraged us to go through the new standards to reflect on our practice as an orientation. I remember my first thought being, “Wait, aren’t YOU supposed to tell ME how I’m doing?” This shift from external evaluation to a model where I, as a professional, was to reflect upon my own practice based on a set of standards was an approach that was different for me. As unusual as it seemed at first, it was also empowering. In fact, it was at about the same time that I began working towards my master’s degree. Being in a reflective head space made me think about what I wanted to focus on and learn as a teacher.

Now more than 20 years later, I’m at the beginning of my tenure as the Association’s newest assistant executive secretary and newest editor of the ATA Magazine, and the 1997 standards have been updated and expanded to include school and district leaders as well as superintendents. This issue of the magazine is therefore dedicated to exploring the new standards from a variety of perspectives. It includes a history lesson from recently retired ATA executive secretary Gordon Thomas, who was intimately involved in developing the original standards and worked to establish a new growth, supervision and evaluation policy. He reminds us that initiatives of the past and present are important for a unified teaching profession, underpinned by a professional, collegial model.

Before we get to the history, however, we deal with the present, with three articles that each focuses on one of the new standards—the Teaching Quality Standard (TQS), the Leadership Quality Standard (LQS) and the Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard (SLQS). In his summary of the new TQS, Mark Swanson notes that the new standards are structured quite differently, with six competencies, supported by indicators. He observes that the indicators will support teachers in better understanding each competency and that they will support teachers as they develop their practice over time.

Jeff Johnson views the new LQS as an opportunity for everyone in the system to grow—where leadership is distributed through a shared responsibility for student learning. He views the launching of the standards as the beginning of a journey; however, effective implementation is key.

Executive director of the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS), Barry Litun, notes that the standards are a first, in that they had never been formalized for school superintendents but had been an ongoing goal of CASS. He also reminds us that even though some of the standards are new, Alberta’s education system is already recognized as being among the best in the world, due to the dedication of teachers, school leaders and system leaders.

Two additional articles round out the issue with discussions applicable to all standards. Keith Hadden, associate coordinator of the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Southern Alberta Regional Office, reviews policy implications and the effective implementation of growth, supervision and evaluation policy relative to the new standards. He discusses the importance of ongoing professional growth, and that as professionals, teachers must be the authors and implementers of strategies based on their own self-assessments.

Finally, Melissa Purcell, an executive staff officer in the Professional Development program area, discusses changes that require teachers and leaders to develop and apply foundational Indigenous knowledge. She describes the standards as a step toward reconciliation since they mandate that teachers and administrators learn about Indigenous knowledge and the many ways that authentic Indigenous content can be woven into classrooms and schools.

The title we’ve chosen for this issue, Standards Without Standardization, acknowledges that teachers must continually reflect on their teaching practice, but that the enacting of pedagogy cannot be rigid. This is particularly important in today’s Alberta where schools and learners are diverse. It is up to teachers to use their professional judgment to determine how best to meet the needs of their students within the standards and programs of study. The same is true for school and district leaders as well as superintendents—there must be flexibility to meet the standards in order to navigate unique contexts.

As we prepare for the implementation of the standards in 2019, the Association has and will continue to develop supports and resources for members. Be sure to check the Association’s website at www.teachers.ab.ca to locate resources or call in to the Association. Staff are ready and able to help members meet the standards now and into the future.