The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Association administrative guidelines provide for the attendance of observers at selected portions of Council meetings. Association members who are interested in observing selected portions of Council meetings at their own expense are advised to contact their district representative.

Highlights of the Provincial Executive Council meeting held Sept. 21–22, 2017, at Barnett House, in Edmonton

1. Approved the final form of one electoral ballot proposed by a local association and determined Council’s position for distribution to the membership.
2. Approved, in some cases with amendments, recommendations on 145 expiring current directives for distribution to the membership.
3. Approved the creation of a continuing executive staff position in Teacher Welfare on the basis that a future executive staff vacancy not be filled.
4. To provide continued relief for project management, Council approved an overexpenditure for the Walking Together Project.
5. Approved the Association’s 2017/18 capital budget.
6. Approved a statement of Association program emphases for 2017/18.
7. Authorized disbursement of the 2017/18 budget for international co-operation for 12 international goals, including the continuation of Project Overseas and the Change for Children PD Pilot for Alberta teachers.
8. Authorized disbursement of $10,000 to the Education International Solidarity Fund through the Canadian Teachers’ Federation in support of teachers and education workers, their families and their member organizations affected by recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.
9. Approved an overexpenditure to cover costs of the Substitute Teachers’ Conference and requested that the substitute teacher information folder be made available in PDF format on the provincial ATA website.
10. Approved the names of six teachers for addition to the Association Instructor name bank and one teacher for inclusion in the Economic Consultants name bank.
11. Named three members of Council to each of two staff selection committees, the first for the position of Professional Development co-ordinator and the second for the position of executive staff officer, Teacher Welfare.
12. Approved that the preparation and presentation of general collective bargaining objectives be deferred to the Provincial Executive Council meeting prior to the 2018 Teacher Welfare Area Conference.
13. Established and appointed members to the Committee on 2018 CTF AGM Planning to act on behalf of the Association in hosting the CTF annual general meeting taking place July 2018 in Edmonton. Council further approved an overexpenditure to fund Alberta’s host obligations.
14. Consistent with section 31(2) of the Teaching Profession Act, extended the deadline for the commencement of a hearing of the Professional Conduct Committee.
15. Appealed to the Professional Conduct Appeal Committee the order of a hearing committee on the grounds of inadequate penalty. The hearing committee found a teacher guilty of four charges of unprofessional conduct for criticizing the professional reputation of another teacher; making statements and/or encouraging others to do the same, thereby creating a divisiveness between staff members; taking actions that failed to provide opportunities for staff members to express their opinions and bring forth suggestions regarding the administration of the school; and sending inappropriate text messages to another teacher. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a single letter of severe reprimand addressing all four charges, along with fines of $500 for charge one, $800 for charge two, $300 for charge three and $500 for charge four, which must be paid within 90 days of the teacher’s receipt of the decision. Failure to pay the fines would result in the suspension of the teacher’s membership in the Association.
16. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of four charges of unprofessional conduct for massaging students on the neck and/or back and/or shoulders and/or feet, thus failing to treat a student or students with dignity and respect; speaking with students about the teacher’s personal relationship breakup and/or giving students the impression that the teacher was considering suicide, thus failing to treat students with dignity and respect; making comments regarding the race of students, thus failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession; and making comments to and/or about students that were denigrating in nature, thus failing to treat a student or students with dignity and respect. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a letter of severe reprimand.
17. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of three charges of unprofessional conduct for abusing the teacher’s position, given the power differential, in a relationship with a subordinate, namely a teacher, thereby failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession; abusing the teacher’s position, given the power differential, in a relationship with a subordinate, namely a teacher, thereby failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession; and making a sexual advance to a colleague, a teacher, thereby failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a single letter of severe reprimand to address all three charges, a declaration of ineligibility for membership in the Association for a period of two years and a recommendation to the minister of education to suspend the teacher’s teaching certificate for a period of two years.
18. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of six charges of unprofessional conduct for, in the presence of other students, refusing to accept a female student’s response to the teacher’s question as to whether she was a boy or a girl, and then asking her if she was transgender, thus failing to treat the student with dignity and respect; holding a vote among a group of students to determine whether a Grade 6 student was a boy or a girl, thus failing to treat the student with dignity and respect; asking a Grade 7 student if her father was black, outside of any prior related conversation, thus failing to treat the student with dignity and respect; making comments to female Hutterite students about how they were poor candidates to be married, thereby failing to treat students with dignity and respect; belittling a student by telling other students to take a shovel and hit her on the head if she was annoying, then to dig a hole and bury her in the hole, thereby failing to treat a student with dignity and respect; and, on at least one occasion, humiliating a female student by obligating her to skip rope and/or hula hoop in front of them, thereby failing to treat the student with dignity and respect. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a severe reprimand to address charges one to six inclusively, a declaration that the teacher is permanently ineligible for membership in the Association and a recommendation to the minister of education to cancel the teacher’s teaching certificate.
19. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of one charge of unprofessional conduct for criticizing the professional reputation of another teacher to school-based and district-based administrators, without first informing the teacher of the criticism. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a letter of severe reprimand.
20. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of one charge of unprofessional conduct for submitting false claims to a benefit plan provider, for the purpose of receiving financial benefit, thus failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a letter of reprimand and a fine of $1,000 to be paid within 90 days of receipt of the written decision of the hearing committee. Failure to pay the fine in full within the specified time would result in the teacher being declared ineligible for membership in the Association.
21. Received the report of a hearing committee, which found a teacher guilty of one charge of unprofessional conduct for submitting false claims to a benefit plan provider, for the purpose of receiving financial benefit, thus failing to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession. The hearing committee imposed a penalty of a severe letter of reprimand and a fine of $2,000 to be paid within 90 days of receipt of the written decision. Failure to pay in full within the specified time period would result in the teacher being declared ineligible for membership in the Association.
22. Named field members to serve on Association committees and fill vacancies on Association and other external committees.