The Alberta Teachers’ Association

CANDIDATES FOR ATA PRESIDENT
(one to be elected)

GREG JEFFERY

Over the past two years we have been telling the story of public education and how we are ensuring that it is a positive story. Over the course of my career I have witnessed the five per cent rollback by the brand new Ralph Klein administration, the historical rally for public education at the Alberta legislature, the massive job action in 2002 and the resolution of the unfunded liability of the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund in 2007.

During these historical times I was active as an Economic Policy Committee (EPC) member, EPC chair, local president and as a member of Provincial Executive Council, respectively. I have lived a significant part of our story during my career and have worked towards improving the lot of teachers and students in every instance. While not every ending was positive (-5%) I believe we are much better off than when I started.

An important subplot for me is increased recognition of teachers as professionals. I want to enhance our professional development capacity and work towards our Association becoming the granting body for teacher certification. Our Association must have leadership that is passionate, experienced and committed in order that our goals continue to be realized. I believe that my track record is exemplary in regard to these traits, and I ask for your vote so that I can help move us all forward in the next chapter of our story.
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Greg is a junior high teacher in Fort Saskatchewan, teaching math and band. He is a proud member of Elk Island Local No. 28. Greg represented Edmonton District as district representative on Provincial Executive Council for 10 years and for the last four years has been vice-president of the Association. Previous to that he was local president for four years, EPC chair for three years and local secretary for eight.

Greg chairs or has chaired many provincial committees including Finance, Resolutions, Public Education, Political Engagement, Host Committee for the Canadian Teachers’ Federation Annual General Meeting, Committee for the Renovation of Seymour Tower, Election Readiness and most recently Central Table Bargaining. He has been involved in Association governance since the first year of his career. Greg is married to Joan, an elementary music teacher, and has two children and one amazing grandson.

KELLY MARONEY

It is my position that teachers have lost considerable ground financially. I would advocate against the signing of any contract that would see anything other than a recovery of that purchasing power that has been lost as a result of the penultimate contract. I would advocate a return to the contract the provision of tying teachers’ salaries to the Average Weekly Earning Index for Alberta.
Teachers are being asked to accommodate more and more educational initiatives without compensation for the time involved in the implementation of these initiatives. I would advocate for recognition of the teachers’ time involved and advocate further for provisions to be made in the allotment of teachers’ time to any new initiatives.

Assignable time has been and remains a significant issue. Teachers are being spread thin while being asked to accommodate more and more. This results in negative effects to teachers’ well-being. The success of students is tied directly to the well-being of teachers.

Preparation time is essential for quality instruction and assessment. Teachers are being asked to perform at a very high standard while working in an environment that seems neither to understand nor respect the degree to which adequate preparation time is essential for teacher well-being and student success.

Extracurricular work is essential for our schools’ cultures and communities. Teachers are the only professionals for which there remains an expectation of volunteerism in order to offer and operate many extracurricular activities. I would advocate strongly for this time to be accounted for as paid time.

Class size is and will remain a key concern for teachers in the conduct of their professional work. Inclusive classrooms have great promise; however, consideration for the complexities of an inclusive classroom and the issue of class size generally are lost. I will advocate for firm class-size limits.

Teachers are professionals. This understanding is essential. The efficacy of teachers in their work demands formal recognition of teachers as professionals.

International partnerships are more and more common; however, the benefit to working professional teachers has yet to be proven. Tremendous ATA resources have been and are allocated to these international partnerships. I would advocate for a review of the partnerships to assess whether they provide significant benefit to working teachers.

Inclusive classrooms, ELL students, increased complexities in challenges to learning are all part of the modern classroom. These developments come with little or no support. I will advocate for adequate supports for teachers working in the context of inclusive classrooms.
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Kelly was born in Calgary and has lived in Alberta for most of his adult life. He is the father of two fine young people, both of whom are studying at the university level.

After having graduated from the University of Alberta, Mr. Maroney took a teaching position with Edmonton Public Schools as a social studies/humanities teacher. Kelly has taught each of the social studies courses at the high school level. As well, Kelly has taught theory of knowledge in the International Baccalaureate program at two different schools in Edmonton.

ROBERT TWERDOCLIB

I am honoured to present my commitment to public education and myself as a candidate for president.

Conditions of practice

Working conditions continue to deteriorate and as many schools reach capacity, others see declining enrolments: conditions are likely to worsen not improve. As president I will champion

• reducing class size and improving support and resources for inclusion,
• reducing bureaucracy and
• investing in the professional development and FNMI training of all teachers.

Collective bargaining

The year 2016 saw a new approach with central table and local bargaining. While this was legislated, we worked to develop checks and balances: now we need to appraise the process. As president, I will champion

• stronger and more significant roles for locals in central table bargaining,
• a stronger role for local bargaining on conditions of practice and
• strong emphasis on sustaining and developing the careers of teachers — too many teachers are leaving the profession.

Member engagement
The ATA is its membership. After consecutive long-term contracts, ATA member engagement has waned. Member engagement must be our primary focus. As president I will champion

• a northern, central and southern structure for the ATA — becoming more local while retaining our provincial and global focus;
• articulation of our strategic plan with focus on member commitment to achieve the Association’s Preferred Futures vision; and
• focusing resources on turning policy into action, starting with conditions of practice, professional autonomy, public assurance and technology.

Curriculum change and development

The partnership between the ATA and government on curriculum reform is getting mixed reviews: many say it is good and working and others call it flawed and phony. As president I will champion

• ATA specialist councils as the vehicles for curriculum re-development;
• creative approaches to teacher-developed assessments, utilizing our research Renewing Alberta’s Promise: A Great School for All and the Alberta Assessment Consortium; and
• use of technology in schools based on our Growing Up Digital research.

I have been a public school teacher for close to 30 years, and my passion for education continues to grow each time I see students and teachers do remarkable things. I have taught in rural and urban Alberta, at community schools, outreach centres and schools in villages, towns and cities. I started as a substitute teacher, worked under temporary contracts, and have taught grades 3 to 12, including four years as a special education teacher.

My BEd is in secondary social studies and my MEd is in teacher leadership. With the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C., I completed teacher consultant fellowships over three summers. I worked for Alberta Education as a curriculum consultant in social studies and English language arts. I have instructed at NAIT, served as a sessional instructor at Queens, and volunteered two summers in Belize, assisting indigenous teachers with curriculum and instruction.

Teachers from across Alberta elected me twice as ATA vice-president; I was elected to two terms as Central North district representative. I was also elected president of Parkland Teachers’ Local No. 10 and served as spokesperson during a lockout and again during a 21-day strike which resulted in the Parkland 907 settlement.