December 19, 2019

Celebration and Gratitude

Starting tomorrow, our students and teachers will begin a well-deserved, two-week holiday.

When they return to their classrooms in January, it will be to welcome not only a new year but also a new decade.

As I look over the past year, I am so thankful for our wonderful public schools and our dedicated leaders and teachers. And PSBAA had a great deal to celebrate in 2019. First and foremost, we marked our 30th anniversary as an Association, advocating exclusively for public education – not just publicly-funded – in Alberta.

It is said we stand on the shoulders of giants – those who went before us, blazing the trail for excellence in public education, and we are so fortunate to enjoy the fruits of their legacy and their labours. We work hard to honour them and their example.

To that end, back in March our Executive Director, Brian Callaghan and I travelled to Regina as PSBAA presented as an intervenor in the precedent-setting Theodore case appeal. Kirk Lambrecht, Q.C., was the lawyer who presented on behalf of PSBAA. The CBC successfully applied to livestream the case, and the links to its video are posted on its YouTube channel. The coverage for Tuesday, March 11 is here, and the video link for Wednesday, March 12 is here.

PSBAA also issued a media release – the link is posted on our website – and we spoke to media while we were there. The lead judge indicated the court would reserve its decision – to be released “in due course” – and, while it will be a while before we know the outcome, it was important for PSBAA to represent Alberta public school boards.

Advocacy on behalf of Alberta public schools was a key theme throughout 2019. We have continued to promote the notion that the provincial government could save more than $250 million each and every year by amalgamating the administration of multiple school systems, and shared our three-point wish list for K-12 public education in the spring election in a blog post earlier this year (April 2, 2019).

In September, we released the Majeran Report, in response to the MacKinnon Panel report’s comments on K-12 education in Alberta. PSBAA commissioned the Majeran Report in 2018, to identify how to make the administration of K-12 education in Alberta more efficient. You can read the Majeran Report here and the PSBAA news release here.

We had a great Spring General Assembly in Red Deer and, at our Fall General Assembly, we were honoured to have Senator Paula Simons present as our keynote speaker at the Lt. Gov. Lois E. Hole Dinner. We are so privileged to have a copy of her remarks, which are posted here, in case you missed her inspirational speech in person. We also engaged in a thought-provoking day long session with David Irvine, who encouraged us to contemplate our core values and the deep notion of community.

2019 may be winding down, but our work as an Association will continue in the new year. We are excited about the opportunities that will present themselves during 2020, despite these challenging economic times. More than ever, we all need to continue working together on behalf of all our students.

I wish you peace, joy and a restful holiday break, and a prosperous and fruitful new year!