May 29, 2020

A different kind of Spring General Assembly

This weekend marks what would normally be the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta’s Spring General Assembly (SGA).

In a “normal” spring, we and our trustee colleagues from across the province would be meeting in Red Deer for a day and a half of business meetings, professional development and networking – all planned to help us further advance our skills as publicly-elected school board trustees.

As we know, this spring is far from normal, so trustees are meeting via videoconference for a half-day of professional development and learning. We are grateful, though, for advances in technology and the opportunity they give us to discuss issues of importance to public school boards.

One of the things we will be talking about is how to set up our K-12 public school students for success when classes resume – whenever that may be. We applaud the resiliency in each of our public school jurisdictions. We are so proud of all our administrators and staff, students and families, for their determination to carry on and make the most of this most unusual school year. Graduations, tests and exams have been held virtually, postponed or cancelled. We all know a lot of people who have been affected in one way or another since K-12 classes were cancelled back in mid-March.

At that time, I wrote in this space about the importance of community during uncertain times. I also said that I knew our amazing education community would lead the way in building community and positive social interaction.

I also said that, even more important than our students’ formal education are the life lessons they learn in challenging times: lessons like optimism, resiliency, adaptability, perseverance and community-building. As public school board trustees, educators and leaders in our school system, we can model positive, resilient attitudes – being open to change and embracing opportunity, even in the midst of uncertainty.

So, with the strong possibility of further uncertainty and changes to come, we are doing that – modelling positive, resilient attitudes and being open to change and opportunity. More change could be on the way with proposed revisions to the current Education Act that are contained in the Choice in Education Act legislation introduced in the Alberta Legislature yesterday. Changes to curriculum and a new funding formula are also on the horizon.

Additional change could be possible with the final outcome of the Theodore case appeal, depending on whether it is appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Although this case is about school funding legislation in Saskatchewan, it has implications for Alberta’s public and separate school boards, because our provincial education systems are so similar.

These are challenges, but I know we will rise to them to find the solutions and pathways forward that will always put Children First. This is a principle that we within the PSBAA strongly support. We will strive to find ways to work collaboratively for the benefit of our students. An example of the effort by all is the Student Transportation Task Force, and we look forward to more collaborative efforts in the months to come. The academic success of all students can only be achieved through equity of learning opportunities, which also requires collaborative efforts. Our continued dedication and resolve will ensure the job gets done to the very best of our ability. Our students deserve nothing less.