September 22, 2020
What is public school education, and why is it so important?
“Widespread public access to knowledge, like public education, is one of the pillars of our democracy, a guarantee that we can maintain a well-informed citizenry.” Scott Turow – American author and lawyer No one disagrees with the importance of a good education in setting up students well for the future, and the world of work. The question is: what type of school will be the best to meet the needs…
September 4, 2020
Back to school in the middle of a pandemic
“I believe this is the right first step,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, on August 27, 2020. Dr. Hinshaw was responding to a question asked at a recent news conference about what she thought of Alberta’s return to school plan, and whether school closures can be avoided if there are outbreaks of COVID-19. There is no doubt that the safe return to school for hundreds…
June 30, 2020
PSBAA President’s Year-End Blog 2020
As June winds down and we get closer to the official start of summer break, I want to take a look back at this unprecedented year, especially the past three months. Prior to COVID-19 was challenging enough in terms of changes for boards across the province with the tightening of budgets. Ultimately this resulted in fewer resources while we continue to meet the needs of the students in our inclusive…
June 15, 2020
Let’s not further fragment K-12 education in Alberta – We have enough choice!
The Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta has a long history as passionate defenders of equity and inclusivity for all children, and we are staunch advocates of the many merits of the public education system in Alberta. First and foremost, we have always been motivated by the principle of Children First. In practice this means that, as locally-elected school board trustees, we always consider the needs of the child and…
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…
May 15, 2020
“Back to school”: what will “the new normal” look like?
This week marks a cautious “phase one re-launch” of some aspects of the Alberta economy, including retailers, barber shops, restaurants and museums. We all know the road back to a “new normal” will be long and careful, but it’s reasonable to ask the question: what could a re-launch look like for K-12 students in Alberta? When can they actually return to the classroom, and under what circumstances? The Alberta government…
April 28, 2020
Education Week during The Great Pause
Education Week in Alberta is coming up – and it’s a very different celebration this year. A year ago, no one could have imagined we’d be in the throes of a global pandemic today. Public school board trustees have always been singularly focused on creating the best possible learning environments for K-12 students, to make sure they have the resources in the classroom to thrive. Yet suddenly on a Sunday…
March 23, 2020
On the importance of community in uncertain times
Albertans are gradually adapting to a new reality – for themselves and their families. Last Monday morning, the day after the announcement that classes were cancelled at all K-12 schools, and all licensed child care facilities, out-of-school care and preschool programs were closed indefinitely, many parents were scrambling to make other arrangements at work and for child care. By Tuesday, they were just starting to adjust when there were further…
March 13, 2020
On embracing change
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life, and those who only look to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” These days, it seems like the only constant is change. Just in the past 12 short months, we have had a new provincial government and a new federal government. Many are concerned about the arrival in Alberta of the coronavirus pandemic or the…
January 31, 2020
On accountability, responsibility and trust
In a previous blog post, I shared my thoughts on the passion and purpose of locally-elected public school board trustees. In that post, I promised I would come back to something called “fiduciary responsibility” and why that’s so important in the public school board context. Essentially, the job of trustees is three-fold: advocacy (passion), governance (purpose) and relationships (trust). So what exactly is governance, and why is it so important…