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,…
December 12, 2019
PSBAA President Cathy Hogg responds to MLA Drew Barnes’ Twitter post
A recent Twitter post by MLA Drew Barnes brought attention to a Dec. 10th article in the Financial Post entitled, “A tale of two Alberta towns...”. The reporter contrasted the economic growth of Grande Prairie and the downturn on Medicine Hat. The reporter wrote of the vitality and growth in Grande Prairie resulting in the construction of a new hospital and the attraction of expanding retail operations and the constant…
November 25, 2019
On passion and purpose
Public school board trustees are passionate about a lot of things. We are passionate about our students and making sure they have the tools and resources to achieve their academic goals and reach their full potential. Our public schools embrace all children of the province. We are passionate about our teachers, staff and leaders in our schools and school jurisdictions. We want to make sure they have the training, tools…
September 8, 2019
Welcome back!
There’s nothing like the first week back at school! As I see students head off to class, their new backpacks over their shoulders, there’s an excitement in the air that I see at no other time of the year. Our teachers have been hard at work already – setting up their classrooms, putting the final touches on their lesson plans, and organizing a thousand big and little details to set…
June 28, 2019
Reflections ahead of summer break
As the school year comes to a close and students and staff head out for the summer and a well-earned break, I want to take a couple of moments to reflect on the past school year. First, thank you to all our public school boards – members and non-members alike – for the wonderful work they do on behalf of all students in Alberta. Indeed, every school board trustee and…
April 2, 2019
Government should create incentive for all education systems in Alberta to cooperate to benefit students
Now that Alberta is in the midst of a provincial election campaign, we would like to share our three-point wish list for K-12 public education in Alberta. Elections mean lots of promises and funding announcements, and K-12 education is no different. We appreciate all the debate and ideas, because it’s critically important to talk about the future of education in Alberta. We are educating the next generation of Albertans to…
February 20, 2019
Together for Students Campaign
In my previous post, I shared a bit about my philosophy as president of the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta (PSBAA). Now, as promised, I want to share more about the Together for Students campaign – how it came about and what we hope to accomplish with it. In 2015, PSBAA member school boards made One Public System the first priority in a three-year work plan. The wording in…
January 4, 2019
Happy New Year!
I love this time of the year. Much like the start of a new school year, the beginning of a new calendar year is filled with promise and opportunity. With those prospects in mind, I dare to dream and plan about what’s possible in the coming 12 months. One of the things I dream about and think about is how we can support our students, and how our work as…