February 15, 2022

It’s all about the benefits for our members!

In the January edition of the President’s Corner, I shared that your PSBAA Board of Directors was holding its annual renewal meeting and assessing our priorities, values, and goals for the coming year.

This month, I’d like to share some of the outcomes of that meeting.

As a member-driven Association, we have two key overarching goals: elevating the profile of the Association and looking for new ways to add value for our members. I always enjoy our board gatherings, and we had a highly productive and energizing renewal meeting. This year, we are focusing on five key areas.

The first is professional learning. We want to explore micro-credentialing and what has worked in other jurisdictions, such as making learning available for trustees through courses that can lead to a certificate.

The second area is the recruitment of non-member public school boards to become members of PSBAA. We would love for all public school boards in Alberta to join the Association, and we know that there are many positive benefits to membership. We want to hear from our current members—and hopefully our future members—about the services that are important to them, so we can work on delivering them.

The third area is developing a strategic plan—a multi-year road map—for where we want to go as an Association. Transparency is key and the input of our members is vital to our success. Our plan will be informed by member input and refined by feedback through our member board representatives.

The fourth area is increasing member services. We believe these benefits can take many forms, from sponsorships to grant opportunities and ways to help save our members money—all the things that truly provide monetary value for our members that far exceeds the cost.

The fifth area—and really, for us this is one of the first areas—is increasing knowledge and professional learning of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This is one of the most important areas of professional learning the PSBAA can offer. I firmly believe that without the truth, there can be no reconciliation.

Our renewal gathering was very positive in helping each board member learn more about their respective roles. We came out of that meeting with a new sense of purpose and encouragement for each other. I am really looking forward to the next two years of working with this group and our members. We are just getting started!

Dennis MacNeil,
President