March 15, 2022

Moving forward – an exciting year ahead!

What an incredible two years it has been.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, we could not have imagined that we would still be talking about it two years later.

We did know that, despite the uncertainty that lay ahead, our members and our school communities would be resourceful and resilient.

Along the way, there have been so many challenges, yet, here we are, emerging from the pandemic—for good, we hope—and looking toward an exciting future. In February, we held a blended Public School Boards’ Council (PSBC) meeting and professional learning event, and we are holding another blended PSBC meeting and learning event in early April.

Not everyone is comfortable attending in person, so we will continue to provide quality professional learning in-person and online for a little while yet, including our blended Spring General Assembly in early June. These learning opportunities are important to support our member school boards in their work as trustees, and we are committed to giving them ongoing professional education that they will not find anywhere else.

Members are sometimes surprised to learn how much it costs to host online versions of in-person events, but we want everyone to have the same learning and networking experience regardless of how they attend. Equally important to us is hearing from our members.

Our members’ voices have always been important, but they will continue to be even more so as we move forward this year. Two of the key questions we are asking of our member school board trustees this year are: What kinds of professional learning opportunities would you like to have? What advocacy and research would you like us to undertake?

For instance, one of the important areas of advocacy for PSBAA is around the redevelopment and implementation of the K-6 curriculum. We know that recently a number of public school boards have written to the Minister of Education, asking her to delay implementation of the revised curriculum beyond this September. It may be that other boards are considering also writing a letter, and we would appreciate being copied on their letter to the Minister in that case.

Another key question to our member school board trustees is: How can we continue to improve your experience as a member?

Answering these questions is foundationally important to us as a member-driven organization, especially as we move forward this year. We are looking forward to working with our members, our partners and school communities as we continue to build and grow the Association. Here’s to an exciting year ahead!

Dennis MacNeil,
President