Best Over-All Program Submission Award 2002

The following submission, which outlines what ATA Local #8 accomplished in 2002, was turned in to the Association as part of the Best Over-all Program Award. Local #8 has received top marks in six of the past eight years.

1. Introduction

This past year was one of great trials and triumphs. The public education system in Alberta was faced with many challenges. In this political turmoil, the Greater Black Gold Teachers’ Local No. 8 has had to work harder than ever to ensure the continuation of top notch instruction and to promote a nurturing and caring environment.

September 11 brought unprecedented fear and disruptions into our schools. Our teachers and students worked together to show support for our southern neighbours, by implementing various projects. One of our elementary schools started a penny drive to send money to the disaster fund. Some students wrote letters and poetry of support to students in New York and Washington schools after the devastation. Two schools in Leduc were set up as shelters for people stranded in Edmonton in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Provincially, public education was in crisis in terms of job action. Our local, along with the Board, was able to set a precedent around the province with a fair and equitable settlement that met the criteria set out by ARA and PEC. We showed solidarity with our colleagues around the province by raising funds for striking locals and attending rallies.

We have begun a rewarding partnership with the Belize Teachers’ Union to share resources and expertise with our Central American neighbour. We look forward to the continuation and growth of this valuable project.

Our theme this year is Reaching Out…. Greater Black Gold Local No. 8 of the Alberta Teachers’ Association is working hard to reach out to those in need – locally, provincially, and internationally!

Reaching out…This is not the end, only the beginning of our journey!

2. Where Has the Year Gone? Travelogue

Greater Black Gold Teachers’ Local No. 8 is a huge local. Geographically, it is over 500 km round trip, which creates a challenge to visit all schools. Travel, mileage, meals, and of course, time are key factors in communicating with our membership. We stretch from Beaumont to the north, Ponoka to the south, New Sarepta to the east and Drayton Valley to the west.

This is a unique local in that we serve both public and separate teachers whom operate on different school years and agendas. One of our communities, Beaumont, is a francophone community. We also have a Hutterite colony within our boundaries.

Our local provides 0.2 release time for our president. We also provide ten days of release time at substitute cost for each of the vice-president, secretary, treasurer and other committee chairs in order to allow these individuals to carry out business on behalf of the local. We believe this is something all locals should be doing.

Some interesting “travel tidbits”:

Number of School Visits” 30
Mileage Traveling to School Sites (4500 km) $ 1 350
Eight meetings of local council $ 4 500
Six meetings of executive $ 1 000
Mileage paid out to members (7850 km) $ 3 000
Sending teachers to PD conferences $18 000
Support of Beginning Teachers’ Conference $ 1 000
Support of substitute teachers $ 1 000
Support Retirement and Long Service $ 5 000

Theme of the Month

September: Extracurricular
October: Teacher Wellness
November: School Councils
December: School-Based Activities
January: Pensions
February: School Support Staff
March: Teacher Liability
April: School: Based Administration
May: Policy / Constitution
June: New Executive

3. Public Relations

Why aren’t you in school?

It’s easy to shrug when letters appear in the local papers critical of education and critical of teachers. It is doubly difficult to respond to these letters in a small community. Everyone knows who you are. It takes courage and responsibility toward education and toward our colleagues to respond. Public relations are much trickier, we believe, in a small community. Our challenge has been to present ourselves in a positive prospective, both in and out of the classroom, yet defend and correct misinformation about our profession. This is a job of public relations.

What’s new?

Introduction of a new overseas project in Belize
Membership with the Leduc/Nisku Rotary Club
Promotion “Thanks to our Community Members” which include Public Education certificates, pens, pencils, and post-it notes, acknowledging their valuable contribution to our school communities and groups
Working with the Parkland Institute
Strike fund contributions to surrounding districts

What’s ongoing?

Maintain membership - Leduc and Area Chamber of Commerce
Maintain connections with the local newspapers and provide timely articles and information concerning educational issues in the communities - The Leduc Representative, La Nouvelle in Beaumont, The Devon Dispatch, and weekly paper in Ponoka/Drayton Valley.
Annual donations to the ATA Educational Trust Fund
Donation for student awards, given out at awards’ nights
Promotions at Edmonton Oilers hockey games including Public Education Night. In excess of 100 teachers attend each game!
Attendance at SilverCity IMAX productions!
Edmonton Trappers baseball game – Greater Black Gold Local sold more tickets to this Public Education event than any other local!

4. Public Education

Alberta teachers are fortunate that provincially a strong Public Education Program exists. It is the responsibility of each local to support and promote this provincial initiative.

How has Greater Black Gold Teachers’ Local No. 8 promoted public education in the past year?

Provided opportunities for teachers to attend candidate forums, encouraging dialogue on public education
Provided opportunities for teachers to attend local political party meetings to ensure that public education is a key issue
Provided Public Education banners to all schools for use during school functions
Invited the Boards Chairs and Superintendents to the Trustee Luncheon at our local convention and to our ATA Annual Retirement and Long Service Banquet
Sent a representative to Greater Edmonton Alliance
Distribution of provincial materials to teachers in our local
Using the Public Education logo on our web site, letterhead, and promotional materials
Moved to on-line registration for district professional development, Institute Day to promote awareness of teachers upgrading opportunities
Promotion at Edmonton Oilers’ hockey games Public Education night, - in excess of 100 teachers attending
Edmonton Eskimo football games
Edmonton Trappers baseball games – Greater Black Gold Local No.8 once again sold the most tickets
Attendance at SilverCity IMAX productions

5. Caring Colleagues

The Black Gold Regional Board currently has an Employee Assistance Program in place, using a local carrier, Priority One, for teacher assistance. The acceptance by the Board of an EAP was a direct result of lobbying and ground work carried out by members of the local. St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Schools does not currently have in place a similar program. At the local level, we are working with both boards to encourage and ensure these programs would be most valuable to all teachers. How can our local assist our teachers in areas of teacher wellness?

This local promotes teacher wellness by electing a member to council in the position of Caring Colleagues Chair
This chair is building a resource library with books and tapes with such diverse topics as yoga, tai chi, gardening and crafts
Continue to cooperate with Edmonton Public Local informing members of upcoming monthly events taking place at Barnett House. This program is targeting teachers currently on leave.
Actively participating in the ASEBP Occupational Health Initiative, which is ongoing in our school divisions. Over 500 individuals were interviewed and our local is monitoring these developments closely, in hopes to influence the process positively.
Recognize colleagues in our local communications.
Provide opportunities for teachers to attend leadership activities to promote growth and health.
Ensure that an executive member attends funerals concerning our members of ATA Local #8, be it a student, colleague or other partner in education.
Anyone associated with our school jurisdiction are acknowledged during difficult time.
Support other locals experiencing difficult times in dealing with contractual issues (including the strike).
Actively seek out our members who are on leave to provide them with a support system to assist them in their recovery process.

6. Internal Communications and Initiatives

Our local prides itself in open communication with our members and other stakeholders in education. It is important that our membership be informed of current issues relating to public education. Maintaining a positive approach to issues involving education is key to an effective communication program. We take pride in consistently sending out information to teachers in an efficient manner.

Provide council and executive members with current copies of the ATA Local $8 Constitution, Policies, and annual scheduled events
Monthly AT A Glance Newsletters
Weekly faxes and updates to schools
E-mail communication with all members
ATA Local #8 Website (www.ata8.com)
Letters of Recognition
Letters of Sympathy
Participation in the Prime Minister Award Program
Using colourful paper to ensure high visibility for memos
Conduct several meetings with executive members in order to spread the workload
Information packages distributed to beginning teachers
Staff Reps are a vital link to our communication process
Personal copies of current collective agreements
Internal committee communication such as PD Institute Program Booklet

Local Volunteer Form

Local Committee(s) in which I am interested: (see list below)

_____________________________________________________________

My current position is:

School ______________________________________________

Name _______________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________

City _________________________________________________

Postal Code ___________________________________________

Phone (H) ______________________________________________

Phone (W) ______________________________________________

Local Committees

Constitution Administrators
Elections
Long Service/Retirement Planning
Teacher Welcoming
New Teacher Orientation
Social Activities
Equity Issues in Education
Policy Development
Communication & Public Relations
Political Involvement
Employee Assistance Program

7. Political Involvement

Greater Black Gold Teachers’ Local No. 8 has been actively involved in several key political events both at the local and provincial level. This committee heightens the awareness of its members by attending meetings and reporting back to the membership. The role that this committee has performed for its members has been critical in light of the recent trustee elections and the current Action Plan developed this past year by teachers at the Annual Representative Assembly (ARA) in Edmonton on May 20, 2001.

Attendance at the Greater Edmonton Alliance (GEA) workshop
Trustees were asked to participate in one of the four Trustee Forums set up throughout our local area
Attendance at the Provincial Association Political Involvement Seminar
Several members attend local party meetings and candidate forums so as to bring to the forefront educational issues
In direct response to the ARA directive for coordinated provincial action, we followed our Action Plan which included withdrawal of voluntary services and support for our colleagues on strike
We have been instrumental in lobbying our own members and our politicians to further our cause regarding Public Education
Local ARA members took part in the march on the legislature in September
Convention rally

8. Belize Project

Discussions among our executive members following the events of September 11, 2001 brought about a desire to help teachers in other areas, more specifically another part of the world. Belize, being an English speaking, developing country with economical transportation ports from Canada was chosen. Initial contact was made with the President of the Belize Teachers Union in November. We received immediate positive response regarding their interest in developing a twinning program, and the project took off from there.

In February, Sheila Fraser, local Vice-President, traveled down to Belize City to start the initial groundwork for the project. She met with union and government officials, visited with teacher representatives from various parts of Belize, and toured schools. Initial needs assessments, feedback and interest in developing a working relationship with teachers from Greater Black Gold was very positive. Our project was under way. This initial visit was made possible with an Alberta Teachers’ Association Overseas Projects grant-in-aide.

Currently, our local area teachers are gathering supplies and books to send to Belize in the summer. We have a co-operative relationship with the Leduc area Rotary Club. They have committed to helping fund our Belize project to support transportation costs for equipment and supplies to be shipped to Belize twice a year. Also, they have committed funding to send area teachers to Belize twice a year to oversee distribution and set-up of equipment and to provide inserving to teachers. In return we will assist the Rotary Club staff their fundraising events throughout the year.

9. Evaluation

Our membership has supported this professional association throughout the year as demonstrated in this report. Our dedication and commitment has been outstanding. We had a productive year both at the local and provincial level. We focused on strengthening our links with parents, teachers and business. We are pleased to see that the” goals” we set out at the beginning of the year were accomplished.

Communication

We were successful in carrying out open communication with our teachers, parents, and the public
We kept our members updated on current issues
Communication was handled through monthly newsletters, faxes, phone calls, and the Internet
We will continue to keep our members well informed at all times

School Visits

Our executive has visited schools throughout our local and met with colleagues
The school visits allow our members an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, and express concerns they may have about our local operations
These visits are well received by staff
We recommend all locals pursue this type of personal contact with their members

Public Education Works…

Our Public Education campaign was second to none
Our executive spent countless hours hosting, visiting, promoting, and informing our teachers, parents, students and business partners of the importance of publicly funded education in this province.
Without strong support from our members and the provincial ATA, many of the benefits we currently enjoy, would not be available.
As in the past, we continued to promote our schools via newspaper ad, billboard displays and local newsletters
Our campaign has been successful based on the on-going support of our members

Public Education Campaign

Our local continues to be respected throughout the province. We have excellent communication and cooperation among both bargaining units that currently make up our local structure
We are all professionals working toward a common goal…preserving Public Education. We are proud to be part of a dedicated team representing teachers in our local. Our local will continue to be a model for other locals.
Throughout the year we’ve been busy responding and adapting to ongoing issues such an organizational health initiative, provincial and federal elections and now a new direction in response to the ARA Action Plan.

Social Events

Edmonton Oilers hockey packages included 7-game Championship, 3-game mini-pack, and we even had playoff tickets in the event the Oilers made it that far
Public Education Trapper Baseball Night – hosted a couple of evenings in June
SilverCity IMAX – provided complimentary tickets to teachers to attend several premier showings in Edmonton
Pub Fest Nights were held in the fall in three communities within the local area
Convention Host Room was held in the Shaw Convention Centre

Team Building

We have been blessed with strong leadership among our executive and council members. These members deserve the recognition for their efforts. Their commitment in serving their colleagues goes beyond the classroom walls.
They continue to give of their time and energy all year long because they know they have the support of their membership.
We are encouraged by the fact that more and more new people are stepping forward and wanting to take on ATA responsibilities.
As we move ahead to 2002-2003, we say farewell to those members who served on Council throughout the past year and welcome our new executive members elected last month
We sincerely appreciate your efforts and look forward to seeing you return to Council in the near future

Local Member Needs

Our local office operates on a system that encourages members to phone in. Phone calls, faxes and e-mail messages that come into our local office are responded to in short order.
We will continue to operate in this way because we know your call is important
We can be reached at our local office by phone (780) 962-5055, fax (780) 962-3305 or by e-mail (www.ata8.com) twenty-four hours a day.