ATA roundtables aiming to identify key issues in education

By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on February 2, 2023.

reporter@medicinehatnews.com

Last week on Jan. 26, the Alberta Teachers’ Association held an in-person roundtable discussion in Medicine Hat. The evening was part of a series of roundtables the ATA has held across the province, both in-person and virtual, and president Jason Schilling says the talks won’t stop there.

An in-person and virtual roundtable with the Francophone community has also been scheduled and the ATA is also still working out details of holding one with the Indigenous community.

“We found through the curriculum that the Indigenous and Francophone communities weren’t really asked what they thought about the curriculum,” said Schilling. “As we go through this process about what we want to see, the future of education in Alberta, we want to ensure we are including as many communities as possible in that conversation. That’s why we are having these public forums and are trying to make them accessible to everybody.”

Some of the topics coming up in discussions are class size, supports for neurodivergent students and those with special needs, mental health and the curriculum.

In the fall of 2022, the ATA sent out a pulse survey of their membership. The survey indicated that issues of social and cognitive behaviour issues are much the same, both in urban or rural schools. Across the province, the social-emotional needs of students are high.

“The issues are the same,” stated Schilling. “Much of it has to do with dealing with the effects of the pandemic. Getting kids caught up and ensuring kids are getting the mental health supports and social behavioural supports they need.”

Another finding was assessments, testing and/or meeting with a child psychologist is taking up to 18 months.

“What they are asking, is for a student who needs help today to wait an entire school year or more to get that help,” said Schilling. “That’s something we’ve been talking to government about. That needs to be addressed immediately because it’s not acceptable for us to have kids waiting that long for the help they need.”

All information from the roundtables is being collated as it comes in. The ATA has a research team that will pull the findings into a report. The provincial executive council, which Schilling chairs, will take the report and put it into the next phase of the Stand for Education campaign.

Schilling says he will also ensure the findings are made available to Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange, and request a meeting with her. He added he hopes there will be a conversation because there are things that need to be addressed immediately.

Additionally, issues such as poverty, class size, composition of the curriculum and mental health are long-term areas requiring solutions.

“Our goal is to make education a top priority in the election in 2023,” said Schilling. “Support our public education system because these are our kids, this is our future. We want to make sure they have everything in place.”

Those who were unable to attend an in-person or virtual roundtable, can share thoughts about the future of education at standforeducation.ca/share-wisdom/.

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