Advocacy and service

The allure of free supper was too much to resist.

As an early-career teacher, before the added demands of children and family life had fully kicked in, Melanie Buckley was open to trying new things and stepping up to help her colleagues, so when her ATA local was looking for a backup school rep, she volunteered.

“I thought, oh, I get a free supper out of it.” Buckley says. “I didn’t mind doing it.”

That was decades ago. In the intervening years, Buckley has enjoyed a variety of ATA volunteer roles. One of the most satisfying was a six-year stint as an Association instructor, which involved travelling the province delivering a variety of ATA courses and workshops to fellow members.

“I really enjoyed going to see different schools and presenting information,” Buckley says. “It was a really collegial group of educators from all over the province. It was one of my favourite groups to work with.”

After the COVID lockdown took some of the joy out of instructing, Buckley took a break from volunteering, but she soon felt like she should still be doing something with the ATA, so she applied for an opening on the Communication, Advocacy and Public Education Committee (CAPEC). 

One of the ATA’s 11 standing committees that include field members, CAPEC advises Provincial Executive Council on matters related to public education, public relations and communications.Among the committee’s duties is to provide feedback on the ATA’s public relations campaigns and recommend recipients for the ATA’s Public Education Award.

“I chose this committee because I feel very strongly about advocating for public education,” says Buckley.

Now in her third year, Buckley is one of two field members on the committee, which also includes three members of PEC and three members of executive staff.

Buckley, who is principal of Bruderheim School, says that field members provide the invaluable perspective of a teacher who is in a school full time.

“In the end, we all have the same concerns about the erosion of public education,” she says.

In serving on CAPEC, Buckley finds it interesting to witness and have input into the creation of the ATA’s advertising campaigns and convention swag. It’s also interesting to talk about the influence of politics on Alberta classrooms and see how the different facets of the ATA support teachers in ways that aren’t always readily apparent.

“I would strongly recommend it. I think it helps broaden your understanding of some of the bigger issues,” Buckley says.

Overall, Buckley feels that volunteering for ATA roles is a way to support the profession and her colleagues.

“I often think of it as teachers helping fellow teachers.”