Due to severe flooding in July, Barnett House will remain closed until early 2027.
The ATA Library is still open and providing resources to members.
Staff are working from home and continue to serve members online and by phone.
The Southern Alberta Regional Office (SARO) in Calgary is unaffected and conducts business per usual.
The winners of the 2026 ATA fellowships and scholarships have been announced, with all three of these ATA members currently engaged in graduate studies aimed at strengthening education in Alberta.
Each year, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) awards two fellowships, valued at $15,000 each, to ATA members who have been accepted into or already embarked upon full-time study in a doctoral program in education at a recognized public university in Alberta or Canada (if the program of study is offered in French or is not available in Alberta). The fellowship program is intended to recognize academic excellence and to help defray the financial costs of university study.
Teri Hofferd is a high school English teacher with more than 20 years of experience. She has spent most of her career at Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge. Hofferd received the University of Lethbridge’s School of Graduate Studies’ Silver Medal of Merit and the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada’s Master’s Thesis Award. Hofferd began her doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia with research focused on teacher–writers and how they negotiate the relationship between their writing practices and their writing pedagogy in response to the emergence of generative artificial intelligence.
Sarah Clark is an experienced school leader with nearly two decades in education and was recently appointed as an assistant superintendent in Foothills School Division. During her career, she led dual-track French immersion programming, mentored emerging leaders, and supported diverse student populations, including trauma-impacted and newcomer youth. A former divisional principal and university instructor, she also contributed to designing districtwide programs, codeveloped leadership certification aligned with Alberta’s standards, and facilitated professional learning rooted in Universal Design for Learning. Currently completing doctoral studies in educational leadership and administration at the University of Lethbridge, Clark is committed to building equitable and thriving school communities through her research.
The Nadene M. Thomas Graduate Research Bursary in the amount of $5,000 is offered annually to a member of the Alberta Teachers’ Association who is enrolled in a graduate program in education at a recognized Canadian university. Research must focus on contemporary issues impacting professional practice or public education, and/or innovative approaches to teaching or school leadership.
Tia Giesbrecht teaches Grade 6 at R.I. Baker School in Coaldale, where she runs her school’s Dungeons and Dragons and Student Leadership clubs. She is in the Master of Education program at the University of Lethbridge, with research interests in student and teacher mental health. Giesbrecht enjoys being on the executive for her ATA local and mentoring preservice teachers from the university. Her goal is a classroom where students feel they belong and are supported, using humour and compassion to make a home away from home. She believes that her research will help her to better teach resilience and problem solving.
Information on these and other funding opportunities through the ATA is available at https://abteach.cc/grants-awards-scholarships.
