For more than a century, the Alberta Teachers’ Association has worked for the common good of public education. That work continues today, grounded in a simple truth: progress happens when teachers are respected, trusted, supported and heard.
This month, teachers’ conventions began, and these events remain one of the strongest expressions of professional trust in Alberta. At a time when professional learning is increasingly prescribed and constrained, conventions remind us that teachers and school leaders know what learning they need. Rooted in autonomy, collaboration and growth, they are spaces worth protecting. They are also spaces to reconnect with colleagues, to maintain and build collegiality, and to remind ourselves of the collective strength of the teaching profession.
This school year has demanded extraordinary commitment and courage from you. The strike was both a difficult and an extraordinary moment in our history. It asked a great deal of all of us, and of our families and communities. Being ordered back to work by Bill 2, with our charter rights overridden, was not how anyone wanted that chapter to end. It was frustrating, painful and, for many, deeply discouraging. We should never shy away from those emotions.
We need to talk about that experience. Those conversations will not always be easy, but they must be respectful and honest. We owe it to one another to reflect on what happened, to learn from it and to use that learning to shape what comes next. We cannot pretend the past did not happen, but neither can we allow it to define our future.
It is tempting, after a difficult chapter, to disengage from the conversation, but now is not the time to pull back. The concerns teachers raised last year have not gone away—in many cases, they are deepening. Staying engaged is how we protect our profession, our students and public education itself. The collegiality we renew and strengthen at conventions can help sustain our collective engagement and remind us that we are in this together.
We must keep our eyes on the horizon while learning from the past. Our advocacy does not end because the government passes a bill. The voice of teachers is bigger than any single piece of legislation, and stronger than any attempt to silence it.
As you take part in conventions this year, I encourage you to stay connected and embark on those conversations with your Association, with one another and with the purpose in mind of what brought you into this profession. Let conventions be a time not only for professional learning, but for reaffirming the strength of our profession. Our work is not finished; it will and must continue.
ATA President
