Grassroots volunteers

On the cold morning of Dec. 22, 1917, three teachers — George Misener, C.E. Leppard and John Barnett — met in downtown Edmonton and established the Alberta Teachers’ Alliance, which would later transform into the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

A particularly remarkable aspect of that first meeting was the absolute confidence the three founders exhibited in teachers’ readiness to volunteer their time and effort in the pursuit of professional status for teachers. The work would be daunting. Local alliances needed organizing, executives elected, committees struck, members recruited, services established, and negotiations and legal cases undertaken. Success would only come through the deep and abiding commitment by Alliance members in every Alberta community. 

The dedication of Alliance volunteers led to the professional status of Alberta teachers being enshrined in legislation in 1935. To this day, more than 100 years after that inaugural meeting, volunteerism remains the engine of the ATA’s capacity to advocate for members and for public education, bargain for teachers, provide professional development, conduct research, develop policy and render services to 46,000 active members. 

Volunteers are people of vision seeking the common good. They are, and have always been, the custodians of the teaching profession in Alberta. 

Thank you, volunteers!

The ATA is as strong and resilient as the members it serves. My sincere thanks to the hundreds of teachers who, each year, volunteer their time, expertise, energy and resolve. The ATA would be nothing without you. 

­­— Jason Schilling, President, ATA