Teaching can sometimes feel like a solo sport. We spend our days tucked away in our classrooms, focused entirely on the students in front of us. In the rush of lesson plans and grading, “community engagement” can sound like a buzzword—or worse, a chore we simply don’t have time for. But it’s time to shift that perspective. Engaging with the groups around us isn’t just about public relations; it’s about building a support system that makes our jobs more sustainable.
When we bridge the gap between our schools and the broader community, we stop carrying the entire weight of the system on our own shoulders. Real, tangible change often starts with something as simple as a conversation.
I’ve seen this first-hand when I was a principal in a small community school. When a local industrial site decided to donate its recycled bottle money, it transformed $20,000 of waste into brand new basketball hoops for our students. That opportunity came about because a school council member casually mentioned a school need to a friend. Without that conversation, the school would not have benefited.
When our new playground needed assembly (and if you know, you know), a local service club didn’t just send a cheque—they showed up in work boots and spent their weekend bolting slides together. Even more powerful was seeing a local pipeline company send a crew to rake the playground sand, with many volunteers being former students of the very school they were helping. The investments community members make in our schools show they care about public education. And we need more than teachers and parents to share their voices in support.
By getting involved in our public schools, businesses and service clubs are not only donating time or labour but also gaining a front-row seat to the incredible work teachers and school leaders do every day. Trustees, school council members and local business owners are some of our most important allies, but they can’t advocate for what they don’t understand. When we stay isolated in our buildings, we allow the story of public education to be written by budget spreadsheets and headlines instead of lived experience.
Every conversation with trustees, business leaders and community members matters. It isn’t just “small talk”; it’s an opportunity to provide the human context for why public education matters. You are showing them exactly why their taxes and donations toward public education are the best investment a community can make. When they know you, they are no longer just supporting a system; they are supporting you and your students.
Maintaining strong public support for our schools requires us to be visible. We need to be the faces of the profession in the places where decisions are made. Stepping outside the classroom takes effort, but the payoff is a community ready to fight for us when it counts.
We can start by showing up. Attend a school council meeting. You don’t need a presentation; just be there to share a quick “win” from your classroom. The next time your local holds an event, invite a trustee and let them see the passion of the profession first-hand. Join a local board, a service club or a community group. Be the person who can answer questions about what’s actually happening in our schools today.
It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a teacher to show the village how they can help. Let’s stop working in isolation and start building a team that has our backs. Our community is ready—to help with playgrounds, volunteer for hot lunches and stand up for our schools. We just need to make sure we’re opening the door.
I welcome your comments. Contact me at kristine.wilkinson@ata.ab.ca.
ATA News Editor-In-Chief
