New minister means new opportunity

The appointment of Demetrios Nicolaides as Alberta’s new education minister provides a renewed opportunity for government and teachers to build a better relationship and work together to strengthen Alberta’s public education system, said ATA president Jason Schilling.

Nicolaides was first elected as the MLA for Calgary-Bow in 2019 and was subsequently named minister of advanced education. Born and raised in Calgary, he holds a bachelor degree in international relations, a masters in peace and conflict studies and a PhD in political science. According to his web-site, prior to entering politics, Demetrios worked as the head of the Calgary office for a national communication consulting firm and was a business instructor at the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan.

In a news release, Schilling congratulated Nicolaides on his appointment. “Alberta’s public education system succeeds when everyone is working together: government, parents and teachers,” Schilling said. “I look forward to meeting with Minister Nicolaides and getting to work on solutions to the important issues facing teachers and public education.”

Schilling noted that Premier Danielle Smith has outlined on numerous occasions problems that have arisen — particularly on curriculum — as a result of failures to engage teachers and the ATA. He said he’s hopeful that Smith will emphasize relationship-building as part of the new minister’s mandate.

During a news conference held after her new cabinet was sworn in, Smith was asked about her plans for addressing increased enrolment in schools. “We already announced in the previous term 106 new schools and modernizations … and as the demand increases we’re going to keep up with that growth,” she said. “We have an historic level of spending in education, we are providing supports for complexity in the classrooms, for transportation grants, for mental health. Education remains one of the top priorities of government.”