As part of ASBA’s Strategic Priority 2, to promote the value and credibility of member boards and ASBA, ASBA undertook an ambitious initiative to increase voter turnout for school board trustees as part of Alberta’s October 18, 2021, municipal election and prepared resources and supports for members in advance of the 2023 provincial election. Additionally, ASBA created a one-of-a-kind program tailored to Alberta school boards, exclusively available through the Association’s partnership with the University of Calgary Continuing Education.
Raising public awareness of Alberta’s locally-elected school board trustee elections
An extensive complement of resources was developed to raise public awareness and the importance of getting out to vote for school board trustees as part of the 2021 municipal election. ASBA aimed to increase public understanding regarding the essential role of their locally-elected school board trustees through a series of awareness videos and a robust social media campaign. Additionally, ASBA provided resources for new and returning trustees including a trustee election guide, campaign checklist and campaign strategy resources.
Following the municipal election, ASBA offered robust onboarding and orientation for all trustees, with specific sessions for new Trustees, Board Chairs and Zone Chairs and our Board of Directors on topics such as navigating Alberta’s political landscape, superintendent relationships, provincial budget and reserves and day-to-day operations of Alberta Education.
Total number of member board students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 across Alberta for 2021-2022 school year:
Supporting member boards through the 2023 provincial election
Elevating expertise through the Alberta School Boards Association Trustee Governance Program
ASBA developed the Alberta School Boards Association Trustee Governance Program in conjunction with the University of Calgary Continuing Education to enable and empower member board trustees to further their professional development through a university certification that is offered at a discount to member boards.
Courses are curated into one program from various streams of Continuing Education fields, resulting in a certificate.
The program is tailored to Alberta school boards and includes courses that are delivered primarily online over approximately one year.
Participants are able to transfer hours for almost all courses to Continuing Education’s Front Line Leaders Certificate, with the exception of the Governance Foundations course.
This program builds knowledge and leadership capacity, and equips trustees with current, relevant and timely information to support effective decision making at the local level.
