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Johnson juggles travel plans to bring greetings to ARA
Newly appointed Minister of Education Jeff Johnson was set to fly to South Korea May 18 to represent Canada at the 5th Education Ministerial Meeting hosted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. But he changed his travel plans at the last minute in order to bring greetings on behalf of the provincial government to the 2012 Annual Representative Assembly of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA).
“This relationship here is more important,” he told the more than 450 delegates assembled at the Westin Calgary May 19.
Johnson reminded delegates that, together with Edmonton teacher Brent McDonough, he had co-chaired the Inspiring Education Steering Committee, which was charged with developing a long-term vision for the province’s education system.
“You want the highest-quality instruction, the highest quality of teachers in front of our kids that we can possibly get, and to do that, you need time,” he said. “You need time to keep your skills up, you need time to collaborate, you need time for professional development, you need time to prepare, so I’m looking forward to having more of our discussions like that, and I know that we will [have them] coming up. I think that, as we move forward with Inspiring Education, that’s a great context within which to have those discussions. . . . If there’s one thing that resonated with me and we heard everywhere we went—from teachers and from parents, from trustees—it’s we have to keep moving to a system that is centred around the student.”
Johnson told delegates that one of his three priorities as minister of education is to build the capital, or infrastructure, of the education system. He noted that 88 school infrastructure projects are currently under way across the province at an estimated cost of $1 billion. During the recent provincial election campaign, Premier Alison Redford committed to build 50 new schools and modernize 70 existing ones over the next four years.
His second priority is to ensure passage of a new Education Act, which died on the Order Paper when the legislative assembly dissolved in March. While Bill 2 was a good bill, some Albertans remain concerned about pieces of it, he said. “We’ve got a fairly new caucus in some respects, and we heard a lot through the election campaign, so we’re just going to take a little bit of time to digest what we’ve heard, and we’ll bring the Education Act back as quick as we can with any changes or tweaks that are going to be able to make that as strong as it possibly can be.”
His third priority is to resume tripartite discussions among government, the ATA and the Alberta School Boards Association. He described the 2007 memorandum of agreement regarding the unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan and collective agreements as one of the best initiatives for students and education. “It allowed us to focus on the thing that really matters … and that’s the kids and the educational experience,” he said. It enabled such initiatives as Speak Out: The Alberta Student Engagement Initiative, Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans and Setting the Direction for Special Education in Alberta.
Johnson told delegates he is excited about his new portfolio. “Don’t underestimate the work you do. I know you know it’s important,” he said. “You truly do have literally the future in your hands every day—and some of those are my children.”
He noted that former minister of education Thomas Lukaszuk had met with teacher Barbara Morgan, who participated in the STS-118 space shuttle mission in 2007, on a recent visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She had heard of Alberta and the quality of its teachers and education system, Johnson said. He concluded his greetings by presenting to ATA President Carol Henderson on behalf of Lukaszuk a framed photo of Morgan on which she had inscribed, “Thank you for all you do to help our young people reach for the stars.”
