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ATA President Carol Henderson has applauded the decision by Education Minister Dave Hancock to launch a new three-year cycle for the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) from 2012–2015 (Cycle 5).
As a founding member and strong supporter of AISI, the ATA recognizes Cycle 5 as a strategy that will contribute to the transformation of the education system over the next few years. As Andy Hargreaves said, "AISI is a unique, world-leading strategy for developing innovation, and improving professional quality and engagement in teaching" (The Learning Mosaic, 2009).
AISI has evolved from general principles (a focus on locally determined priorities and locally and provincially determined measures) conceived by key education partners in 1999 into a complex network of community-based school reform efforts.
For AISI Cycle 5 to be successful, school improvement must be founded on site-based teacher research. As stated in one of the key principles guiding the establishment of AISI Cycle 5 projects, “Collaboration, shared leadership, support of those who will implement the projects, and meaningful involvement of the school community are essential elements for school improvement.” Three new priority areas have been established for Cycle 5 that go back to the founding principles: (1) research capacity, (2) collaborative cross-school authority AISI projects and networks, and (3) effective engagement of all stakeholders.
In my research and writing over the first 10 years of AISI, I documented clear evidence that when AISI worked it set in motion a reflective process of inquiry and research that inspired each community of learners to develop its own innovative instructional strategies and educational practices. Projects that have flourished over the past decade exist in a vibrant network of improvement and innovation that is built on strong, lateral, teacher-driven change.
Alberta’s education partners have grown to appreciate the organic nature of AISI, with its many intended and unintended consequences. For example, few could have predicted the contribution AISI would make to developing a generation of teacher leaders in Alberta schools, particularly the hundreds who have pursued graduate degrees and gone on to leadership positions as a result of AISI. When AISI is seen as less effective, we get a window into the ongoing leadership challenges and hierarchies that influence the entire culture of learning in the community.
According to ATA Executive Secretary Gordon Thomas, “We need to work together as a school community to identify school improvement goals and build ground-level support. We need to research options and implement what we learn. Ultimately, the process engages teachers and other school community members, heightens research, expands knowledge, and improves student and teacher lives. Let’s take this opportunity to recommit to AISI—to re-engage in genuine school improvement to improve teaching and learning. We have a substantial record of success and a world that is watching—so let’s strengthen a world-class initiative for the years ahead.”
To fully realize the potential of AISI over the next three years, the Alberta government must commit to reinvesting in Cycle 5 by returning it to full funding, said Thomas. “While it is true that Alberta’s public education system requires substantial additional funding, school improvement is a critical element of that system. We need processes and opportunities for school improvement, and AISI plays an important role in energizing innovative change across the public education system.”
The Association must advocate the return of full funding of the AISI initiative across the system and among education stakeholders. President Henderson stated that “a restoration of the $40 million chopped from the AISI budget will help put Alberta’s teachers get back to the important work of informed transformation. Now is our opportunity to return AISI to its founding principles and to re-engage in a process of authentic school improvement informed by the unique needs and circumstances of each local school community. By doing this, we will continue to strengthen our world-class education system and improve the lives of all Albertans.”
