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The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s 2016 Public Education Award will be awarded to Support Our Students (SOS) Alberta, a parent-led initiative formed in 2015 by Lisa Turner, Carolyn Blasetti and Barbara Silva.
The parents founded SOS with the goal of advocating for a public education system in which funding keeps pace with growth and every student is supported in a healthy and secure learning environment. Some of the group’s activities include
- a social media initiative called Students of Alberta, which highlights the diversity of experiences in Alberta’s public education system and encourages dialogue among students and their families;
- meeting with the education minister to discuss guaranteeing equal access to quality public education for all students; and
- the creation of a video series highlighting the crowded classrooms being experienced in many schools.
SOS continues with its aim to remind Albertans that there is a deep cost to not supporting public education. The award will be formally presented at the Association’s Annual Representative Assembly, which runs in Calgary during the May long weekend. ❚
