The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Educational improvement starts with leaders sharing their experiences, said keynote speaker Carol Campbell.

An associate professor at the University of Toronto, Campbell kicked off the two-day Leadership Essentials for Administrators conference with an address focused on leading with evidence for educational improvement.

“The main theme is that we are all leaders, teachers,” Campbell said. “You need to think very consciously about your influence to support improvement for our young people, but also for ourselves.”

Campbell said she is a big supporter of teacher leadership, and opportunities for teachers to work together.

“It is always really important to hear what people are doing,” she said. “I think every time there is a challenge or an issue, someone has probably figured out a solution, or at least part of a solution.”

Although some problems are larger than others, she said it is important to share solutions.

“People get to hear how different schools and school leaders have thought about how to structure professional learning into the school day, how to use release time, how to use staff meetings, how are we addressing equity and diversity?” she explained. “Alberta has a great education system. Share with the rest of Canada and the rest of the world. We can learn from you, and we are learning from you, so thank you.”

Organized by the Professional Development program area of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the 10th annual conference hosted more than 250 school administrators from around the province. It included several breakout sessions to help administrators learn how to deal with difficult people, how little things make a big difference, how to use social media to connect with the community and more.