ASBA to coordinate public consultation culminating in "summit" March 13-14, 2009
As outlined in the association’s strategic plan priority D2: Support is made available to school boards in relation to efforts to increase public engagement in education, the ASBA is organizing a public consultation which will culminate in a summit to be held in Edmonton March 13 and 14. See president Heather Welwood’s e-mail for further information. More details and support materials for this project will be provided in the coming months.

Report reviews negotiations and presents recommendations for consideration by school boards
Patricia Mackenzie, who chaired the 2002 Commission on Learning, has been contracted by the association to review the last round of negotiations which resulted in a five-year deal and to make recommendations with regards to a model for bargaining when the current contracts expire in 2012. As part of the review, MacKenzie offered to meet with all school boards – 38 school boards accepted her invitation. She will present the report to the ASBA Board of Directors and then to school boards. This initiative supports ASBA Strategic Priority E1: School boards will be prepared for teacher bargaining by August 31, 2012 and E1.1 Open dialogue with school boards by the end of 2010 school year in relation to the direction that school boards may wish to take with regard to teacher bargaining.

Video conference suite to open shortly
The ASBA will join many school boards when it launches its video conferencing suite this fall. Thanks to support from the department of education, the ASBA office will be linked to the Supernet and have video conference capacity. The other organizations housed in the association’s space – the College of Alberta School Superintendents, the Association of School Business Officials of Alberta and the Alberta School Councils Association – will also have access to the suite. Video-conferencing will allow for professional staff to meet face-to-face with clients, allow for more flexible attendance at meetings and opens the door to new ways of providing professional development to school board clients. The ASBA is the first provincial association to offer this service.

Update staff changes in the ASBA office
Gloria Schaaf, Senior Legal Secretary is retiring after 19 years' service to the association. We wish her all the best in this new venture.

Congratulations and best wishes to Jennifer Elsinga, Senior Legal Secretary, who is leaving the ASBA after eight years for a new position with Capital Health in Edmonton.

Welcome back to Bobbie Garner, Administrative Assistant, Association Affairs and Suzanne Lundrigan, Director of Communications who have both returned to work in a part-time capacity. And toTeresa Ergezinger, Administrative Assistant, who has returned to full time work after several years of part time work.

In the coming weeks the association will be recruiting a Director of Member Services to head the legal and labour relations departments and hiring a new receptionist.

ASBA to offer emergency response planning service to school boards
Thanks to funding from Alberta Education and capitalizing on the expertise of ASBA staff member Vince Rodgers, who developed an emergency planning model for the department of education, for the next 18 months the ASBA is offering to help school boards develop business continuity plans which include emergency response plans, facility emergency response plans and pandemic planning. This service which is free is aimed at ensuring local jurisdictions have the resources and support they need to develop their own plans. Rodgers will be available to work with local jurisdictions. For more information, please contact Vince Rodgers at 1.780.451.7120.

What's new @www.asba.ab.ca?
In the October edition of Communications Now see articles on:
Sharing school board news with other elected officials
Dealing with critics
Facilitating productive meetings
Web links – Federal election

Minutes/agendas ASBA Board of Directors meetings
See the ASBA Board of Directors page for meeting minutes and agendas.

Agenda September meeting (PDF–62K)
Draft Minutes August meeting (PDF–120K)
Minutes August meeting (PDF–84K)

Education in the news
See the ASBA website for media stories about education.  In this week's headlines:

Calgary mayor renews call for elimination of education tax
Quebec expands ban on 15-passenger vans to any organization that transports minors
Manitoba band pays students $50 a month to attend school/$1000 if they graduate
Shunning students who drop-out short-sighted: Opinion piece Lorne Gunter
A more flexible education system could help address drop-out rate: Editorial Calgary Herald
Changes to hiring practices alone won’t solve drop-out rate, says ASBA President Heather Welwood
Will heart monitors spur kids to physical fitness
U of A health grads to assault junk food culture in schools