Nothing has changed for teachers but morale, says local ATA president

By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Shootin’ The Breeze

Classroom conditions in Livingstone Range schools haven’t improved since last fall’s teacher strike, and morale has only gotten worse, says the local union president.

Madison Stocker, president of Alberta Teachers’ Association Local No. 14, says educators in the region had concerns about complexity and underfunding before the strike and are facing them with growing frustration after the strike and Back to School Act.

“The only thing that’s changed is just the disappointment and frustration with the government,” she says.

Stocker represents teachers across Livingstone Range School Division, including schools in Pincher Creek, Lundbreck, Crowsnest Pass, Fort Macleod, Claresholm, Granum, Stavely and Nanton. She says feedback from teachers in the region reflects broader provincial concerns raised by ATA leadership.

“I can’t speak for every teacher, but generally, what I’m hearing from the teachers is exactly that disappointment and frustration in the government for kind of leaving us and education behind, not supporting us the way we were hoping,” she says.

It’s been a turbulent year in Alberta’s education sector. Last October, teachers went on strike over contract negotiations, prompting the provincial government to impose a legislated settlement and invoke the notwithstanding clause — a rarely used legal provision.

The legislation forced more than 51,000 public, separate and francophone teachers back to work on Oct. 29, after a 23-day strike.

Stocker says many teachers, including herself, remained hopeful throughout the job action that something good would come of it.

Following the Back to School Act, however, she says that sense of optimism has been difficult to maintain.

“Trying to find hope is hard in a province where you have seen how the government treats education,” Stocker says.

While the strike resulted in about a month of lost instructional time, she says classroom conditions have seen little change.

Stocker says the tone of staff room conversations has also shifted over the course of the school year — from uncertainty before the strike to diminished optimism afterward.

Among the most significant challenges locally is classroom complexity — the wide range of student needs teachers must address within a single class.

“The complexity could be handled if funding was there to support it,” Stocker says. “But we just don’t have the funds to hire the EAs that we need to support the kids in the classrooms, or hire more teachers so we can have smaller classes.”

The province has announced measures aimed at addressing classroom challenges, including the introduction of classroom complexity teams. Two teams are expected in the Livingstone Range School Division — one in Fort Macleod and one in Nanton.

Each team will include one teacher and two educational assistants to provide targeted support.

While the initiative is a positive step, its impact remains uncertain.

“We are working to hire these positions,” Stocker says, but recruitment could be difficult mid year.

The supports are currently limited in scope, with only two complexity teams assigned in the division. 

Teacher burnout is also a growing concern.

“I’m most concerned about burnout and teachers feeling still incredibly unsupported by their own provincial government,” Stocker says.

“The teachers take their jobs very seriously and they are contractually obligated to teach the curriculum. So they are doing their best to do that.” 

Stocker encourages parents and community members to engage more directly with what is happening in classrooms.

“I would urge [parents] to have conversations with the children,” she says. “The kids know what’s happening in their [class]room.”

Collaboration between teachers, families and school divisions will be key moving forward and Stocker encourages parents in the region to contact her directly.

editor