Membership
AISCA’s advocacy
AISCA’s advocacy work is multifaceted. The association meets regularly with the Minister of Education as well as other members of the Legislative Assembly, to discuss the role of independent schools and the need for school choice in our pluralistic society.
Behind the advocacy work that occurs directly with elected officials, there is also a lot of important groundwork that occurs. Our association has submitted briefs to the Ministry of Education on a range of educational topics such as legislative and regulatory changes, funding related matters, curriculum and other pertinent topics. We also interact with various media outlets in regards to the ‘independent school perspective’, promote the benefits of school choice via various social media platforms and websites (visit www.educatedchoices.ca to learn more) and we work to equip our member schools to successfully engage in political advocacy.
AISCA’s Vision
The second key pillar of our association’s vision is our work with Alberta Education. Some aspects of this work include an advocacy component; this is particularly true of opportunities we have to serve as stakeholders on committee items. AISCA also receives grants from the ministry to facilitate the delivery of specific services directly to independent schools and ECS programs. When new initiatives are introduced by Alberta Education, AISCA often fills a role providing implementation support.
The final area of focus for our association is to provide support services to independent schools. This includes providing input regarding local school issues, creating policy templates, running leadership and teacher conferences, creating networking opportunities, and managing an energy program that gives cost security for power and natural gas to participating schools.
Navigating the educational landscape in Alberta can be challenging, and AISCA seeks to provide support to independent schools as they each set out on their individual and unique courses. There are also those who would see the landscape altered in a way that would deprive independent schools of room to flourish, and AISCA actively works to prevent this from occurring.
All of us benefit from working together. I invite and encourage your organization to apply to be a member of AISCA. Should you have any questions, concerns or issues, please contact me to discuss them.