Lois Phillips

1)   What are your views on education funding in Alberta and the role of school boards in funding decisions?

School boards are charged with receiving funding from the government, and then deciding how that money is spent. We need to advocate for the many needs of our schools, and the special services needed, like Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, counsellors, and mental health specialists. In the last ten years, the needs of our children have greatly increased, and services have almost disappeared in our schools. The success of our high-risk students depends on meeting their physical, emotional and mental needs, as well as their academic needs.. The school board is the advocate for funding these programs. We need to lobby the government effectively to help our students succeed.

2)   How can learning conditions in schools be improved? 

1. Staff should continue to choose the Professional Development they desire, and less division-directed learning. True learning happens when we are motivated to learn.

2. Improve working conditions in the classrooms. Students shouldn't need to wear winter clothing in classrooms where the heat is not reliable. Our maintenance staff is dedicated, hard-working and understaffed.

3. Administrators should be in classrooms on a regular basis as a support and to raise their awareness of what the atmosphere of the classroom is. Whenever possible, administrators should teach at least one class in their school.

4. Whenever possible, an in-person meeting should be replaced with a digital meeting whenever possible. This will help with the tremendous cost of traveling through our huge division.

3)   What are your views on the recently released draft curriculum?

The recently released draft curriculum was pushed through without much feedback from educators, and it doesn't represent age-appropriate learning. The fact that many school boards chose not to pilot the curriculum speaks for itself.

4)   How can trustees and school boards best support teachers and other school staff?

Trustees need to know what is happening in the schools they represent by being present in them. It might mean volunteering to read to a class; regular discussions with the administers in their schools, accompanying staff on their supervision to observe the behaviours and stresses faced. It may mean bringing a lunch and sitting in the staff room and facilitating a casual discussion about the issues staff face daily. In this way, the trustee can advocate more accurately for the needs of the schools they represent.

5)   As a school board trustee how will you encourage and facilitate the calls to action as outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?

A school board trustee needs to educate themselves first about the calls to action before they can encourage and facilitate learning in their division. There is no reconciliation before the truth is acknowledged. The best resource we can learn from is the survivors of the residential schools and the generations to follow. The most powerful learning I have witnessed is when an elder or community member speaks to the children about growing up as a proud Metis man, or a dancer talking about why they dance. We can learn so much about the cultural richness of our communities by integrating what we learn into the classrooms. There are many resources to learn about the history of our First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures in the school system.

6)   What improvements or changes could be made to improve student and staff safety in the division?

Response unavailable.