Professional Specialist Associations (Executive Committees)BCECTA | The B.C. Early Career Teachers' Association
-co-founding charter member of this relatively new PSA. -established our initial website and social media presence on FB, Twitter, and Instagram. -recruited and trained new committee members so as to build capacity -ran booths at local conferences -helped to organize our 1st conference. -made cold calls to members across B.C. to check in -Curated content for quarterly newsletters and assisted with editing via CANVA, coached others on CANVA skills -Wrote newsletter articles, recruited teachers to contribute to newsletter -curated resource content on website. -attended PSAC (PSA Council) meetings when the president was unavailable -Graphic Design for banners & business cards / print materials -Networked with other PSAs so as to build collaborative capacity BCATML | The B.C. Association of Teachers of Modern Languages - Webmaster / Other Languages Rep (3 yrs) - Conference Presenters' Contact (1 yr) - Conference Committee (3 yrs) - Made a new website for the association, including a login area for members - Made a new newsletter format for the association, using CANVA and Jilster - Wrote newsletter articles - Graphic Design and content curation for the newsletter, banners, and print materials such as the Conference brochure - Recruited teachers to contribute to newsletter - Ran communications with conference presenters for a conference of 300-400 teachers. |
Local Union Executive CommitteesSurrey Teachers' Association | TTOC Representative / TTOC Committee Chair
- Administrated & Moderated the Surrey TTOCs Facebook Group (primary intent: support TTOCs by providing information and responding to questions) - Attended bi-weekly Executive Committee Meetings at the STA office - Advocated for TTOCs at the district & local union level - Co-organized a collaborative professional learning series with the district principal of human resources and the mentorship helping teacher, specifically for TTOCs. It took place after school a number of times over the course of 1 year, to great success. It was discontinued only due to shifts in personnel at the district level (lack of continuity with initial co-organizers who took positions elsewhere following that year) - attended ZONE meetings for training sessions & collaborative sessions with other TTOC reps - attended the BCTF Summer Leadership Conference - consulted for the STA's New Teachers' Conference Day - organized socials (Bowling & Pizza w/Santa, Pub nights) - attended STARA meetings, STA AGM, Special General Meetings Delta Teachers' Association | Public Education Advocacy Rep / Committee Chair - Organized local school board trustee debates (2 yrs) - Participated in local Executive Meetings - Convinced the DTA to hold their first official induction ceremony for new teachers in years. - attended local rep meetings - Delegate to the BCTF Annual General Meeting (3 yrs) - attended the BC Federation of Labour Convention |
Workshop Facilitator BCTF Staff Rep Union WorkshopsNew Teachers | Various locations around B.C.
This workshop is specifically for new teachers, to give them a general introduction to local and provincial union membership, collective agreement, code of ethics, and more. Social Media: Boundaries & Ethics | Various locations around B.C. (Port McNeil, Chilliwack, Surrey, Cranbrook) Lessons from the Line | Revelstoke, Nelson This workshop is specifically as a post-strike debrief / catharsis workshop. It allowed participants to look back at what led up to our job action, as well as reconcile what happened during the strike timeline in their personal life as well as public professional life. It concluded with looking ahead to what will be needed in order to move ahead. |
Media / PublicationsCTV National News - 2014
CBC Radio / Web - 2020 "B.C. teachers raise alarm about going back to classes after COVID-19 cases in Quebec schools" Angela Sterritt Jun 01, 2020 Read article here CKNW 980 The Lynda Steele Show - 2019 - "Are B.C. Teachers Feeling Burnt-out with Lack of Resources?" Listen Here On June 13, Jessica Gentry, a teacher in Virginia wrote a post about quitting her job that has since been shared over 200,000 times. In it, she laid out in detail her reasons for leaving the profession. She felt tired of the lack of resources for her students who she cared about deeply. Does this resonate for BC teachers? Stephen Price, West Vancouver School Teacher/Education Columnist brings in special guest Nicole Jarvis a High School teacher in Surrey BC who has helped develop programs for new teachers to be supported in their entry in the profession, to discuss this important topic |