Public School Boards' Association of Alberta
The Public School Boards' Association of Alberta (PSBAA) is a not-for-profit society, the members of which can be any public school jurisdiction, or First Nations Education Authority, in Alberta, Canada. The membership criteria for the Association requires a school jurisdiction which provides public education to affirm its support to the Objects of the Association.
Jurisdictions
Twenty-four of forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta belong to the Association as of December, 2021. These jurisdictions are:
- Aspen View Public Schools
- Buffalo Trail Public Schools
- Canadian Rockies Public Schools
- Edmonton Public Schools
- Fort McMurray Public School District
- Golden Hills School Division
- Grande Prairie Public School Division
- Grande Yellowhead Public School Division
- Grasslands Public Schools
- High Prairie School Division
- Medicine Hat Public School Division
- Northern Gateway Public Schools
- Northern Lights Public Schools
- The Northland School Division
- Parkland School Division
- Peace Wapiti Public School Division
- Prairie Land Public School Division
- Prairie Rose Public Schools
- Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools
- Wild Rose School Division
- Wolf Creek Public Schools
The main activities of the Association are: advocacy for public school education; leadership development programs for school trustees, system administrators, and citizen advocates for public school education; building and maintaining political relations with the provincial government and the provincial public service; and, research and the dissemination of findings significant to the improvement of public education.
The Association is host of the Public School Boards Council, a representative assembly for school jurisdictions in Alberta, at which assembly the jurisdictions speak about issues of concern to public school education, and do so without relying on the intermediary of a separate corporate entity.
History
The Public School Boards' Association of Alberta was founded in 1989, at a convention held in Edmonton, Alberta.
The first President (1989 - 1991) was Mr. Dick Mather, a trustee of the Edmonton Public School District. Subsequently, the Presidents have been: Mr. Gordon Pearcy of Grande Prairie Public School District (1991 - 1992); Ms. Deb Poffenroth, of Foothills School Division (1992 - 1994); Ms. Anita Dent, of Peace River School Division (1994 - 1996); Mr. Dick Chamney, of Buffalo Trail School Division (1996 - 1997); Mr. Clyde Blackburn, of Grande Prairie Public School District (1997 - 1999); Mr. Don Fleming, of Edmonton Public School District (1999 - 2000); Ms. Carolyn Kaiser, of Foothills School Division (2000 - 2001); Ms. Joan Trettler, of St. Albert Protestant Separate School District (2001 - 2005); Mr. Don Fleming, of Edmonton Public School District (2005 - 2009); Ms. Patty Dittrick, of Clearview School Division (2009 - 2013); Ms. Arlene Hrynyk, of Northern Lights Public Schools (2013 - 2017); and Ms. Cathy Hogg of Prairie Rose School Division (2017 - 2021); and Mr. Dennis MacNeil of Aspen View Public School (2021 - present).
The first Executive Director was Mr. David King (1990 - 2010); followed by Ms. Mary Lynne Campbell (2010 - 2018); Mr. Brian Callaghan (2018 - 2020); and Mr. Troy Tait (2020 - present)