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Rocky View Teachers Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) Local 35 is praising Rocky View School trustees who recently attended the Alberta School Board Association’s (ASBA) general meeting and voted in favour of an Edmonton Public School motion to support safe and caring environments for sexual and gender minorities within area schools.
Founded on an anti-bullying campaign, the motion was created to target bullying that specifically singles out students and staff who are identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT).
Since 2006, the ATA has had a policy in place that encourages school boards to develop such motions, in particular those that advocate for minorities within the school system and those supported by the local Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Committee.
“We believe that every child deserves to be taught in an inclusive environment that is safe and caring, and respects diversity and the rights of all persons,” said Rocky View Teachers President Michelle Glavine in a press release. “We are committed to fostering understanding and acceptance of all marginalized members of our communities.”
Though the motion was voted down Rocky View School (RVS) Trustee Don Thomas said the issue is one that will take some time to sort through and a solution is not “cut and dry.”
“We supported this motion, but there were a few trustees from some more rural schools in northern and southern Alberta that felt that this motion was a religious one and should not be the primary focus of an anti-bullying policy,” said Thomas. “It isn’t that these people are against the motion, they simply want to tackle the bullying issue as a whole rather than single out a specific group.”
For RVS Trustee Sylvia Eggerer concern over this issue stems largely from the fact that the defeat of the motion will be viewed by some as a lack of support for these bullied students, which in her opinion would be a grave misunderstanding.
Instead, she believes that the focus should be on how to address this issue for the future and how to adopt practices that will ensure LGBT students will feel as safe at school as non-LGBT students.
“The government has been talking about providing more ‘wrap around’ services through the schools,” Eggerer explained. “There are pilot programs in both Airdrie public high schools, called Stepping Stones, which provide our students access to additional services, such as counseling, career counseling, as well as additional general counseling.”
Eggerer contends creating more of these pilot projects within the school system will lessen the number of children who fall through the cracks and are the target of bullying.
“This is a program that needs to be increased as these counselors are often the first responders to our students,” she said.
