Year of Provincial Action

1. Working together to advocate for public education and better schools for BC Year of Provincial Action BC Teachers’ Federation

2. Purpose • To engage individual members and schools. • To demonstrate provincial unity. • To get earned media across the province. • To highlight the various themes in the Better Schools for BC plan. BC Teachers’ Federation

3. October Investing in public education • Presentations from theBCTF executive and locals to the Legislature’s Select Standing Committeeon Finance. BC Teachers’ Federation

4. October Investing in public education • Informing MLAs and provincial decision-makers of the cutbacks that have hurt public education in BC. BC Teachers’ Federation

5. Investing in public education October Lobbying for more funding to reduce class sizes, improve the student-educator ratio, increase support for children with special needs, and restore learning specialist positions. BC Teachers’ Federation

6. November Child poverty • Teachers across BC canwear “End Child Poverty” stickers. • The band-aid sticker was designed to invitediscussion about findinglong-term solutions, not just quick fixes. BC Teachers’ Federation

7. November Child poverty • A petition drivewill call on local and provincial governments tolaunch a comprehensiveand accountable poverty reductionplan. BC Teachers’ Federation

8. December Valuing diversity • Mark December 10, the United Nations’ Human Rights Day, by shininga light on every child. BC Teachers’ Federation

9. December Valuing diversity • Light candles, or otherlights, to represent eachunique student at a schooland celebrate diversity, promote antibullying, and show the value of inclusivity. BC Teachers’ Federation

10. January Authentic assessment Large “mark-ins”at malls, or other public spaces, to give teachers the opportunity toconnect with parents and the public. BC Teachers’ Federation

11. January Authentic assessment Teachers will be able to talk about the authentic assessment they do every day in BC’s classrooms. BC Teachers’ Federation

12. February Bargaining rights Wear black on “Black Monday” to markthe 11th anniversary of Bills 27 and 28 and the damage done over the decade since. BC Teachers’ Federation

13. Bargaining rights February Lobby MLAs as they return to the Legislature and potentially debate new legislation on teacher bargaining. BC Teachers’ Federation

14. Specialist teachers in every school March • Call on government to restore learning specialist positions like teacher-librarians, counsellors, and special education teachers. Public demonstrations with silhouettes of teachers to represent the hundreds of “missing” specialist teachers in BC. BC Teachers’ Federation

15. Class size and composition April • Mark the start of the provincial election campaign with Burma shaves across the province. • Put focus on education issues at the start of the campaign period by reaching out to local media outlets looking for local angles to the election. BC Teachers’ Federation

16. May Advocating for public education Get out the vote activities, including Burma shaves, to encourage members to vote and the public to make education a vote-determining issue. BC Teachers’ Federation

17. June Lobby your new MLA • Give teachers the opportunity to meet their new or re-elected MLA at a local-organized event. • Let the MLAs hear from teachers and hold them accountable to make improvements to education. BC Teachers’ Federation