Teachers in the province are calling for more attention from the government as they raise several issues ahead of another year. 
Laurie McIntosh says her first concern is a newly launched teacher registry. 
It was created this week by the province to create transparency about teachers and any past disciplinary actions they’ve taken.  Every teacher is listed. 
But many say it goes much further than that.
“Not only was my current legal name listed,” McIntosh told CTV News, “but it listed my middle name, my middle name, and also a name I had acquired through a very traumatic relationship that I had not written or spoken.  20 years. It’s very problematic.”
McIntosh is not the only complainant. 
“We are very concerned about our transgender friends in education who have dead names mentioned,” said the Lethbridge teacher.  “We have previous names of people who have been abused (by ex-spouses) and people whose family members have died are having to relive it.”
Education Secretary Adriana LaGrange tried to address those concerns this week. 
He took to Twitter Friday to say Alberta Education reached out to teachers and teacher leaders over the summer to make sure they had information they needed about the registry and any potential exemptions. 
It is disappointing to see some people in the education system and the public playing politics on what for many is the first day of school.  School authorities are extremely well funded.  1/5 #AbEd

— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) September 1, 2022
McIntosh argues that the communication was not clear about what would happen on the road. “And the opt-out process (includes) having to write a letter to explain why the listing is problematic,” he said. “I have no desire to go back and experience what I went through with that name and the name that was never associated with me as a teacher. I never taught under that name.” He accuses the province of opening the registry to abusive teachers, a charge the minister flatly denied. “We don’t feel supported or appreciated by a government that is supposed to be there to take care of everyone,” he said. “All. Not some.”

NEW LESSON PLANS

It’s not just the registry. 
Many are also unhappy with the new curriculum that will affect a handful of subjects from kindergarten through sixth grade. 
Eligible teachers only received it in May.  
“There’s not much runway to prepare for the fall,” said Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) president Jason Schilling.  “There are a lot of problems that will be found in this curriculum and it will make it a real challenge for these teachers and school principals to make sure that everything is met.”

Alberta Teachers Union president Jason Schilling said UCP has “failed students and failed teachers” Wednesday

FUNDING RACE

Education funding is once again also a hot topic for September. 
Government spending is up, but many believe it does not properly represent inflation and enrollment. 
“The new funding formula that the government introduced in 2019 doesn’t adequately fund new kids in the system the first day they walk into the building,” Schilling said. 
Another recent tweet from the minister only angered the teachers. 
In it, LaGrange claimed that school authorities are “extremely well-funded” and that those who disagreed were just “playing politics.”
Dollar signs are going up, but not per student in classes that have seen huge enrollment growth.

Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange. (File Photo) The minister says the money is partly covered by newly created grants and subsidies. A Supplemental Enrollment Growth Grant announced last month will provide additional funding to increase enrollment to authorities above a specified threshold, and the Emergency Fuel Program will give authorities about $8 million in transportation funding. A statement from LaGrange’s office also points to recently ratified funding contracts and additional money thanks to Alberta’s fuel tax suspension. But the ATA says there is still a shortfall.
“They can’t admit that this is not enough,” he said. “Teachers still feel they are not getting the support they need from the government in terms of funding and resources. We don’t have very good communication with the government at the moment.” “We can’t do our job well if the people in government don’t take care of us,” McIntosh added. The Secretary of Education declined an interview request from CTV News. Her office sent a statement.