From Alberta Parents:

Want to tell school board trustee candidates how they can earn your vote?

At the Alberta Parents’ Union, we always want to hear from you and amplify your voice on school board elections.

We are thrilled to announce today that we are partnering with a huge megaphone - outside the enormous and growing number of Albertans who receive our emails - to amplify your voice in a way that has never been possible before.

We’re hosting a trustee election focus group event with Elise Stolte, an engagement journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation!

Have you ever been upset that you're not seeing voices like yours quoted by the CBC?

As an “engagement journalist” Elise works to close that gap and represent more voices in the coverage of the (overwhelmingly) largest media outlet in Alberta and Canada.

Elise is a K-12 parent herself, and we want her to be able to hear from normal, non-activist parents of school kids to inform the CBC's coverage - even if you're not quoted.

Everything she hears will be off the record, unless and until you explicitly agree to say it again on the record.

Then - only if you agree - you may be given the opportunity to record an interview with the CBC to raise your voice to people who would never read it in this email!

We think a focus group like this makes perfect since and fulfills our mandate in three key ways:

It gives us another opportunity to listen to our members in another way - this time with a professional question-asker who is an outsider to our organization and, therefore, may ask interesting and new questions we wouldn't think of.

It gives us an unprecedented opportunity to reach more voters with our members’ voices and priorities regarding school board trustee elections.

It draws much-needed attention to the trustee role, which is neglected in far too much media coverage of education policy.

We are proud that our organization is a natural partner for the CBC to expand their coverage of school board trustee elections and make your voices impossible to ignore!

But a focus group, unlike our town halls or consultations, is more effective with a smaller number of parents.

So, we're looking for 20 or so Alberta Parents’ Union members who are able to attend.

Attendance is, of course, free to you, and coffee and light refreshments will be provided by us and the CBC.

Our joint focus group will be on September 16th, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, in the Fish Creek area of Calgary.

If you would like to attend, please respond to this email and confirm:

Your full name

Whether your spouse is attending with you, and if so, their full name

Your phone number

Your email address

That you will, barring extraordinary circumstances, be available at the time and location outlined above, with opinions about what you want to see from school board trustee candidates

That you understand everything you say will be off the record, but you, at least in principle, would be willing to go on the record (e.g. you are not barred from doing so by your employer)

We are thrilled to have another opportunity to listen to you, and that it so seamlessly also represents an opportunity to lift your voice outside of our circles.

Hearing You and Making You Heard,

-Jeff and the Alberta Parents’ Union team