It was numbingly cold, it had started to rain and the roads were treacherous.
There was never any doubt, however, that the 14 people who assembled outside Alberta Distance Learning Centre at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday were going by bus to Edmonton.
They had a message for the Alberta Legislature that they considered too important to put off for another day.
It was broadcast in the signs they carried: “Support Distance Education,” “Anytime Anywhere We Do,” and “Stop Distance Education Cuts.”
The “Get on the Bus” rally was organized by Alberta Teachers’ Association members in response to the March budget that cut 56 per cent of the money provincial school districts get to provide distance learning courses.
The cuts took effect in September and have led, say educators, to a 70 per cent enrolment decline. Last year, about 60,000 students took courses offered by ADLC.
One of those getting ready to board the bus in Barrhead was Tara West.
Manager of student support process and human resources at ADLC, West said she had also worked in the trenches to witness the value of distance education.
“It is so important,” she said. “I’ve seen first-hand how much schools, rural especially, utilize us and the fact they can’t afford us any more is an awful thing because it is putting students in jeopardy.”
West said the message that she and other demonstrators wanted to get across was that something needed to be done with the funding arrangement between ADLC and the government of Alberta.
“We are important and have been around for nearly 100 years,” she said. “We are appreciated by schools and students.”
West said the 70 per cent enrolment decline was a direct result of the budget.
“I have no doubt about that,” she said.
Helping to coordinate the Barrhead bus journey was Sue Rees. As an ADLC teacher, she said, she could testify to the benefits of distance education.
“I work with 800 students who really value our services,” she said. “I have a special program which helps children with reading and math.
“They work on this program and their skills improve, they feel more confident. Without ADLC they wouldn’t have this program. What I’m hoping for today is to send a message that we support our students.”
Rees said many of the students she works with are very vulnerable. Some have major medical problems – such as brain injuries – preventing them from going to school.
“They need us,” she said.
She added rural schools depended on ADLC because they can’t always offer specialized programs for students.
“Now what’s happening is they can’t afford to use our programs,” she said. “Although the weather isn’t very good today, we are still going to the city. It’s all about kids.”
The 14 on the school bus joined about 200 other educators and supporters from across the province, including Calgary, Lethbridge and Edmonton, to rally on the steps of the Alberta Legislature.
Poor weather stopped teachers from northern Alberta attending.
