Are you confused about the role these organizations play in improving education?
Alberta School Council’s Association (ASCA)
Provincial action, training, voice and forum
ASCA is the official provincial organization for school councils and parents in Alberta. ASCA representatives sit on government committees and work with Alberta Education. They also provide excellent training services to school councils throughout the province, as well as networking opportunities for parents. They are a wonderful resource for any questions from school councils or school parents, and can be reached at 1-800-661-3470. CBE school councils can sign up for ASCA support by advising the CBE communication department.
Please visit the ASCA website to learn more about their activities.
Council of School Councils (CoSC)
Local forum for communication with an individual school board
COSC was started by the Calgary Board of Education in 2012 to ensure that the Board and school councils could have a two-way relationship (as outlined in the School Act). The Calgary Catholic School District also has a COSC structure that has been in existence for some time. It is good to see the school boards of the province moving to formally create regular board meetings for council feedback. This is happening throughout Alberta and is a positive step in ensuring school parents and educators work in collaboration at the board level as well as at the school level. School council representatives are encouraged to attend these meetings and provide feedback to their school boards.
Please visit the CBE website for details about CoSC meetings and presentations.
The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils (CAPSC)
City-wide school parent voice and action
We are CAPSC! We are the organization at the city level that works to create action and speak informatively for school parents. Much of our past work has benefited Calgary. We have even involved provincial representatives in order to do so.
Historically, CAPSC provided a forum for school parents to discuss educational matters. It also served as a place for school parents to take action as a group, and be the voice of Calgary school parents to the community. CAPSC has been affiliated with the public board since our current organization was created in 2001, and has recently expanded to include charter, separate and private schools.
Our focus is to promote excellence in education for all children in Calgary, and to assist city school councils and parents in this work. Just like the councils that we serve, CAPSC has an elected volunteer executive. Our policy is to provide all of our services and events at no cost to parents.