Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 17th the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association celebrated 60 years of service to northern educators. The NWTTA, as it is commonly called, had its humble beginnings in 1963 when it was founded by 63 teachers who attended the first NWT Teachers’ Convention in Fort Smith. For six decades this association has served as the professional voice for teachers across the Northwest Territories.
To put the significance of this achievement into perspective, consider this: dedicated teachers in the NWT were advocating for a professional development of teachers for a full 14 years before the seat of government for the Northwest Territories moved from Ottawa to Yellowknife. This is a remarkable achievement by any standard.
Today the NWTTA continues the strong tradition of leading and serving northern educators through professional development, partnership and communication. The association represents over 800 members, including teachers, school administrators and educational assistants, delivering programs in 49 schools to more than 8,300 students with diverse educational needs. It represents teachers in the collective bargaining process for three different employers, participates with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in the NWT Teacher Qualification Service program and promotes teacher excellence through initiatives such as the Thank You for Making a Difference Initiative, which has collected and delivered over 20,000 messages of thanks from our children to their teachers.
The NWTTA represents over 50 hardworking educators who make Hay River home and whose hard work makes our schools, Diamond Jenness Secondary, Harry Camsell, Princess Alexandra and Ecole Boreale, places that are safe and enriching environments for our children to learn. I want to take this opportunity to personally thank each and every one of these for their dedication to the growth and development of the children of Hay River.
I hope that all my colleagues in this Legislature will join me in congratulating Ms. Gayla Meredith, president of the NWTTA, and all teachers that make up the membership of this important association for the work that they do daily on behalf of all students across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
