This website is used by the Fernie District Teachers' Association (FDTA) for publication of information related to association business and to the teaching profession. If you are new to the area or to the FDTA please visit our New Member's Area. Otherwise, we hope you'll find what you're looking for below.
Fall General Meeting
Winter General Meeting
Annual General Meeting
Unless otherwise indicated the executive committee meets at the FDTA office at 4:00. If you are interested in attending and are not currently a member of the executive please contact the president using the form below.
Dates:
As teachers in the South-East Kootenays the terms and conditions of our employment with SD5 are laid out in a collective agreement. This contract is a “melded” document, composed of a broad agreement between the BCTF and BCPSEA and a more narrow agreement between the FDTA, CDTA, and School District 5.
Every three years both the local and provincial agreements are renegotiated. At the provincial level the BCTF advocates for salary increases, class size and composition policies, workload policies, professional development funding, and similar. At the local level the FDTA and CDTA advocate for fair and equitable hiring policies, local Health and Safety initiatives, and policies concerning transfers, leaves, layoffs, recall, seniority, etc. within our district.
The majority of the time both the local and provincial bargaining teams will reach tentative agreements with our employers after a few months of discussion. At this point members will vote to ratify each of the proposed agreements. If the majority of members favor both agreements they will be melded to form the Collective Agreement which will apply in SD5 over the following three years.
This is the local and provincial matters agreement. It contains common articles bargained between the BCTF and BCPSEA and local articles bargained between the FDTA/CDTA and the SD5 Board of Education. It also contains a number of “letters of understanding”, indicating agreement between the union and employer as to how the articles should be interpreted.
If you believe that the CA is being violated in any way please contact your staff rep or the FDTA office.
(NB: This is the previous CA, which was effective through June 2019. A new agreement was bargained through March of 2020 and the BCTF and FDTA voted to ratify the provincial and local portions respectively in April of 2020. The new document will be posted here as soon as possible.)
The FDTA financially supports members in their professional development. This includes support for individual members pursuing Pro D in- or out of the district and groups of members hosting Pro D events in their schools. Please use the forms below in order to apply for support.
As noted in the application form it is expected that teachers receiving financial support will share information about a conference they attend or an activity they pursue with colleagues. As a result there are currently ~25 active reports on file with FDTA for your interest. See the FDTA archives tab for more information.
Each year the FDTA awards as many as 3 $800 scholarships to dependents of members. If you are the dependent of an FDTA member and will graduate from a public Canadian high school in 2021 you are eligible to make an application for one of these scholarships.
In the event that more than three students apply the scholarship will be awarded on the basis of your academic success. Accordingly, you'll be asked for a copy of your latest report card, generally the third report you receive in grade 12.
Applications are to be completed by May 1st and submitted to the FDTA office. Please see the attached document and application for below for more information.
Mathematics for Elementary Teachers: J. Wenda-Szoltysek
POPARD Helping Schools Help Students: D. Cameron
Ross Greene Collaborative & Proactive Solutions Conference: S. Jones, R. Storey
Ethics in Counselling and Youth Self Harm: K. Keast
CBEEN 2017 Inquiring Voices Sustainability Symposium: K. Purdy
Yoga Teacher Training: M. Traub
PSA Super Conference 2017: D. Degagne, A. Barras, L. Shully, H. Lloyd, S. Finch, A. Forefield, J. Jackson, A. Smith, J. Howard, R. Esch, L. Weber, T. Skead, K. Conlin, C. Smith
Visit to Observe Arrowsmith Alternate School Program: K. McKeown
Alberta Music Educators' Association Conference: B. Bassett
Manitoba Museum Of Human Rights & Freedoms: W. Percy
Learning Disabilities & Associated Disorders: T. Wagner
St. Eugene Writers' Conference: D. Gibson
Gonzaga Basketball Coaches Clinic: I. Jarrell, J. Mill
California STEAM Conference 2017: S. Larsen, J. Parker
Social Thinking: J. Schacker
CrossFit Level 2: C. Smith
Alberta Teachers' Association Fall Math Conference: P. Chow
Satir - Use of Self in Therapy: R. Polacik, K. Walker, S. Charest
Crosscurrents 2018 Conference: S. Nohels
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition: K. Germaine
Healing & Treating Trauma, Addictions, & Related Disorders: D. Billings
Keith Liggett Writing Workshop: D. Gibson
BC Language Coordination Association Conference: P. Oscienny, D. Wolchuk
Making Living Compost Workshop: H. Lloyd
Coming Soon!
Hello FDTA Members,
As you know, we have an increased budget for Mentorship opportunities for FDTA members. The Committee has created a new application form that expands your options for Mentorship. Currently, we have a number of partner pairs who have accessed time to collaborate, plan, model, and grow professional relationships. We are hoping to expand this model to include (but not be limited to) mentors that could work with a team of teacher mentees. One example might be a retired teacher, a TTOC, or a teacher with an expertise mentoring a team of teacher mentees to explore a curriculum inquiry.
The process to apply for up to four release days (up to 8 half days) is as follows:
1. If you are a mentee looking for a mentor, a mentor looking for mentee(s), or you already have pair/group, please complete the attached Mentor/Mentee Application for Funding form (attached, and on website)
2. Submit to the Mentorship Committee at the FDTA office email (
fdta@shaw.ca)
3. Please submit for this year by May 14, 2021.
4. For this school year (2020/2021) round, the Committee will consider applications as they are submitted to ensure timely allocation of funds.
We are hopeful that a few applicants can try this out so we can fine tune the process for our next school year.
Also attached (and on the website) is a Guide Poster outlining other funding sources for teachers. While the mentorship funding is an excellent way to fund professional growth, we know that there are other avenues as well.
We look forward to reviewing applications for Mentorship.
Mentorship Committee
FDTA
207 - 442 2 Ave
PO Box 10
Fernie, BC V0B 1M0
250-423-3333
Office Manager - fdta@shaw.ca
Union President - fdta01@gmail.com
Copyright 2020 Fernie District Teachers Association