Parents and students gathered outside Crossfield Elementary School on Friday afternoon to cheer for their teachers on the last day of regular classes before a strike was set to begin on Oct. 6. Mahdieh Hossini, a mother of three and a member of the school’s parent council, organized the rally. In an interview with DiscoverAirdrie, she said: “We had a bit of a cheer for our teachers today after school, parents and students and community members came to show their support.” She said the show of support was meant to send a clear message. “We hope that our show of support communicates to the provincial government that we recognize that the concerns raised by the teachers are all valid. These include standards of pay, classroom overcrowding and complexity, as well as additional in-classroom support in the form of additional aid.” “At the heart of the dispute is really a question regarding the future of our public education system. Should we keep limping by continually playing catch-up, or should we invest in teachers and schools and in our students so that we are not perpetually in a situation of underpaid teachers and overfilled, complex classrooms?” Hossini said she has heard broad support among parents. “I have I’ve come across very few parents who aren’t in agreement with the teachers in our community. But for those who may not agree, we, as a council and me as a parent, understand that it’s a complex issue with varying views.” “It is regrettable that it’s come to the point of labor action to address these issues, but we believe that the end goal of a better education system is worth the short term pain of this strike and all parents are entitled to their own views,” she said. One moment, Friday stood out for Hossini when she picked up her youngest son early. “I asked his teacher if she was going to make it, and she said that she wouldn’t, but I did say, could you please come out to the front, my little boy drew a picture of you when we drew some chalk encouraging words. And she said, Oh yes, I’ll go out and take a photo. And she did, and we met her out there,” she said. “She just, she was crying. She was tearing up. She just said, I don’t know if I could be here with the crowd, because this is so emotional. And she tried to say goodbye to my little boy. And I’m getting emotional now because I don’t know when they’re going to go back, and they’ve just started this routine. And he’s five, and he’s just understanding that he goes to school every day, and he’s just starting to enjoy it, enjoy the new routine.” Parents brought noisemakers and homemade signs, she said. “We had noise makers. There was parents with signs, homemade signs. People were clapping and cheering, and the teachers all came out and they they were very emotional. There was lots of kids running up to them and giving them hugs.” “I feel so much for the teachers. I feel like they need to manage so much all at once, and the lack of assistance is overwhelming, and I feel like a lot of them take it on as a personal burden,” she added. “All of the children at all levels, are affected by this because there’s just not enough one on one, or it’s just not enough time for one adult to be able to manage all of the kids.” On September 29, the Alberta Teachers’ Association announced that its members had voted 89.5 percent to reject a memorandum of agreement. “Teachers will go on strike on October 6,” the ATA said in a news release. “The overwhelming rejection of the tentative agreement highlights the gap between teachers’ lived realities in the classroom and the government’s perception of public education in Alberta,” ATA president Jason Schilling said. “The proposed agreement failed to meet the needs of teachers, failed to improve student classroom conditions in a concrete and meaningful way, and failed to show teachers the respect they deserve.” “The government’s job is to provide the necessities to Alberta’s public education system. Instead of simply doing its job, the government has forced teachers to bargain for basic classroom needs, which is both inappropriate and embarrassing.” “When oversized classes and growing student complexities combine to create learning environments that no longer meet students’ needs and push teachers far past their limits, the government must be held accountable,” Schilling said. By rejecting the agreement, the ATA said teachers have signalled that classroom complexities have not been adequately addressed and that an increase of 12 per cent is insufficient. Over the last decade, teachers have received a total salary increase of less than six percent, despite being promised fair compensation in their next collective agreement. The ATA said teachers are now taking action and “standing united for an agreement that immediately addresses deteriorating conditions in classrooms across Alberta and gives them the pay increase they deserve.” More than 43,000 teachers cast ballots online between September 27 and 29. In a Sept. 29 statement, Treasury Board and Finance Minister Nate Horner said the tentative deal would have provided “tremendous investments in classroom supports” by hiring 3,000 new teachers and more than 1,500 educational assistants in public, separate and francophone schools. “The deal also would have provided a general wage increase of 12 per cent over the four-year term, as well as a wage grid unification which would have provided more than 95 per cent of teachers even larger wage increases up to 17 per cent,” Horner said. Horner added the agreement “would have resulted in Alberta teachers receiving the highest pay in western Canada after taxes.” That same day, Premier Danielle Smith said: “I’m disappointed that ATA members have rejected the settlement, choosing instead to go on strike. Students and families need to know we will support them during this time of uncertainty, so we are releasing our plan today to provide payments directly to families and to support at-home student learning.” On Sept. 30, the province released details of that plan. It stated that eligible parents will receive $30 per day, or $150 per week, per student during the labour action, with the first payments due on October 31. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Alberta is offering a free online toolkit “to empower families, ease the pressure they’re facing and keep students engaged.” That release also said Alberta will commit $100 million per year for three years to fund 1,500 net new educational assistants and other supports. On Oct. 3, the province announced further measures, including increased childcare subsidies after five strike days, lifting the 10-credit limit on distance education for high school students, new options for home education grants, and free admission for Albertans 18 and under to provincial museums and historic sites. “While I am disappointed by the ATA’s decision to strike, we remain focused on what matters most: our kids and their education,” Nicolaides said in the Oct. 3 release. Arts and Culture Minister Tanya Fir added: “During this uncertain time, we are committed to supporting Albertan families. By offering free admission for young Albertans to our provincial museums and historic sites, we are helping parents manage disruptions while giving kids meaningful learning opportunities.” Rocky View Schools informed families in an Oct. 2 update that it was “preparing for no school or buses beginning Oct. 6.” The update stated that extracurricular activities and field trips are cancelled, students should take their personal belongings home by Oct. 3, and families will be contacted directly by childcare providers regarding any service changes. The division said while students will retain access to online platforms, “there will be no teacher supervision, guidance or instructional support during the strike.” It also told parents they can access optional government Parent Toolkits and Supplementary Resources, and that funding may be available. Fees for cancelled activities may be adjusted, and community use of schools outside regular hours will continue. RVS added: “We value the contributions of our employees to support student success, and we respect the provincial bargaining process. Thank you to our communities for their understanding during this uncertain time.” Hossini said provincial measures cannot replace the classroom. “Online resources can’t replace experience, guidance and connection that teachers bring to their students every day. So the best solution here is simple reach an agreement quickly. The teachers can get back to work. The students can return to their classroom where real learning happens.” She said teachers thanked families during Friday’s cheer. “The teachers were just saying, thank you, thank you for doing this. Thank you. Thank you for coming out. Thank you. It’s been really hard, and one grade, one teacher said, we are hearing a lot of backlash. We are getting a lot of hate, and this is just so supportive, and we know we can do this.” Hossini said parents also want to be heard. “Thank you for giving us a voice. I feel like parents also need to be part of this conversation … [we] can also be listened to by the government.” She added: “We just want to encourage both of the parties to continue to negotiate to the end, to end the dispute as soon as possible.” Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon. Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM. DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app. To hear more on this story and others, stream us live here.