Company Profile
BC School Trustees Association
Company Overview
The British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) is a non-profit, voluntary organization dedicated to assisting school boards in their key work: improving student achievement through community engagement.
The key work concept, which BCSTA introduced in 1998, explains in straightforward terms what it is that school boards are elected to do, and how they do it. School boards are elected to improve student achievement. They do it by engaging their communities in building and maintaining a school system that reflects local priorities, values and expectations. School trustees listen to their communities, guide the work of their school district, setting a plan, policy and the annual budget – and report back to the public on how our students are doing.
School boards are the only level of government in Canada with a single focus of responsibility – the Kindergarten to Grade 12 public school system. They share this governance role with the provincial government: with school boards attending to the local level while the province has overall constitutional responsibility for K-12 education. This co-governance model has developed one of the finest public education systems in the world.
BC’s 60 school boards are all members of BCSTA. They look to their association to serve as a strong provincial voice and to influence government by representing the membership on matters affecting public education. In addition to advocacy, BCSTA provides its membership with timely information on issues, educational programs for school trustees and their staff, legal and legislative services and in-district consultation services.
For more information on BCSTA and its services, visit us at www.bcsta.org.
Company History
BCSTA was founded in 1905, when 20 school trustees representing eight school boards met at the Vancouver School Board office to discuss common problems and ways to improve public education. They made a commitment to work together on matters of shared concern and formed the BC School Trustees Association, the first school trustees association in Canada. To this day, the association is a strong, collaborative voice advocating on behalf of BC school boards, and providing resources and support to its membership.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
BCSTA is an advocacy organization representing British Columbia's 60 locally elected school boards