The Story of Our Board

God Had A Plan

AHEA has always had a special story. God has worked so many times in the past that AHEA members cannot turn around without seeing evidence of His care for home educators through this organization. The story of our current Board is no different. Last week you were told about the breadth of representation the Board that proposed the Special Resolutions had, but we didn’t tell you how the current and previous Board came to be. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with our story and see how faithful He has been to us on the journey we are on together as AHEA.

The initial elections at the 2019 AGM left three Directors voted in with a clear mandate to ensure that the Christian faith be clearly understood to be the basis for our organization – Ted and Shannon Tederoff and Shawna Sundal. Only having three Directors was a concern as the Bylaws require a minimum of five (5). The Parliamentarian for that meeting decided at the time that only previously Nominee Committee screened members who were present could allow their names to stand for election that evening. There were six present who were asked: Simon and Nicole Noster (who had just stepped down from having served two years), Gary and Beth Wiens (who were previously Directors), Paul Van den Bosh (previously a Director) and Patty Marler (previously a Director). The first four accepted the nomination and were subsequently voted in by the membership, making the Board Director count seven (7).

We were determined to deal with the ambiguity that had been affecting AHEA – the perspective that it was ‘Christian enough.’ Being a Christian is an either/or statement, not a percentage call – you are or you are not. And it was so different from what the Home Matters magazine usually stated clearly and what the attendees of the Convention understood through the speakers and exhibitors, that the idea of not being Christian was a shock to those who heard of the gap in positioning (not only on the Board, and between the Board and the members, but also between the members themselves) for the first time at that meeting. The crossroads were laid out and a decision would have to be confirmed by the membership at the next AGM. It was the job of the elected Board to bring the necessary work to them to vote on.

Over the next year this team laboured diligently on the task the Membership had put in its care. God had been good in providing a broad spectrum of perspectives in the Directors, notably including both Catholic and Protestant representatives. Much work, with determined efforts to be clear and fair to AHEA’s history, intention and current challenges, occupied our time. We also recruited a special consultant to help us with the wording and addressing concerns about laying down a foundation that the majority of AHEA members would be able to accept. We announced our work and a preliminary meeting about the Special Resolutions in Red Deer February 8th in advance of the anticipated 2020 April AGM, where input from attendees resulted in a final tweak. The Statement of Faith, Objects and Bylaws that were finalized on was unanimously supported by the AHEA Board, with a sense of being able to deliver on the mandate that we were given.

January 2020 saw the Philosophy and Statement of Faith, Objects and Bylaws added to the Member Only area on our website. They joined the 2019 AGM Minutes published in August 2019, which had been placed in a newly created section of the website – a commitment by this Board to ensure that members were able to see and consider information well in advance of the next meeting. Financial Statements of that year were published in the spring after the tax filings and 2-Member Audit had taken place, as well as a critical new addition that had become an obvious necessity for members to see. This 5-year Comparable Statement was published due to the shocking realization that the organization had been losing approximately $20,000/year on a consecutive basis, with the exception of high revenues from the year Ken Ham spoke, due to the attendance making up for the regular operational shortfall.

The Board complement went down two (2) people when the Wien’s had to retire from service that winter. With such a short time until our 2020 AGM, the Board anticipated elections would deal with the change, even though the AHEA Bylaws give the existing Directors the authority to “appoint a successor in his place to hold office until the next annual general meeting.” The roles of Secretary and Treasurer were filled by existing Directors. This became critical work when we were faced with the decision of cancelling the 2020 Convention due to concerns about a virus. The decision was taken out of our hands two weeks before our Convention date. History was made with the first missed Convention in AHEA’s 30+ years of holding one.

The loss of this Convention had a far-reaching impact on the financial security of the organization that is still felt today. The Board had to face the dismantling of the Convention with a focus on serving the registrants and exhibitors in an unheard-of situation, making decisions in unity, despite the uncertain times. With the loss of the AGM, the Board also ensured that every single 2019 member had their membership extended to September 2020 so they had continued full access to digital and print material. Before the end of this membership term, the Board also extended an offer to sponsor a free 2020 Membership to anyone who felt that they could not purchase one for the subsequent year. Thus, the integrity and ability for the same 2019 membership to vote on the now delayed Special Resolutions was preserved. Once the crisis of the immediate issues had been made, the Nosters advised that they must also retire from service, as they had intended to do the year previously.

Nominees had been standing by for the 2020 AGM, and the Board approached the six to see if they were interested in filling the four empty directorships. One couple no longer could serve, but the Lord perfectly matched our need with the willing Directors who joined our board by appointment as allowed in the Bylaws that May. Eugene Gritter, Martin Vervloet, and Peter and Andrée Verhoog returned us to the full complement of seven. Our Board has meshed and worked to face the challenges that AHEA is facing. Our efforts to reach out to the AHEA community last fall were well received, but there was not enough time to connect with all the members that we’d have wished to.

After the extremely busy year, change was again upon us. Eugene Gritter’s retirement from the Board left us one person short that we did not rush to fill either. However, the Nomination Committee had again done its job and had a couple that would be waiting to join at the next AGM. With the volume of tasks in advocacy, promotion, marketing and operational activity that were required, the Board saw the need for an Executive Director as an immediate requirement. The topic had been broached and a proposal drafted by the Directors of the 2018 Board, laying out much of the groundwork and the need to transition to a governing Board in the proper sense in role and responsibilities.

Though their work had not resulted in the position being created and filled, the current AHEA Board had been reviewing the matter seriously since the late summer. Being a working Board had been an obvious requirement after the evidence of AHEA’s management resulted in placing the organization in such a precarious position, compounded by missing the 2020 Convention. The demands on Board members were high, and a large portion of work was already being done on a more than full-time basis. The Directors offered the position of Executive Director to Shawna Sundal. Her resignation as a Director to become an Officer left the number of empty chairs totaling two. The Board invited the Nominees, Kevin and Christina VanderZyl to join early and begin working in advance of the AGM. Thus, there are no outstanding Nominees, and information on the current Board can be found here. God has fulfilled our needs as they arose, and we trust He knows what is ahead.

The Board moved to a governing model instead of a working model due to the structural changes. The description of Board Chairman, interchangeable with President, has been put into place to assist with the Board and the membership to adjust their expectations of who does what. The Chairman and the Executive Director roles cover what used to fall under the President and Director roles in general. AHEA still has a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer officially, with all of the Directors addressing and collaborating on issues as needed and overseeing the work of the Executive Director. Therefore, the Board, now, consists of Directors and Officers both.

Commitment to Communication

From the 2019 AGM until today, the Board has been resolute in doing its best. You can be assured that personal sacrifices by way of time, effort, financial contributions, and all the other ways a person who serves in a position like this can give of themselves has been done, and by their families as well. AHEA becomes a part of your life and good people have poured into the very survival of the organization in a multi-faceted way. With little to no income for two years, AHEA currently faces critical needs and challenges. With opportunities all around us, advocacy has been flourishing and very productive. Promotion and visibility of AHEA is a huge need and focus, communicating our purpose with stability and history while sharing our needs carefully and frankly. Our Fall Talks have been key in the last couple of years to re-establish brand recognition of quality and commitment. Relationships that were lost have had the groundwork re-laid. We want to work together with these improved documents to do our best for you!

Q & A

• Being known as a Christian organization will harm AHEA in its advocacy to the government.
  FALSE: The government and the public already see us as Christian. What do we gain by denying or avoiding it? We cannot and should not be fearful.
• We will be attacked for being Christian, so we should keep a lower profile.    
  FALSE: Christians cannot deny that our faith affects our life and/or our education. To attempt to do so is disingenuous and a betrayal of the grounds that AHEA has projected for years.
• Putting it in writing is dangerous.
  TRUE: Saying you are Christian always has the potential for danger. However, writing it down saves us from mission drift and gives us courage to remain true to our shared basic beliefs as a society and room to interact on the topics we differ on a personal level. We need to be gracious.
• The Statement of Faith doesn’t go far enough to define my beliefs.     
  TRUE: This statement cannot represent every individual’s faith position. We should each have a more highly defined faith statement than this basic one and attend a church that represents that well. However, AHEA is not a church, and this statement meets a need for a basic statement that we can work together from as we advocate for home education in Alberta. Believe us, this has been carefully considered.
• Everyone cannot sign it.
  TRUE: We do need to have a definition in order to be protected under the Charter freedom of association. This clarity gives members the ability to screen themselves. It will give us recourse and legal protection if there has been misrepresentation, a necessity in this day and age. An organization on the same page will have more unity, and AHEA will benefit from this.
• People will be excluded and that’s not fair because we represent everyone.
  FALSE: AHEA knows that there are those who love being represented from our Christian perspective and there are those who do not. We want people to know that AHEA is Christian in its perspective on its advocacy, educational philosophy and events. That does not mean that we cannot be supported by those with a different perspective. It means everyone knows where we are coming from and can count on our perspective being unchanging as we have clarity and a solid basis from which to act and make decisions. Our work speaks for itself.
• You are not providing information to members. 
  FALSE: In the past members were provided with information about Directors in their Convention Guide when they came to the Convention and about topics at the AGM when they arrived at the meeting (past AGM Minutes for approval, Financial Statements, and anything else required to inform the members). The Board has made great efforts for the last two years in providing the information above well in advance of the previous access. This is out of a desire to have a peaceful meeting where people can consider the materials and arrive calm and able to contribute to a healthy discussion. We hope that this is a plus and not abused to create dissention in advance of meetings. These actions sap our time and effort needed elsewhere.
• This is not a critical or necessary meeting.
  FALSE: We continue to work under the constraints and freedoms that have been granted by the society’s membership. We are making the Special Resolution motions at the upcoming meeting because that was our task and we believe that they will help the Board, and AHEA itself, function better. Specifically, the clarifications and organization of the Bylaws and Objects will greatly aid the society and future Boards, just as the Statement of Faith will inform the Board in implementing Policies that should flow in harmony from the Bylaws. Donations will be easier to address if our faith position is clear.
• We should be discussing this online.
  FALSE: Social media is not the place to discuss the internal business of the organization. Nor are the factors the Board has at its disposal to make decision appropriate to have bandied about. The Board, at its discretion, communicates to the public through presentations or social media. It communicates to the membership directly. We are making a point to give all the information to all the members equally as opposed to providing some information for others to dispense for their own purposes to a limited group of people, as would no doubt happen as they are not responsible for communicating with the membership... that’s the Board’s job. We will not be pressured or forced to discuss business on our own social media. It is inappropriate and many who have followed since its inception are not home educators, hold the same views or are even friendly. Being a member does not come with a guarantee of speaking on AHEA’s social media platform. Content that is deemed inappropriate by the Moderators will be removed and repeated violations will mean the removal of that person from the page. AHEA does not allow people to speak ill of other organizations on its page, and the same is and will be true of comments about AHEA itself.
• The location of the AGM should be a matter of debate.
  FALSE: The Board is tasked with setting a date and location. It has many factors to consider which, again, are not subject to the approval of all the individual members. Many meetings could be called throughout a year, and there is no expectation that the time and location will work for everyone. Of course, we hope that there is widespread turnout, but we cannot control that either. The notion that members from farther away will find it harder is always true, no matter where the meeting is held. As the first RSVP came from Slave Lake and have continued to come in from all over the province, we are encouraged and confident that wide representation has been achieved.
• We should wait to hold our AGM.
  FALSE: There is no telling when a good time to hold the meeting will be if we wait for everyone to concur. We have consulted with the necessary people to ensure we can have our meeting. Though a few members have tried to cast doubt, there is no doubt and no different information is under advisement. The meeting will proceed as planned and AHEA’s work will continue. The idea that nothing changes while we have waited is not a realistic one, as we have the health and wellbeing of our organization to consider. The Board knows that for AHEA to survive, the clarity that can be found in the member’s decision at the AGM will enable support, which is critical.

Unique Challenges

AHEA has been facing unique challenges in the last several years, being forced to deal with a crisis of faith, identity and finances. The demands on the Board have been high. Who we are as an organization needs to be clear for the members and the Board to function properly and to increase support successfully. AHEA’s awareness of the litigious nature of our culture and the people around us has caused us to balance the need for the organization to remain bold in our purpose and beliefs, and we sought legal counsel throughout the development of the Bylaws, Objectives and Statement of Faith. These two documents, as drafted, will help protect our organization.

The Board has to act in what it believes are the best interests of AHEA, even when that may not seem like the choices a member or a critic might make from their armchair. The information and decisions rest with the Board Directors for this reason, and a respect for this function must be maintained for AHEA to function well, just as that is true for any organization. Boards should do their best to honor the trust placed in them by the membership, and safeguarding the stability and effectiveness of the organization must be paramount over appearances or personal feelings. In the end, public knowledge about the in’s and out’s of Board decision will never be complete. However, the AGM is the place where the members get critical information, hear from the Board and have their say, showing their support or concern with the Directors that have been managing the affairs of the organization.

Members of AHEA have their own additional responsibilities in safeguarding the organization. Our current Bylaws speak to the conduct of member, requiring them to be proper and to not endanger the interests or reputation of the Association. Nor should they breach the Constitution or the Bylaws.

One of the reasons that the proposed Statement of Faith and the Bylaws are so important is that they will give the organization a clear definition of who is a member, and that we have a solid basis of principles we agree to associate around as we home educate. Some Directors on the past or current Boards recognized that we had two vulnerabilities:

1. Forcing everyone who attended the Annual Convention to purchase a membership. This was a weakness because it diluted the membership of AHEA with people who had no interest or care for the reasons that AHEA was created and drives us compared to other groups. The pressure of this widened circle had an impact.
2. Acknowledging the Philosophy and Objectives wasn’t enough. We need to have members that actually agree instead of just read it over. Having unity of purpose and vision on the Board or in the membership is impossible without this.

Three years ago, the membership was separated from the Convention attendance. Even with many notices to the members of AHEA, to this day people are still saying that they did not realize they didn’t purchase one. The Board can only do so much to advise members, and after that it is the responsibility of each home educator to decide if they wish to be a member. Membership should be a choice of those who are willing to engage and contribute to the organization through the nomination and election of the Board, as well as giving careful considered thought to decisions that they vote on at the Annual General or Special Meetings. (The documents currently up for consideration are available once you have logged in as a Member. Go back up to the Membership tab and click on the Governance Documents.) Donors can hold a broader position and still support the work of the organization. The choice is up to each one.

The AHEA Board’s Directors are volunteer based and the whole Board is busy with critical tasks for AHEA at this time which must be prioritized. Requests for information regarding the AGM are being answered through emails to the whole membership for efficiency, transparency and clarity at the Board’s discretion.

Your RSVP as a member is REQUIRED by March 31, 2021 so that we can ensure capacity arrangements are sufficient. No observers or children (unless a nursing baby) will be allowed to attend the AGM. Your membership eligibility will be confirmed at the door by our Registrar. Please have your ID handy as she may not know you! Remember, the current health protocols will be observed in distancing and hand sanitizing. Provide your own mask as necessary. Exemptions will be respected without question.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

AHEA's Philosophy & Objectives

Schedule A to the By-Laws of the Alberta Home Education Association - PHILOSOPHY OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Association "recognizes the supremacy of God and the rule of law." (Preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982)

1. The Association affirms the primacy of parental responsibility for the welfare, socialization and education of their children.
2. The Association is dedicated to the education and socialization of children in the natural setting of the family.
3. The Association holds, in accordance with Article 26.3 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December, 1948, that "parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children." This includes home education.
4. The Association further holds that the right to home education includes not merely a right over the place in which education occurs, but a right to determine the very content, process and timing of this education.
5. The Association acknowledges that the state has a legitimate and compelling interest in the education of the young, but asserts that such interest is:
   1. secondary to the primacy of responsibility of parents over education, and
   2. strictly limited to those skills and that knowledge which are demonstrably necessary to the formation of functional citizenship in a free and democratic society.
6. The Association affirms all matters of a social, religious, ideological, political, cultural and economic nature to be personal options and therefore outside of the compelling interest of the state.
7. The Association holds that student assessment is an integral aspect of the education process, and that therefore parents have the sole right and responsibility to determine the methods and instruments to be used to ensure the educational welfare of the child.
8. The Association holds that the state must exercise its compelling interest in the education of the young by the least intrusive means.
9. The Association pursues and recommends -- within the framework of its philosophy -- a policy of constructive interaction in dealing with those legally charged with the monitoring of home education programs.

SCHEDULE "B" - OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION

1. To promote and encourage home education as an alternative to and compatible with the Public, Separate and Private School Systems.
2. To establish and maintain a liaison with other educational institutions and government in order to co-ordinate and facilitate the transition of individuals educated through home education programs into schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions.
3. To encourage and facilitate co-operation with contemporary school Public, Separate and Private School Systems in the use, by home educators, of resources, facilities and equipment.
4. To engage in and promote research and study in the area of home education, including, but not limited to:
   1. home education curricula;
   2. teaching techniques;
   3. programs, activities and facilities available to home educators;
   4. legislation concerning schools and education.
5. To study and evaluate curricula for home education.
6. To provide information and ideas with respect to home education.
7. To raise funds for research into all aspects of home education and early childhood development; to promote the objects of the Association; and to provide scholarships, bursaries and grants to home education students.
8. To provide support, encouragement, advice and counsel to members involved in home education.

The AHEA board is pleased to announce that longtime AHEA member and home educating mom Kristine Buchholtz has agreed to serve as the new editor of HOME Matters.

Kristine and her husband have home schooled their five children for the past eighteen years, with their oldest three having moved on to postsecondary studies after having graduated from parent-directed high school programs. They continue to home educate their two youngest children.

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AHEA would also like to welcome Korien Sampson as our new Executive Assistant.
Many people will recognize Korien as AHEA's Convention Director - a position she still capably holds!

Korien is a veteran Home schooling mom of four children.
She likes to travel, camp and swim. Korien volunteered for AHEA often in the past and has run a successful Home School Convention for AHEA for the past 3 years.

Welcome Kristine and Korien to the AHEA Team!

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About AHEA

The Alberta Home Education Association (AHEA) began as the response to problems that had begun to plague home educators in the province of Alberta. Home education had, for many years, been the domain of families who had poor access to regular educational facilities, due to distance and other factors. In the seventies, a movement began that would change the face of education in Alberta. More parents were becoming concerned about the secularization of education in the province, and as a result, alternative education methods began to spring up.

Included in the movement was a growing body of parents who decided that educating their children at home was the preferred method. For some, the school authorities were supportive, but for many more, the authorities were hostile. Because of the small numbers in this environment, school authorities found it easy to intimidate parents, and methods of appeal were limited. As a result, a small, but knowledgeable group of parents decided to develop a provincial organization, and in 1986, registered the AHEA under the Societies Act of Alberta

Our Purpose

AHEA exists to serve the Home Education Community.

The purpose of the society, initially, was to support parents, to create a forum for better interaction between educating families and to develop better interaction between school authorities and parents. From the very small beginnings, the organization has grown to continue those initial thrusts through one of the largest conference and curriculum fairs in Canada, special speaker seminars, information sharing to both new and experienced home educators and responding to political and bureaucratic challenges. AHEA continues to serve parents as needs arise, to support local groups of parents and individuals, and to interact with various levels of government to protect the responsibilities of parents.

Our Values

• AHEA values the supremacy of God
• AHEA values parents as having the God-given right and responsibility to direct the education of their children
• AHEA values the traditional family unit defined as one husband, one wife and children, if any. We hold this model to be normative and the basis for a strong and stable society.
• AHEA values children and recognizes their need for discipling within the family context.
• AHEA values government as being instituted by God. We hold that government exists to serve the people, and that it must exercise its compelling interest in the education of children in the least intrusive manner.
• AHEA values education as the life-long formation of the individual and is not restricted to the acquisition of knowledge.