Who we are

BCSTA is a non-profit, voluntary organization dedicated to assisting boards of education 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 trustees are elected to do, and how they do it.

Boards of education 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.

BC’s 60 boards of education are all members of BCSTA. Our school trustees and their boards look to their association to serve as a strong provincial voice and to influence government by representing the membership on matters affecting public education.

History

The British Columbia School Trustees Association 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 boards of education, and providing resources and support to its membership.

BCSTA was formally incorporated by an Act of the Legislature in 1956. Its internal procedures are governed by its bylaws enacted by its members. It also has policies that guide its advocacy on an ongoing basis.

In 2006, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and BCSTA signed a protocol on consultation and cooperation.

School boards became boards of education through amendments to the School Act in 2007. This new name reflects both a broader mandate that includes early learning and adult literacy, and the reality that education extends beyond school walls.