January 28, 2018
Note for TESL NS Members from David Packer, (President) on behalf of the Board
TESL Canada Update- Moving Forward
As you may know TESL Canada is in transition.
Late December 2017, TESL Canada Board of Directors asked all provincial affiliates three questions.
- Do you plan to remain a TESL Canada affiliate?
- Will you sign an interim TESL Canada Memorandum of Agreement for the period of January 1, 2018 to July 15, 2018 so we can remain operational?
- Are you willing to continue to pay annual membership fees for 6 months so we can find solutions?
They asked all affiliates to agree to the following.
“Collect annual membership fees ($ amount TBD/member or a portion thereof as deemed appropriate by the provincial affiliate) on behalf of TESL Canada and remit them to TESL Canada on January 30 [2018], thus TESL Canada will remain operational.”
It is important to remember TESL Canada provides four important functions for TESL Nova Scotia members: (1) Teaching Qualifications Certification; (2) Teacher Training Program Recognition; (3) the TESL Canada Journal; and (4) The TESL Canada Conference. A portion of your TESL Nova Scotia fees are forwarded each year to support these activities.
Since October 2017, there have been many meetings and initiatives by the Board of TESL Canada aimed towards re-activating the four services outlined above.
On January 10, 2018 at the TESL Nova Scotia Board meeting, we discussed the TESL Canada interim Memorandum of Agreement for the period of January 15, 2018 to July 15, 2018. TESL Nova Scotia is not able to provide oversight of the certification programs (individual teachers and teacher training programs). We have come to rely on the larger organization of TESL Canada to provide these services in particular. For this reason, and to demonstrate support for the efforts to maintain these services, we decided that we would submit a portion (50%) of the fees on a membership of 100 TESL Nova Scotia members. This amounts to $800.00.
In addition, I have signed on your behalf the Memorandum of Agreement. Our obligations, in addition to the fees, are to:
- provide membership information to TESL Canada on request
- to name one member of TESL Nova Scotia to serve as the provincial representative on the Board of TESL Canada
- use the joint membership application form which informs members that the provincial membership includes membership in TESL Canada.
TESL Canada’s obligations are listed on the Memorandum of Agreement, which will posted on our website for you to read.
I am hopeful that we have shown support for the efforts of the TESL Canada Board to re-activate the main functions of the organization while, at the same time, been responsible for looking after your interests. We will continue to update you on any news regarding TESL Canada and our relationship with and obligations to the national body.
Thank you.
David
