Images: Melanie Lawton at Parliment courtesy of SPERD Facebook page

St. Paul Education Regional Division (SPERD) congratulates Melanie Lawton, a Social Studies teacher at the St. Paul Regional High School, for being selected to participate in the Alberta Teachers Institute on Parliamentary Democracy from November 5-7 in Edmonton.

This event provides teachers with an opportunity to experience firsthand our provincial parliamentary system.

From the teachers that applied, 30 were selected to take part in this inaugural intensive program.

Some of the topics explored were: the legislative process, public engagement, the role of the Executive Council, and a tour of the Legislature site.

There were also many opportunities to network with guest speakers and guests, some of who included the Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell, Speaker of the House Nathan Cooper, Provincial Court Judge David Hancock, sitting Senator Paula Simons and many sitting MLAs including our own David Hanson.

Melanie described  this professional development experience as, “invaluable and a great opportunity for other teachers to pursue in the future.”