St. Timothy High School teacher Alicia Grenier has been recognized with the highest award bestowed upon first year teachers by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA)

Following an extensive interview process, she was selected the Zone 5 recipient of the Edwin Parr Award this fall.

"I honestly was astonished by it," says Alicia. "It was a very proud moment. I felt like I didn't fully deserve it because I felt like what I was doing was what teachers do."

"I think it was the biggest eye opener ever that in any moment that I felt like I wasn't doing enough, I clearly was, and that it wasn't just me who could see success with the kids. Other people were literally looking at my class or talking to students in the hall or even the principals, who both said they have never heard more social study content in the hallways walking by student. And I was like, that's awesome!"

"I think receiving the award gave me a lot more respect for the profession because I feel like every teacher does put in a lot of work and every teacher tries really hard. Yes, I got to get an award for how hard I try, but it never ever once occurred to me that no one else tries as hard as I do, not even a little bit."

Alicia is a self-admitted perfectionist and an astute researcher who believes in establishing a strong connection with students to help them thrive in their education. It's something that dates back to her own experience in high school.

Even though it was her passion to be a teacher from a young age, she started to question if it was the right career path. She studied psychology then went into finance, trading stocks for about five years before returning to education, first as an educational assistant. She worked mainly with elementary and junior high students one-on-one to assist with their learning needs.

"It was then I decided that being a full teacher would give me the opportunity to design the classroom how I think would support each person without needing the one-on-one support from a different person."

"I feel like I struggled with always wanting to go to school when I was in high school. I feel like that's where my driver really came from. Why do high school students struggle to want to be there? Is it actually hard or is it more so the information is still taught in a way that it just doesn't pertain to their lives."

She believes every student has a different learning journey.

"I start every one of my semesters with who are you? What do you like? What are your subjects that you find interesting, or you think you do well in or one that you're struggling with? And then what types of assignments do you like to do?"

"I feel like I've actually been able to use my experience in life. to figure out people, but also use that to not just tell students that you have to learn the material because it's on the test. Instead, it's how can we learn the material that's actually interesting to you so that we can actually incorporate it and make it exciting, so when you come to class, your response isn't why am I here? Why am I learning this? Will I ever use this? It's never going to be important anyway."

She instructs social studies grade 10 to 12 and has inspired some of their students to consider a teaching profession in social studies.

"I have an open-door policy so students will come in regularly and I've had multiple interviews with parents where they said their child wanted to be an engineer when they grow up or they want to be a doctor and all of a sudden they change their mind. They want to be a social teacher. They said that they actually have conversations at the dinner table about social studies regularly, but I think it's because I'm not always teaching like the traditional history lesson. It's more about what's interesting to you and how can we bring that into class as a whole?"

She takes pride in the St. Tim's community and believes the size of the classes creates an ideal environment for students. In her practicums, she had 40 to 45 students per class with school populations of 2,000. She says you can always make a connection with student no matter where you teach, but finds St. Tim's to be a special place.

"Here, I can tell you every single student that I walk by--who they are, and things about them. We have our own different connection and I think it's so beneficial for them to have such a strong community here, even though they might not always notice it. It's insane to see how close everybody can be, and the different friend groups.

"Even if you move students around the classroom, they have different connections with each person. They all have jobs together. They hang out after school. They do sports together. They have this opportunity to be supportive to each other, even when teachers are away from them."

"I feel like it maybe the environment of a small town. I'm not sure if that's what it is because I haven't been to the other high schools in Cochrane, but based on how these kids interact with people and themselves and in their jobs, I feel like it is just so positive."

She says there are a thousand highlights from her first year, most of which centre on building strong relationships.

"These kids are amazing. They want to have a good relationship with their teachers. They go out of their way to talk to teachers, and they do sports and they're part of the extracurricular activities. I coached volleyball with the senior girls last year and this year, and it's so nice to actually be able to know students on different levels within the same community. "

alicia grenier

David Gowans is in his first year as principal of St. Tim's and quickly learned of the incredible connection Alicia has made with the students and her skill as a "genuine, authentic. incredible teacher."

"Both as a teacher and as needed as a confidant when they need someone to go to, Alicia, is many of our students go to teacher both for extra help, or hey, I've got something going on my life. She's just created a connection that students gravitate towards her, knowing that she truly cares about them, their learning and their overall well-being."

Since 1964, the Edwin Parr Award has annually honoured six outstanding first-year Kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers across the province.  The award celebrates the legacy of Edwin Parr, a school board trustee and president of the Alberta School Trustees Association from 1956 to 1962.

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, CochraneNow encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the CochraneNow app