Sarah Doll (She/Her)

Doing the thing.

Yes- that thing.

Follow along! It'll be fun, I promise :) @dollfortrustee.bsky.social

Last @epsan.bsky.social meeting of the year
Featuring Trustee Saadiq Sumar and @naheednenshi.bsky.social. RSVP to come in person or join virtually. We are talking all things public ed. #publiceducation #abpoli #ableg #abed #edmonton #epsb

EPSAN is proud to collaborate with S.O.S Alberta with our progressive trustee hub. Please share with anyone in your networks or communities who value public education and want to run for public school boards.

Sign the Petition Redirect Edmonton Public Schools' Funds from Seclusion to Support

Hoping to get a couple more signatures on this by 1pm. Anyone in #edmonton or who cares about #inclusiveducation and #disabilityrights can sign www.change.org/p/redirect-e...

Thank you for sharing. I'm trying to get as much attention as possible on this petition before the board of trustees tables their budget

Sign the Petition Redirect Edmonton Public Schools' Funds from Seclusion to Support

www.change.org/p/redirect-e...

Focus on what you can control. It feels much less helpless. I rarely ever get involved with federal politics, but have been doing my best to volunteer for as many campaigns as I can. Talking to people about their votes is concrete and can create an actual change.

A lot of people need time to build up their moral courage muscles.

Scientifically you only need 3.5% of a population engaging in nonviolent protest to make a significant social change. They're pretty much there.

One of my favorite things about Bluesky (or at least my little corner of it) is that people are always sharing resources for taking action.

So here's a pinned thread collecting those resources, some made by me and some made by others.

Financially strapped Edmonton Public Schools spent almost a million dollars last year constructing fresh prison cells for disabled kids. The kicker? They went almost entirely unused. #endseclusion

chng.it/m7JL2p7z6N

Full shot of two groups of people, at a conference. On the left, a group of five women stand in front of a backdrop with a design that resembles a stylized flower or blossom. They are smiling and appear to be posing for a photo.  On the right, a group of three people stand in front of a similar, but different, backdrop with the words "PIA CONFERENCE 2025".

We may have had the arrival of 4th Winter this week in Edmonton - but no amount of snow could have affected how amazing and inspiring the last two days were at the
@pialberta.bsky.social Conference!

#abed #epsb #publiceducation #edmontonelections #yegvotes #RedForEdAB

Very proud of my dearest friend @hollynichol.bsky.social who has thrown her hat in the ring for @epsbnews.bsky.social trustee in ward c in the upcoming municipal election this fall. Holly is a fierce advocate for public education and will make an excellent trustee! www.hollynichol.ca

EPSB made a commitment 5 years ago to phase out the use of seclusion, and yet no plan or date to end use is in place.

Accountability for wrongdoing and justice for marginalized groups is part of celebrating them. Time to do that work. 3/3

#NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek #EdmontonPublicSchoolBoard

Instead of correcting course on this, EPSB has continually targeted autistic students, spending 100s of 1000s building seclusion rooms each year just for them.

EPSB has also perpetuated stereotypes used against these students to justify the over use of seclusion during public board meetings. 2/3

Perhaps we take this #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek to talk about how we must immediately stop the use of seclusion rooms in Alberta schools.

In Edmonton Public, these rooms are the most common in our Interactions program rooms which house our most vulnerable autistic students. 🧵1/3

Appointing an interim would make way more sense.

With 3 seats empty, should this board even be allowed to hire a new superintendent? Do they have a mandate to do that so small in number?

Screenshot of a tweet from @marciahole that reads: "This morning I resigned as Edmonton Public School Board's Ward C Trustee. Given the political climate and the erosion of school board autonomy I can no longer serve my constituents or the needs of the division's students, families and staff."

Screenshot of a second tweet by @marciahole that reads: "I believe in the need to protect and fully fund PUBLIC education. I #supporteducationworkers and their right to earn a living wage And I have deep respect and gratitude for EPSB staff whose work is helping students build a better tomorrow for Alberta." There is an image of a letter attached to the tweet. I'll put the alt text for it in the image of the letter and add it to this post.

Today I informed the Board Chair that, after much deliberation in recent weeks, I have made the difficult decision to resign as EPSB's Trustee for Ward C, effective immediately. I ran for Trustee committed to three main goals. To advocate for the vital role that a well funded public education system plays in creating a vibrant, inclusive society for all Albertans, and to help empower students, families, staff and our public to do the same. To represent the hopes, expectations and needs of the diverse populations we serve including vulnerable students from various communities. To work in partnership with our public on the development of transparent policies that support equitable, inclusive school communities for students, families and staff of all abilities, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, residency and socio-economic statuses, I am no longer able to serve the public in alignment with these commitments in the current political environment, and I can no longer stay silent, Remaining in the role until the fall election would be a disservice to the mandate granted to me by Ward C constituents and the needs of the division's students, families and staff. My ability to fulfill my role as a Trustee has been hindered by the erosion of school board autonomy and the inability to speak up publicly due to the intimidation tactics of the provincial government toward democratically elected school boards including, but not limited to, current labour relations. The knowledge, skill and commitment support staff contribute to school communities is essential. 1 stand with them, and the students and families they serve, as they fight the provincial government for their right to earn a living wage which is a crucial factor in school boards' ability to attract and retain support staff. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the staff in EPSB schools, and those who support them in a multitude of ways behind the scenes, for your professionalism, dedi…

Marcia Hole (Ward C) just announced her resignation from EPSB. I know this took serious courage, and I applaud her for choosing the difficult but ethical path.

This leaves just 6 out of 9 seats filled on the board, meaning that yet another trustee will have to take on serving two wards.

Despite Edmonton Public obtaining an illegal exemption to their responsibilities to provide in person learning to disabled students in January for 3 out of 4 weeks, they still managed to lock 50 disabled kids in prison cells.

CLASSY.

An image of a table from the EPSB trustee handbook showing annual base compensation. Under the title "rates" it reads: "Per annum honorariums are based on the following three roles: Board Chair, Vice-Chair, and Trustee" The table shows the current honoraria: Chair $50,988 Vice-Chair $44,844 Trustee $39,359

The average salary for an education support worker in Alberta is $34,500. The average wage of an educational assistant is just $26,000.

EPSB trustees make $39,353 per year and may work as little as 10 hours a week. And that's before things like additional per diems, car allowance, expense account…

Progressive Trustee Hub About the Progressive Trustee Hub   Alberta’s local elections, including school board elections, will take place in October 2025. Now, more than ever, public education advocates must join forces...

Looking forward to a culture shift after October's election back towards progressive school boards and public education advocacy:

www.supportourstudents.ca/election2025...

Please share with anyone across alberta who may be interested!

The first page of a court order brought forward on behalf of Albertan families affected by the ministerial order.

The second page of a court order brought forward on behalf of Albertan families affected by the ministerial order.

Thanks to @orlaghokelly.bsky.social for being such a hero to our families and thank you to the families who have supported this and put their names forward. This is only the start, and we're going to work to make sure our kids get the education they deserve.

Any small win is a win

Thanks for sharing and for helping!!

The injunction was granted! Obviously a long fight ahead but it was pretty clear :)

Looks like a justice agreed this ministerial order was discriminatory and granted the emergency injunction. It's almost as if you can't play fast and loose with the educational rights of disabled kids, just because they're disabled.

Sorry I had missed your comment. I'll update when I hear.

The order says that kids with complex needs can be told to stay home during the strike for an undetermined length of time. It went to court Friday. I went to watch. It was pretty clear to everyone in the room that the order is discriminatory both on the face and in practice. Ruling coming soon.

If you ever feel bad about your job, just remember you could be a lawyer whose job is to defend the government when they're being sued for discriminating against disabled kids.

Yikes. 😬