An advocacy organization that focuses on informing parents about Alberta's education system, announced on Wednesday their endorsement of school trustee candidates for the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) election.

Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), and its Executive Director, John Hilton-O'Brien announced, "The candidates we're endorsing include Cindy Dupray in Wards one and two, Joanny Liu in Wards three and four, Jennifer Steward in Wards six and seven, Tyzen Ario in Wards 11 and 13, and Darvin Zuch in Wards 12 and 14."

In light of the Calgary municipal elections next Monday, voting for the school trustees is also on the list of selections.

The PCE has never endorsed candidates before, having refrained from doing so since its inception 13 years ago.

The main reason they're doing it now is because, "currently, the leading candidate in every race is a candidate called 'undecided,'" explained Hilton-O'Brien.

"This means that people are looking for good information; they're looking for advice on who to vote for."

"I have long since lost track of the number of emails that have come into my email box saying, 'Can you give us a suggestion about who to vote for in Ward x?'"

"So yes, we have been receiving many requests for endorsements — and not just in Calgary," Hilton-O'Brien stated.

As for how the PCE's endorsed candidates stand out, Hilton-O'Brien stated, "The ATA is rhetoric that suggests that parents should not have a say in their children's education."

"We see rhetoric from the ATA and some other groups talking about teachers no longer acting 'in loco parentis', as agents of the parents, but that they're in fact acting in 'parens patriae', as agents of the state, the same sort of legal status given to prison guards, and that suggests an adversarial relationship."

Instead, he says PCE-endorsed candidates are focused on: "The relationship between teachers and parents should be a collaborative one at all times — that's what's best for the student."

Two of these candidates were present at the press conference, Tyzen Ario in Wards 11 and 13, and Darvin Zuch in Wards 12 and 14.

Ario stated he is campaigning on the following principles: "there are three major and basic values that I would want to bring to the table."

"First, I want to increase transparency — there needs to be a very clear line of communication between the schools and the parents."

"Second, accountability — I think it's very important that taxpayer money is being used very carefully and very well."

"I really want to take a very close look at CBE budget make sure that we're getting the best value we can from every dollar spent."

"Third, results — I really want to get to get things refocused on all the core competencies people need, reading, writing, math, science, basically STEM subjects, much more than it's being taught now," Ario stated.

Zuch says he wishes to prioritize the following if elected as a trustee:

"Parents have the primary responsibility in the lives of our children and when they're in school, because they spend so much time there — there needs to be a lot of communication, a lot of transparency, and so putting that as a focus for our schools is really important."

"Our classrooms need more funding, and certainly that comes from the province, but there's a lot of opportunity to look for places inside the school system for that funding. We have about 50% of our Calgary Board of Education (CBE) staff in front of kids full time."

"The other 50% are doing administration and other work. We, as trustees, need to step forward and find out how we can get more of those resources in the classrooms."

"Lastly, one is really focus on literacy and math skills."

"If we don't get that as a foundation for all of our kids in the earlier grades, there is no way for them to find success or access the more complex and advanced learning, and so that needs to become more of a focus in everything we do, in our elementary schools," Zuch stated.