The Alberta Teachers’ Association is using an unconventional campaign to draw attention to crowded classrooms ahead of the provincial election.

Teachers will be distributing 400,000 postcards — that look like sardine cans with kids in them — across the province to highlight the issue of class size.

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“The punchline, delivered in accompanying radio and online advertising, says our kids deserve quality classrooms, not sardine cans,” ATA associate coordinator of communications, Jonathan Teghtmeyer, said in a Feb. 4 editorial.

The campaign officially launched last week and will run through the election campaign.

“For more than 15 years we have been beating the drum on class size and complexity,” Teghtmeyer wrote.

“And while efforts have been made to fix the problem, they have largely failed and we now have larger classes than we did in 2001.

“The current government is proud that it has provided funding for student population growth, but more still needs to be done,” he wrote. “Now we need a lasting resolution. And this election presents a real opportunity for us to get this years-old issue resolved.”

Alberta Teachers’ Association’s class size campaign.

Alberta Teachers’ Association’s class size campaign.

Alberta Teachers’ Association’s class size campaign.

The government has not dropped the writ yet but the election has to be held sometime between March and May.

Each teacher will be given 10 cards each to hand out. The ATA is also asking teachers to reach out to candidates to ask them about their plans to support public education.

“Find a way to make a difference for education over the next eight weeks,” Teghtmeyer said.

Under the province’s new rules, the ATA registered with Elections Alberta as a third-party advertiser, allowing it to spend $150,000 ahead of the election period and another $150,000 during the campaign period. The ATA said it plans to spend $270,000 on the sardine can campaign.

The association said the campaign will “remain non-partisan and issues-focused.”

“We will advocate for small class sizes, and we are hoping all of the parties will become associated with that issue,” Teghtmeyer said.

“We want the parties to outline clear plans for reducing class sizes and allocating the required funds to do so.”

The campaign directs voters, teachers, parents and candidates to the website vote4kids.ca for more information on education issues in the election and read the platforms and policies of the parties and candidates.

“While pipelines, jobs and the economy are sure to dominate the campaign, we want to make sure that education is not forgotten as a priority issue,” he wrote.

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