A parent in Langley, B.C., has launched a petition calling for urgent action to boost the number of teachers in the province’s school system.
Angela Stara said she was motivated to act because three weeks into the school year, her daughter’s classroom still doesn’t have a teacher and is relying on substitutes every day.
“There’s three classrooms in her school that don’t have teachers and it’s becoming an issue. She’s not doing well, the kids are upset, and they really need to have those connections,” Stara said.
“Students need to have a connection with teachers. They look up to them they look to them for knowledge, and I think without that I am not sure what we are going to be left with.”
Stara says she wants immediate action from the province, the school districts and the BC Teachers’ Federation to address the shortage.
The Langley School District told Global News that as of Wednesday, it was still dealing with 18 unfilled teacher positions.
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Taylor Foteaux, president of the Langley Teachers’ Association, said the shortages in the district are concentrated in several “hot spots.”
He said students who need more support are disproportionately affected by the shortages.
“It’s hard because those specialist teachers, teacher librarians, counsellors, support teachers for students with (additional needs), when there’s absences or vacancies, often those teachers are pushing in to support those classrooms, which results in that inconsistency for the students,” he said.
“It can be disruptive for their learning.”
The BC Teachers’ Federation said every district in the province is dealing with the issue, and that they in turn are competing with the provinces and U.S. states for certified teachers.
But the union argues that training and recruiting new teachers is only half of the problem and that given the shortage of bodies retaining existing staff is hard and teachers are burning out.
“It’s pretty clear that what people are being asked to do for the compensation they are receiving for it does not make them think, or be able to do a 30-year career,” BCTF president Clint Johnston said.
“You can make more teachers, but until you fix those fundamental problems, you are still going to have that burnout issue.
The Ministry of Education would not provide data on how many teachers the province is currently short.
Stara is hoping the shortage becomes an election issue, and says she wants to see long-term change.
“It feels to me like there is a lot of Band-Aiding going on … the whole system needs to be looked at,” she said.
“Please help our kids, our kids deserve an education and right now it feels like they’re not getting it.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
