It’s been no secret, Ontario has a problem keeping teachers in the classroom and one Scarborough mom, whose daughter has been without a full-time teacher for several weeks, wants to know if any relief will be coming in the new year.
The answer to that is complex but both unions representing teachers, and the Ministry of Education remain hopeful.
Janu Gopalapillai, a busy mom of five, has heard rumblings of the teacher shortage in the past but only recently became affected by it.
“I was I was told by my daughter that there has been no teacher in her classroom for weeks,” Gopalapillai said.
Her daughter is in Grade 7/8 at General Crerar Public School’s French immersion program.
“I had a meeting with the principal and she was pretty transparent. She said, ‘Yes, this is the issue we’re experiencing. There is a teacher shortage, especially in French immersion.’ In emergency cases, they have been subbing in lunch supervisors whenever they can’t find supplies or teachers to fill in the gap.”
She worries it’s impacting her daughter’s advancement.
“She was telling me that the kids teach one another. It’s pretty much going on a self-taught routine.”
In a statement to Speakers Corner, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) acknowledged the problem and said staff is working to correct it but there have been issues.
“At General Crerar P.S., the Grade 7/8 French Immersion teaching position has been posted eight times since it became vacant at the start of the school year. Of the four people who have applied, unfortunately none were successful.”
TDSB is not alone. Districts across the province and nation have had a tough time keeping and recruiting French teachers. A problem that is only expected to get worse if action isn’t taken soon.
That warning is contained in a series of briefing documents given to the Ontario Minister of Education Jill Dunlop, obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request.
Many school boards in Ontario and elsewhere are experiencing challenges recruiting and retaining enough qualified teachers, the document states, and in Ontario the issue is particularly felt in areas such as French and tech education.
“Modelling projects that student enrolment over the coming years is expected to increase along with teacher retirements, while the supply of new teachers is to remain stable, absent intervention,” the briefing says.
The Ministry said it is still working through a series of steps to fill in the gaps.
They also point to what they call another problem.
“School boards need to do their part by creating a serious plan to improve teacher absenteeism with better attendance management practices that ensure students are continually taught by qualified educators in the classrooms now and into the future.”
Absenteeism has hit Toronto public schools the hardest. In fact, a recent study found teachers in Toronto took an average of nearly 20 sick days per year in 2022-23, compared to the provincial average of around 16.
“With all the pressure our members are feeling, there is a lot of stress. So there are members who are overwhelmed and who are off sick,” said Karen Brown, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.
Teachers’ unions argue the government has failed to address the root cause of not only absenteeism but of retaining and recruiting teachers.
“What we do know is that over 30,000 people in the province of Ontario actually have their teaching qualifications, so there isn’t a shortage. The real question is, is, why are these individuals who are qualified not taking up these positions? And that’s a key factor,” Brown said.
Unions haven been calling for increased funding to give teachers better support in classrooms.
“Conditions in classrooms are deteriorating and have been for some time,” Brown said.
Many teachers report violence in the classroom as a major concern. In October, educators, along with Ontario NDP’s, highlighted that concern in a press conference. They presented a plan to the Ministry which would include funding to hire additional qualified staff, including mental health professionals, education assistants, child and youth workers, and other education workers and comprehensive training for all workers and supervisors.
It also suggests creating a province-wide online reporting system for violent incidents and data collection to understand the full scope of the problem.
At the press conference, they said the lack of having those extra resources leads to frustration and lashing out from students to the point where those workers are wearing protective gear.
Minister Dunlop was questioned in the legislature about the motion and said the province, at this point, has provided $58 million in this year’s budget to combat problems with safety in schools and says it’s the school boards who have to do something with that money in order to combat it.
Union representatives say Dunlop has been visiting classrooms to investigate concerns brought forth by the union but are still waiting to hear what she discovered.
“We’re hoping to hear back from her in the new year, we have provided some solutions but there needs to be a will from this government and a commitment.”
Left in waiting are parents like Gopalapillai, who admits she hasn’t dug deep enough into all the arguments presented by unions and the Ministry. But she feels stuck in the middle of the finger-pointing.
“This is basic. I just want a teacher in a classroom. There’s nothing to experiment on that. It’s quite fundamental. Just do something and fast please.”
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With files from The Canadian Press
