Failing grade: Teachers 'demoralized' by crowded classes, lack of help

Classes of more than 28 children, missing materials and a lack of support are causing stress for teachers and students according to the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association.

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Two weeks into the new school year, NLTA president Jim Dinn said he's already hearing the complaints "with regards to increased class sizes, and the number of students with special needs and learning disabilities."

"In some schools in kindergarten, we're getting schools exceeding the cap. We know that's happening at the primary level as well. In one French immersion class, up to 34, that's in a junior high, exceeding the class cap by three," Dinn told the St. John's Morning Show on Friday.

The union leader described one Grade 3 class which has 28 students — four with autism and another waiting for a diagnosis, one with multiple personalities, and several with learning disabilities.

"You're looking at up to 18 kids with some form of need in that class."

Dinn said teachers are not getting the help they need from student assistants, and there aren't enough Instructional Resource Teachers (IRTs) to handle the workload.

"You're cutting the resources from the school and increasing the class sizes. It's not helping the education system."

He said some teachers still haven't received instructional materials for the new full-day kindergarten program. Others are struggling in multi-grade classrooms, trying to teach not one curriculum, but two. 

"Teachers are disappointed. Teachers are frustrated and you can sense the demoralization with it, and their demoralization comes from the fact that they are not meeting the needs of their students," Dinn said.