N.L. think-tank aims to find ways to support, recruit and retain more teachers in 2024
Results of survey of N.L. Teachers' Association will be shared in January
The Newfoundland and Labrador government will sit down with the province's teachers association for a think-tank in early 2024, aimed at figuring out what can be done to support teachers and better recruitment and retention efforts.
The process will start with a survey that will be sent to members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association in January. The top issues that emerge from the survey will be built into the think-tank structure, according to Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell.
"I want to hear from the folks on the ground. I want to know how things are operating in classrooms, how teachers feel their day-to-day runs, and always give them the opportunity to voice their perspective in the decision-making process," Howell told reporters Thursday.
"Teachers are feeling that pressure. They're feeling that they don't have the supports that they need, and that's an issue that's been identified to us. And today is the first step in correcting that."
NLTA president Trent Langdon said he wants to see action that improves things for teachers.
"I'm not viewing this think-tank as another committee. I'm viewing it as an opportunity, as a stepping stone toward some substantive change," he said. "We need to see in the next few months some direct action."
Langdon said teachers are feeling the effects of an underfunded school inclusion model staffing shortages, mental health concerns and violence against teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador schools
"Absenteeism is a huge issue in this province right now, which leads to behavioural concerns and other issues within the system," he said. "The social-economic issues. Inflation, the pressures that families are feeling, all of that comes together and finds itself in our classroom."
Howell said the provincial government has known about issues with the delivery of the inclusion model for some time and potential solutions are discussed daily.
"The model as it is is sound, but delivering it is where the questions and the concerns come in," Howell said.
"To have it appropriately resourced, to make sure that everybody understands what the roles and responsibilities are, and to have the people to do the important work to make sure the model is being enacted as it's intended is really where we find ourselves now."
NDP Leader Jim Dinn, a former teacher and NLTA president, said Thursday the think-tank is a "delay tactic" that will keep real action from happening when it's needed most.
"How many times do you have to be hit in the face or knocked on the head for government to finally realize it comes down to resourcing issues?" said Dinn.
"We don't need a think-tank. What we need is action.… It's like one think-tank after another. Do something."
Dinn said he's waiting until the 2024 budget to see if the government is truly committed to supporting teachers and addressing class sizes and a resource deficiency — because money will be there if they are.
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With files from Mark Quinn