Fort Providence teacher turnover brings opportunities, challenges

Kristen Machina is taking on a new job in Fort Providence N.W.T, as the new high school teacher at Deh Gah school, home to about 150 students.

However, Machina isn't the only new face walking down the halls. There are seven new teachers at the school this year — more than half of the total teaching staff. 

"There was a big turnover," she said. "But so far it's been good. Everyone's been really welcoming." 

Originally from just outside Windsor, Ontario, Macina has worked overseas, but it's her first time teaching in the North. 

"I really wanted to start teaching, so I just started looking everywhere," she said. "I'm from a small town, so I wasn't discouraged when I found a job here."

According to Machina, the students in the community are getting used to the change as well, but have mostly been supportive. "The biggest challenge," she said, "is getting them to show up.

"But when they do, they're here and they're ready to learn."

However, the students at Deh Gah aren't the only ones doing the learning. The group of new teachers spent time at cultural orientations in Yellowknife and Fort Simpson. It was an invaluable experience for William Magno, who recently moved to Fort Providence — population just over 700 — from Toronto.  

"It's one of the most important things here," he said. "You have to be accepted into the community. So definitely getting to learn the culture, and see the culture first hand, is very rewarding."

Tearful goodbyes

As with many Northern communities, this isn't the first time Fort Providence has said a mass good bye to a slate of old teachers, and hello to a slate of new ones. Eight teachers left Fort Providence at the end of the last school year. 

"It seems like every five or six years we have a big turnover," says acting principal Theresa Bonnetrouge. "Right now it's like everybody wants the principal, everyone has questions."

According to Bonnetrouge, the transition can be "kind of sad" for some of the students, saying "it was almost like losing a family member."

Teachers in Fort Providence, said Bonnetrouge, do more than just teach kids math or science. They're friends to the community, and dependable adults for children to rely on. 

"You don't know how badly they were needed," she said. "And now they're gone, and I miss them."

However, Bonnetrouge has high hopes for the year's new crop, and says everything is going well so far. 

"Sometimes they bring in new ideas, a fresh persective."

Grade 12 student Christina Bonnetrouge says the school feels different. She's had the same teachers for the past five years, but insists she's okay with the change. 

"I actually like it because they're actually young teachers," she said, "so they kind of get along with us well."