Add Langley to the list of BC school districts looking to hire uncertified teachers.
School District #35 is the latest to post a position for substitute teachers without provincial certification as it tries to deal with the labor shortage.
“We currently have a shortage of teachers on call, so when a teacher is absent it may be a non-enrollment teacher, resource teacher or ELL (English Language Learner) or teacher-librarian pulled in to cover a class goes,” said Langley Teachers Association President Tanya Kerr.
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“And then they’re not able to do their work, so learning is not only affected by students who may have special needs…it’s other children in the classroom who are missing out.”
The Chilliwack School District recently moved to recruit uncertified teachers to fill on-call positions, and job posting boards show similar positions in Merit, Prince George and Hope.
The Langley position requires an applicant to have a bachelor’s degree, and specifies a preference for recent teaching experience.
It also asks for “Permission letter” from teacher regulation branch.
Kerr said the Langley district has in the past used uncertified teachers for specialist positions, such as technology education or a specialized hairdressing program, but never for a general teacher.
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She said she’s heard concerns from members that the hiring decision isn’t just a temporary fix, but could turn into something bigger.
Teachers, she said, want the district and province to do more to recruit and retrain qualified professionals.
“I think there may be a whole new set of problems with uncertified teachers that we’re going to see — these people may have had experience, may have been coaches or something, so they’ve worked with the kids. may have worked, but do they have classroom management strategies in place that can make a difference in learning?” he said.
“We have teachers upset that they’re hiring unproven teachers, but they’re also upset because they’re being pulled from their positions to cover classes. So we’re in a no-win situation here when Until we can’t hire more certified teachers, and what’s missing are the students.
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Kerr said the best fit for the position would be someone who trained as a teacher outside Canada and is still working to get their certification here, or a retired teacher who has allowed their certification to lapse. given.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said it was working closely with districts to address labor pressures in the province.
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