Teachers Task Force Coming

The Education Minister has committed to a task force aimed at ensuring BC’s classrooms are adequately staffed with teachers and Teachers on Call. But the details are skinny at this point. “All I know is the president is the fact that [the BC Teachers Federation] president Glen Hansman will be sitting on the task force and it will be looking at the shortage of teachers,” says Joanne Hapke, President of the Prince George District Teachers Federation. “And Minister Fleming stated that there will be recommendations by the end of the year.” But she says that timeline is too long for the BCTF, who are hoping for answers sooner. In the meantime, School District 57 has had a successful recruitment drive. “We currently are filling three part-time positions, and then we’re done,” says Marilyn Marquis-Forster, Superintendent of School District 57. However, that doesn’t spell the end of he recruitment efforts. There is still work to be done with Teachers on Call and they will start thinking of next September. In the meantime UNBC’s School of Education is getting ready to graduate students for certification. “Well this year we have 87 students in Year One and Year Two,” says Andrew Kitchenham, Chair of the School of education. “About half of them will be graduating with their teaching degrees in May.” He says the university is also gearing up for a surge in application’s for the coming intake and have made some changes to scheduling in anticipation of that.