School District 28 in the Quesnel region is still experiencing a qualified teacher shortage.
In a September 2018 memo to the school district, Perry Lofstrom, director of instruction - human resources, wrote that since May 30, 2018, the district has posted 100 teaching positions, including full-time permanent as well as temporary positions.
In the memo, Lofstrom said there were nine full-time equivalent positions in SD28 being covered by non-certified staff – that is, people who hold a degree, but not a Bachelor of Education degree.
SD28 superintendent of schools Sue-Ellen Miller says the district is working hard to hire more teachers.
“This includes interviewing a few teachers weekly,” she told the Observer via email.
Lofstrom indicated he is booked for recruiting trips to Toronto this month, as well as trips to Regina, Calgary and Saskatoon in January 2019.
“Recruiting events at UBC, Vancouver Island University, TRU in Kamloops and Toronto are also planned,” he wrote in the board memo.
Miller said the district is reaching out to leads across the province and the country.
“Teaching positions are available throughout our system, kindergarten to Grade 12. Any non-certified teachers we hire have a minimum of a Bachelors degree and will be replaced as soon as a certified teacher is available,” she said.
The recruitment drive has been ongoing, with SD28 Board of Education chair Gloria Jackson telling the Observer in June this year that they had hoped to attract enough certified teachers to the city for the 2018-19 school year.
At the time, the district had the same nine full-time positions staffed by non-certified teachers.
READ MORE: SD28 hires new principals, recruits more teachers
The University of Northern British Columbia’s south-central campus in Quesnel is hoping to respond to local need. The university offers a Bachelor of Education degree at its Prince George campus, but is considering bringing the program to Quesnel next year. The Quesnel campus already offers a Master of Education program.
UNBC south central campus acting regional chair Titi Kunkel said the university is hosting a ‘B.Ed. Program At A Glance’ open house on Oct. 10 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., and asking residents to attend to register their interest.
Kunkel said the open house will allow the university to determine whether there are enough potential Bachelor of Education students in the area.
“Our hope is for people who already have a BA [Bachelor of Arts degree] and are interested will come out and register their interest. If we have enough students – that would be over 25 – we can start to look at the other constraints, like faculty workload, to get approval from the dean to deliver the program in Quesnel.”
Kunkel said the program must be delivered face-to-face, so professors would have to be in Quesnel, rather than providing instruction via video conference from Prince George. She said there are local teachers with Master of Education degrees who could also be called upon to teach elements of the program.
If there is enough interest, the program would be offered at the Quesnel south-central campus starting September 2019.
SD28’s Miller is aware of the developments afoot at UNBC, and said the school district is working with the university. Kunkel confirmed SD28 has indicated it will support practicum placements for students in the program, if it goes ahead.
SD28 is also partnering with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to provide post-practicum field experience to newly graduated teachers.
Student enrolment in the district decreased slightly for the 2018/19 school year. According to a Board of Education memo dated Sept. 19, student enrolment for this school year is 2,959 for the district, down from 2,971 for the 2017/18 year. The district did record a slight increase for this year over its budgeted head count projection of 2,939.
editor@quesnelobserver.com
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