As another school year unfolds, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils (NLFSC) is welcomes several initiatives the provincial government has committed to and has already implemented.
However, NLFSC president Ruby Hoskins says her group is eager to continue working closely with government to strive for an education system that is accessible for all students, regardless of where they live in this province.
During a recent telephone interview, Education Minister Darin King said government has honoured its commitment regarding class size caps for grades K-9.
According to the minister, with these caps in place, the province is now ranked second in the country regarding teacher allocation for these grades.
Hoskins says government’s commitment to fulfilling the class cap for K-9 is a tremendous benefit to the lower grades.
However, the federation would also like to see grades 10-12 capped in class size.
King said, because high school education is structured so that several levels could be in the one classroom at a time, it’s impractical to put such caps in place.
He said, however, principals have the discretion to change – by either increasing or decreasing the number of students in each classroom – as necessary.
“When we allocate to the high schools in the province, when you factor in the classroom teachers and the special teacher allocation, we actually allocate on a 23.5 students per teacher ratio,” King said.
This “average ratio” does not include guidance counsellors, school administrators or learning resource teachers, he said, stressing the number is an average and will vary from class to class.
According to the minister, the ratio puts this province “well into the upper half of the country” with regards to low student/teacher ratios for high school students.
Hoskins does not dispute the minister’s comments, but says in some schools the class size in some high schools is higher than 23.5.
“It does not, however, diminish the fact that we still have many classes in the province that exceed the recommended cap of 25 to in excess of 30 in some areas,” she says.
Social and mental issues
With more students in the system experiencing learning difficulties and behavioural problems, coupled with the pressures of high school itself, Hoskins says school councils are seeing more students “fall through the cracks.”
King acknowledged teachers face many challenges such as dealing with students who have drug and other substance abuse issues.
Government is working closely with NLFSC, he said, to address these issues.
The problem and solutions go well beyond the classroom, he noted.
While schools focus on prevention, education and awareness, King said parents and communities need to work in partnership with the teachers to ensure positive messages are reinforced once the students leave the classrooms.
If a student needs help dealing with substance abuse problems, he said, it’s the job of health professionals to ensure they get the help they need.
“When we talk about the school system, we focus on our guidance counsellors. They have some tremendous skills and tremendous abilities to work with our students on a variety of issues. But, they are not trained to be professionals in specific areas.”
Instead, King said, school counsellors will advise the student and/or their family about outside supporting agencies.
The same scenario often plays out when a guidance counsellor is trying to help a student with mental health issues.
Outside supports, particularly in the health care field, also need to be engaged, King said.
Hoskins says that, in larger centres, there are many services and referrals available for parents and students to avail of. However, she noted, in smaller centres the school setting provides the only access to any type of counselling service available in the community.
“To put the (guidance counselor) ratio at the recommended level would allow counsellors more time to deal with the these concerns and, with concentrated efforts from all stakeholders, including school council members, we can try to provide a system that provides access to counselling and referral services for all students,” she said.
Hoskins says the Federation understands that the Department of Education cannot be responsible for solving all issues that arise, but with all parties working towards a common goal, “I think we can better serve our students and give all students in this province access to quality counselling and provide the guidance needed to parents to support them as they search for answers and supports for their children.”
Teaching staff
Last year about 5,500 teachers were employed in the province’s classrooms. Some of them were brought back from retirement.
The minister says the practice of hiring retired teachers to fill positions is something that’s done every year throughout the country.
Of the 5,500 teachers that were employed in this province last year, King says “only 45 fell into the category of being retired.”
If a school board is having trouble recruiting experienced teachers or teachers who are prepared to go into remote areas, the board can make a special request to the minister to hire a retired teacher.
Such requests are handled on an individual basis, he said.
“Before I sign off, I will expect them to demonstrate to me that they have gone back and have recruited over and over to the best of their ability to fill that position.”
While today’s students bring a much more challenging set of complexities into the classroom, King said government has responded to the needs.
Statistics show that in 1973 there were 163,000 students in this province. At that time annual education budget ran at $117 million.
While there are less than 70,000 students enrolled in the school system today, the department’s annual budget runs at $1.3 billion.
Thirteen new schools are currently under construction. There are also 13 major extensions in the works as well as 150 maintenance projects (air quality issues, roofing projects, siding replacement, etc.) in full swing.
“This is our collective intention to make sure government does what it can to make sure students receive a quality education and that they are as prepared as they can be for post-secondary and for other choices they may make when they leave the school system,” King said.
danette@nl.rogers.com
.jpg)
.jpg)
