Thousands of teaching positions remain unfilled as school year gets ready to start

Back-to-school in Montreal is around the corner and thousands of teaching positions remain unfilled.

School service centres and boards in the city met on Thursday and assured that the start of the new school year would be smooth despite the shortage, but, some professionals remain concerned, including the English Parents’ Committee Association president Katherine Korakakis.

“Things are getting better we have to have a positive mindset going into the classroom, I think that the educational community all cares about our children and we want the best for them,” Korakakis said. “[So] there has to be a positive in this, but, saying that we’re going to have everything and we’re ready to go, you have to be, cautiously optimistic.”

Korakakis said since COVID-19, they have not had a normal school year and that children are not where they need to be in terms of acquiring learning.

As of Aug. 21, the Montreal school service centres and boards say they’ve filled 94.9 per cent of teaching positions with the numbers continuing to improve and are as determined as ever to ensure a successful start to the new school year.

“This year we had a record number of students enrolled in summer school, that should tell you something,” she added. “We really need to have a plan for catch up and it needs to extend this next year.”

Montreal high school teacher Marion Miller says this will be their sixth year teaching and every year it’s the same story, with missing staff in schools and not feeling fully prepared. 

“It’s a version of the same tone that I felt the last few years, it’s uncertainty, it’s kind of an urgency to try and fit everything into place,” Miller said. “In my school, we have overcrowding issues we’re trying to find space for all of our students to have a classroom to learn in and I know that that’s the case in many schools in the city of Montreal.” Miller said.

The three service centres and the two school boards together have over 280,000 students enrolled, representing about 20 per cent of Quebec’s students across 486 educational institutions.

Miller said their school needs psychological and health supports, among other resources, as the need for these professionals are crucial in the students overall development.

“Every year were kind of walking a little bit on an uneven surface as we’re trying to launch back into the school year so and that’s been my experience in every school where I’ve worked,” Miller added.  

Korakakis adds that it’s very important for everyone to work together to ensure a better future for their children.

On Thursday, Chair of the English Montreal School Board, Joe Ortona said that the situation appears to be moving in the right direction with numbers improving daily. 

“Things can be moving in the right direction, but as parents, we know that many times intentions are not enough,” Korakakis said.

“[And] by the way, being the chair of the parents committee at the MSB, I can tell you that’s not always the case. It’s not the case that things are always moving in the right direction,” she said.