Just under 50 new teachers are expected to be hired soon in North and West Vancouver following an announcement earlier this month about an interim funding deal between the province and the teachers’ union.
A $50-million interim deal to hire more teachers provincewide was announced earlier this month. The money to hire teachers in school districts between now and June is the first step following a Supreme Court of Canada legal victory for the teachers in November.
In the North Vancouver school district, the money will add up to about $1.3 million, which will go towards hiring about 30 teachers, said Deneka Michaud, spokeswoman for the school district.
West Vancouver’s school district, with about half the student population as North Vancouver, will get just under $600,000, which will go to hire approximately 16 teachers.
In both cases, the actual number of teachers hired will depend on whether they are full time or part time and where those teachers are on the salary grid.
District staff and union officials are still talking this week about where needs are greatest and where teachers can be added to staff without disrupting classes that are already established.
Assigning extra teachers to work side-by-side with classroom teachers or using those new teachers to pull students out for work in small groups are options being considered, said Dave Eberwein, deputy superintendent of schools in West Vancouver.
Specialist teachers in areas like counselling, English language learning and teacher librarians are also being considered, he said.
The school district has already posted some new jobs and is hoping to start hiring for the beginning of February, he said.
Martin Stuible, president of the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association, said a similar process is underway in North Vancouver.
“We’re looking at classes that are oversized and have more than three special needs students,” he said.
Stuible said teachers are also looking at upcoming timetables for Sutherland secondary – the only school operating on a semester system – to see if more classes are warranted.
Both school districts will face competition from around the province in hiring specialist teachers on short notice.
“It will be a challenge,” said Stuible. “Surrey’s just hired several hundred (teachers). The longer you wait the more difficult it will be.”
“All 60 school districts are looking for teachers with similar qualifications,” said Eberwein. West Vancouver faces the additional challenge that 60 per cent of its teaching staff doesn’t live on the North Shore. But
“West Vancouver is really seen as a desirable place to work,” said Eberwein. “We have a reputation for innovative programming around the province.”
