Thousands of students returned to class Tuesday morning with smiles on their faces, eager to see their friends again at the end of the summer season. Teachers are also excited, but the shortage of staff in several schools in the metropolis continues to raise concerns.
The media were invited to Christ-Roi Elementary School, in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, to witness the return to class of students Tuesday morning at this school in the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), the largest in the province. In the courtyard of this establishment, which underwent an expansion completed in 2020, the excitement of the young people eager to see their classmates again was palpable, as the Duty.
“I’m happy to see my friends again,” says Pablo, who is starting his fourth year of primary school. A statement shared by several students encountered in front of this school on Tuesday morning, as well as by their teachers.
“The joy, the excitement, we are really very excited. To see the children really happy to return to school, it is really a great fulfillment for us,” emphasizes, all smiles, the teacher Dalia Michael.
A shortage that persists
The parents we met Tuesday in the courtyard of the Christ-Roi school all said they were relieved – and blessed – to see that the shortage of school staff seems to have relatively spared their establishment. “This school is still quite well-equipped. I think it’s missing a music teacher and that’s it,” says Véronique Lord, mother of two girls in the second and fourth grades of primary school. “We should be OK. Let’s hope.”
“We were lucky,” says Bianca Bert, who is pleased to know that “so far,” the teaching positions have been filled in the classes where her son will be this year. “Touch wood. Of course, not everyone is in this situation.”
Because this portrait is not as glowing in all CSSDM schools. Under cover of anonymity, a teacher from another elementary school in Montreal contacted by The Duty late Monday afternoon reported at least two classes where no teacher had yet been assigned, on the eve of the start of the school year.
“If these adults [manquants] are not replaced, we will have to do emergency replacements. We will have to use our free periods to take care of these students,” predicts this teacher. Students thus risk seeing several teachers per day in their class for a certain period of time, until the required hiring in this establishment has been completed.
In an interview at Duty On Tuesday, CSSDM Director General Isabelle Gélinas indicated that 97% of teaching positions have been filled within her organization. This leaves approximately 200 positions to be filled, including about sixty that are full-time. However, there will be a teacher in front of each class, even in those where the hiring process is ongoing, she assured.
“These are teachers who do substitute work in the medium and long term, until we find a teacher who wants to take charge of these groups,” she said. Thus, “all groups” are supervised by a teacher who has “at least” a university degree, even though 7% of teachers recruited by the CSSDM do not have their teaching certificate.
As for emergency replacements in certain classes, due to a shortage or the unexpected absence of a teacher, “we are not immune to that,” agreed Mr.me Gélinas: However, these are “marginal” cases, she assures. “It’s not something that happens regularly.”
“The task can become heavy”
The CSSDM is still looking for 10% of the 450 classroom assistants planned to support teachers at the preschool level as well as in the first year, indicated Mme Gélinas. The Ministry of Education’s dashboard also shows, as of Monday, 287 support staff positions to be filled in the province’s largest school service centre, including 154 daycare educators and 133 special education technicians. In addition, there are 138 positions among professional staff, including 66 psychoeducators and 65 speech therapists.
All the positions for special education teachers have been filled, but some of these positions are occupied this year by people who are “less qualified,” notes Cathy St-Amand, herself a special education teacher at Christ-Roi school. “So the task can become heavy because we have to train them, help them understand the problems of students who are in special classes. That’s what I notice,” she emphasizes. “We are called upon to lend a helping hand and the task can become very heavy.”
Across Quebec, 3,858 teaching positions are to be filled in the public school system, as of August 21. Data updated Monday by the ministry also indicates 3,722 positions to be filled among support staff and 705 among professional staff.