The issue of teacher shortages is hitting public schools hard, but despite its advantages in attracting teachers, private schools are not spared. Here too, the recall lists are dry and non-legally qualified personnel are regularly called in as reinforcements.
The issue of shortages and their consequences was at the heart of the latest public sector negotiations, as it is widely discussed at each start of the school year.
In private schools, this question does not arise in August, but during the school year, depending on sick, paternity or maternity leave, explains David Bowles, president of the Federation of Private Educational Establishments, and general director of Charles-Lemoyne College, on the South Shore of Montreal.
Unlike the public sector, where the offer of positions to teachers is made at the end of the summer and around the start of the school year (which put the Legault government in the hot seat), in private schools, recruitment efforts are concentrate in the spring, so that at the start of the school year, with rare exceptions, “we manage to have all our staff,” notes Mr. Bowles. On the other hand, when it comes to one-off leave, “it’s very hard,” says Mr. Bowles.
For example, around forty vacancies are posted these days on the website of the Federation of Private Educational Establishments, two-thirds being for teachers.
At Charles-Lemoyne College, Mr. Bowles illustrates, “we try to find education students, we call on retirees from the college, we sometimes ask parents if they know anyone in their network.”
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The president of the Federation of Private Educational Establishments of Quebec and General Director of Charles-Lemoyne College, David Bowles
Parents who pay large sums to send their child to private school must exert strong pressure when a private school struggles to replace the teacher, we submit. Money or not, Mr. Bowles notes that generally, “parents are very involved. When there is a lack of a French or mathematics teacher, we hear about it.”
Not everything is idyllic
Little known fact, the CSN represents around forty private educational establishments. Léandre Lapointe, responsible for the private education grouping at the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ), paints the same portrait: the start of the year with full teams, but occasional replacements which cause pain. head.
It can take three or four weeks to find someone for a replacement. Over the past three years, the problem has grown.
Léandre Lapointe, responsible for the private education group at FNEEQ
Failing to find qualified teachers, management will hire, for example, a person with a bachelor’s degree in history, but who has not studied pedagogy at all, he adds.
Yes, private schools often represent “small, very collegial environments” which have their appeal, which often admit good students, notes Mr. Lapointe, but everything is not idyllic there either. “They’re still teenagers, who are like all teenagers and good students can be affected by performance anxiety. »
Mr. Lapointe also recalls that at the start of the pandemic, when it took several weeks for public schools to offer distance learning courses, teachers at many colleges “had to get this started in a few days”.
The issue of paternity leave
Contrary to the image we often have, many private schools are very big. Located in Montreal, Regina Assumpta College, for example, has 2,250 students and 108 teachers.
Its general director, Julie Duchesne, explains that “we have to work harder than before” for short-term replacements.
We have more and more requests for paternity leave. It’s very good that fathers take this leave. But it’s very difficult to find people interested in doing a five-week replacement.
Julie Duchesne, general director of Regina Assumpta College
“We make sure to reserve our interns” when it comes to such predictable leaves, adds Mme Duchesne.
Patrick Lupien, teacher and president of the Regina Assumpta College Teachers’ Union, also emphasizes that short leaves attract few candidates, especially when these replacements – due to illness or paternity – occur during the year and run over two school years.
Mr. Lupien points out that when someone falls in combat or is absent due to maternity or paternity, it becomes the concern of the entire school and not just the management. “The staff also does research in their network because when a person who is not legally qualified arrives, it is more work for management and for colleagues [appelés à l’aider] », underlines Mr. Lupien.
Because giving a helping hand to someone who has never taught adds to an already heavy task. ” In 1D secondary school, for example, groups have a maximum of 28 students in public school. In the private sector, it can go up to 36.”