Uncertified teachers hired in Chilliwack schools amid staff shortages

A severe shortage of substitute teachers in a B.C. school district has led to the hiring of uncertified teachers to fill the gaps.

“It is unprecedented in Chilliwack and the Lower Mainland, absolutely,” said Danielle Bennett, president of the Chilliwack Teachers Association.

“To have an uncertified person in, they don’t have the training and background knowledge to maintain the education services that our students deserve,” she added.

The shortage has made it tough for the school district to cover absences, leaving specialty teachers and administrators to step in.

But parents say this has posed problems. Katie Bartel, chair of the Chilliwack District Parent Advisory Council, said she has heard reports that some classes are being covered by multiple teachers, as many as four in a single day.

"There was too many transitions. It was too chaotic,’” she said.

“From (the Chilliwack School District’s) perspective, it has been helping. But it’s a Band-Aid. The province needs to step in.”

A few months ago, the district began hiring for what it described as “casual uncertified teachers teaching on call.” Bennett said, to date, about 50 people have been hired to fill these positions.

Chilliwack's superintendent of schools provided a statement to CTV News by email, saying staff shortages are being seen throughout the province and beyond the district's schools.

“The tight labour market is a reality for many sectors across B.C., including our K-12 system,” Rohan Arul-Pragasam wrote.

“The addition of university educated short-term (temporary teachers on call) has positively impacted our school district and has mitigated the issue of specialist teachers being pulled to cover regular classes.”

He also said the hiring of uncertified short-term teachers is nothing new.

However, Bennett said that while it’s happened in smaller communities in Northern B.C., it hasn’t occurred before in larger school districts like those in the Lower Mainland.

Bartel said for parents, the “number one concern is going to be the safety of the kids.”

She also said unqualified teachers will mean “the education is lacking and the kids are going to be suffering from that.”

Elenore Sturko, the education critic for the BC Liberals, says, as someone with children in the elementary school system – it’s concerning.

“Even with increases in pay, attracting teachers to Canada’s most expensive province that’s experiencing a housing crisis is no easy feat,” she said.

“This government needs to do more to attract teachers to fill those vacancies,” she said, adding that the issue is a significant worry in rural and remote communities.

CTV News requested an interview with the Education Minister Rachna Singh, but was told she was unavailable.

In a statement to CTV News Singh, said a tight labour market is a reality in the public and private sectors, locally and globally.

“Under the School Act, uncertified teachers can be used up to 20 consecutive days as a short-term way to ensure students have continuity of education right now, which is so important to students and their families,” the statement said.

“That being said, I know (the district) is working hard to recruit and retain certified teachers.”

While Bennett said one key problem teacher training programs in the Lower Mainland have not kept up with demand. The minister, for her part, said that the BC NDP has worked since being elected in 2017 to " create new seats in teacher education programs.”

Meanwhile, Bartel said Chilliwack’s process for calling in substitute teachers is not helping the situation. Calls aren’t made to potential subs until the morning that they are being asked to work. In neighbouring districts, the calls are made the night before.

“We’re losing our certified (teachers on call) to Abbotsford and Fraser-Canyon,” she said.