The Yukon Education department has doubled the number of registered substitute teachers in the territory since the beginning of the school year, according to department data.
An April 15 email statement from Zara Soukoroff in department communications highlights the leap in the number of substitutes, known as teachers on call: from 124 subs (98 in Whitehorse and 26 rural) in September 2023 to 250 subs (208 in the city and 42 in communities) in March.
Soukoroff’s statement notes that despite the hiring spree, the department continues to look for teachers on call and acknowledges that demand for coverage remains challenging.
Golden Horn Elementary School Council wrote a letter, dated Feb. 5, to Education Minister Jeanie McLean. The letter draws attention to teacher on call “shortages” and the impact on support positions such as learning assistance teachers and educational assistants. Education critic Scott Kent of the Yukon Party tabled the letter in the legislative assembly, making it public, earlier this month.
The school council’s letter notes that, on average, Golden Horn Elementary School was short 2.8 teachers on call per day between Nov. 1, 2023, and Dec. 20, 2023.
That apparent shortage resulted in about one learning assistance teacher per day being pulled from providing essential support as part of their regular duties to the front of the classroom to cover for a lack of teachers on call, per the school council’s letter.
The letter goes on to call the situation “unacceptable,” given that children on student learning plans and independent education plans didn’t get proper support during the affected period.
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While recognizing the work the department is doing, the school council is still calling for both immediate and long-term solutions.
The letter suggests the department’s focus on “demystifying” the low qualifications to being a teacher on call isn’t a long-term fix.
Anyone who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or has a work permit is eligible for a teacher-on-call position, as noted on the Yukon government website.
Applicants need security clearance in the form of an RCMP vulnerable sector check. Teaching certificates aren’t required but are preferred.
The school council wants the Yukon government to review what it takes to qualify to be a teacher on call as well as their wages and compensation in the longer run.
Soukoroff’s statement indicates running schools routinely requires “regular adjustment” by administrators.
“We commend our administration teams for their ability to effectively adjust where temporary vacancies have put increased demands on staff resources,” Soukoroff wrote.
Central administration doesn’t have official data on staffing readjustments such as how many learning assistance teachers have been pulled from their regular duties to teach throughout the year across the territory.
Those adjustments are dealt with at the school level, per the department.
Schools affected by teacher shortages can adjust learning groups and teaching assignments and rely on teachers on call, a school superintendent said prior to the start of the ongoing school year, noting different schools will do things differently depending on needs and staffing.
READ MORE: All Yukon classrooms will have ‘bodies’ at the front, school superintendent says
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com