Superintendent answers questions about Minto French immersion, teacher shortage

Last week, some families in Minto were dealt the difficult news that French immersion for Grades 1 and 2 would be cancelled for theupcoming school year.

The news came after the district informed parents that it was struggling to find teachers for several French immersion grade levels at Minto Elementary Middle School.

In the less than a week between letters, the Anglophone West district was able to secure two teachersand hadto cancel only the youngest grade levels.

But those parents were then faced with hard the decision to either put their child in the English stream at Minto Elementary or have them bused each day to a Fredericton or Oromocto school to continue in immersion.

At the time of the decision, the district superintendent was unavailable to do an interview, but agreed to speak to CBC News this week toanswer some questions that parents in Minto and across the district might have about hiring challenges and the French immersion program.

The program cancellation was a result of not having enough French immersion teachers for Minto Elementary Middle School. What is the current state of the teacher shortage across the district?

McTimoney said staffing schools in the district has been a challenge, but it extends to other districts, too.

The New Brunswick Teachers' Association spoke about this situation in May, warning of a potential crisis in anglophone schools as more than 1,000 teachers are projected to retire in the next five years.

WATCH | 'The staffing process has been a challenge'

Questions about the future of Minto French immersion answered by superintendent

6 days ago

Duration 1:10

A recent teacher shortage at Minto Elementary Middle School means that French immersion will not be offered for the youngest grades.

NBTA president, Peter Lagacy, said at the time that teachers were stretched really thin, and he also brought attention to a lack of available supply teachers under the age of 50.

The Department of Education said there are 117.5 full-time equivalent vacancies across all anglophone and francophone school districts in the province.

McTimoney said the Anglophone West district was short by about10 teachers, as of Tuesday.

"We have about 1,800 teachers in our school district ... serving close to 25,000 students," he said. "So 10 left out of 1,800 is I feel good about where we are."

What was done toattemptto preserve French immersion for as many grades as possible at the Minto school?

In the Aug. 19 letter to parents, the district had yet to find teachers for Grades 2-5 and middle school. But in the end, the district wasable to keep the program for Grades 3-8.

McTimoney said there were already some French immersion teachers at the school, but the goal was to hirefive more after the first letter was sent.

One was achieved by doing some reconfiguration within the school and creatinga combined class, and two teachers were hired on what is called a "local permit."

What does it mean when teachers are hired on a local permit?

McTimoney said a local permit is given tosomeone who has expressed interest in teaching and has a level of expertise that makes them suitable, in a pinch, to fill a teaching role but they are not qualified by way of a bachelor of education degree and "New Brunswick teacher's licence."

He said there are about40 to 45 local-permit teachers in the district, and he anticipates that as the week come to an end that number will climb.

"It's a scenario that we saw last year occur and it's needed again this year," said McTimoney.

"Naturally, we need to support those teachers. They don't have the same level of education. What we're finding is they're coming in with an enthusiasm and with a desire to contribute and to make a difference in the lives of kids, and that's something that we can work with."

What did parents with students enrolled in French immersion in Grades 1 and 2 at Minto Elementary Middle School ultimately decide to do?

The decision to cancel Grades 1 and 2 immersion at the school affected about40 students, said McTimoney. The deadline for the parents of those students to declare the decision for their child was on Monday.

McTimoney said most of the students chose to stay at Minto Elementary, with only onechoosing toenrol in French immersion at a Fredericton school.

He said transportation arrangements have been made for that child.

McTimoney said it is understandable that the majority of students will be staying in English in Minto, given it is their home community.

What is the current bus driver shortage looking like going into the new school year?

Last week, when originally presented with the options for affected French immersion students, one parent was skeptical since the district had issues with staff for buses throughout the last school year.

While only one student will be utilizing that option, McTimoney said busing in Anglophone West is still a complicated process, with more than18,000 eligible bus students in the district.

McTimoney said schedules have been made but recruitment continues, andthe district will need to count on casual bus drivers to fill in when an employee is absent and for buses to be available and well-maintained when they are needed.

But he said with the first day of school next week, parents should anticipate some bumps in the road.

"We really need patience on the part of families and students when it comes to transportation, in particular next week," said McTimoney.

"We know that there'll be unexpected occurrences and we need to pivot, we need to react to them, and we'll do our very best."