As students return to classrooms this week, things should be much calmer and more organized compared to last year.听
Last summer, there were hundreds of vacant teacher positions in Vancouver, making school start-up challenging.
But this year, there were only about 80 unfilled jobs and those are being filled this week, said VSB superintendent Suzanne Hoffman.
鈥淭here are no classes without a teacher today,鈥� Hoffman said in an interview Tuesday.听
Hoffman, who just started with the VSB in January, said the number of teachers on call is also way up. Teachers on call fill in when a regular teacher is sick or away for some other reason.
There are now more than 900 teachers on call in Vancouver, Hoffman said. That鈥檚 up significantly from only 400 last year, when teacher absences would often go unfilled. Last year in April, about 50 teachers who were away were not replaced every day, often leaving special needs students without supports. This year, that shouldn鈥檛 happen.
The district has also boosted the number of educational assistants who work directly with students with special needs and now has a partnership with Langara College to train them.
Hoffman can鈥檛 guarantee every EA and every teacher who is sick will be replaced, particularly during cold and flu season. 鈥淏ut that is what we are striving and aiming for,鈥� she said.听
Teachers continue to retire and move to other districts, but Hoffman is determined to make the VSB an 鈥渋ncredibly desirable鈥� place to work by showcasing some of the things that are happening in 麻豆传媒映画schools.听
麻豆传媒映画still has 60 schools that need seismic upgrades, including six that will be under construction soon and 10 that are approved but still in the planning phases. That leaves 44 schools that are unsafe in an earthquake yet to be addressed by the provincial government.
B.C.鈥檚 Education Minister Rob Fleming is promising 鈥渁nother incredibly busy year investing in schools,鈥� with about $2 billion in seismic upgrades and school construction promised over the next three years.
The province will spend $6.6 billion on K to 12 education this year and Vancouver鈥檚 allotment is nearly $500 million.
Hoffman said Fleming is 鈥渨ell aware of our needs as a district鈥� and that she expects some announcements soon. 鈥淚 live in hope,鈥� she said.
Although enrolment is up province-wide, in 麻豆传媒映画it鈥檚 down by about 575 students from last year, to about 48,059 students.
In Vancouver, there is wildly uneven enrolment, with schools in some areas full to overflowing and schools in single family home neighbourhoods 鈥� particularly on the city鈥檚 East Side 鈥� with lots of empty spaces. Last year, the district started a process to change school boundaries, but that was put on hold when parents balked at the possibility of siblings being separated.
The district is taking another look and will report back some time this winter, Hoffman said.
There is a civic election this fall, on Oct. 20, and Hoffman said she is looking forward to working with a new board that will have a four-year mandate.
OneCity trustee candidates, including sitting trustee Carrie Bercic, have raised the issue of lead in school water, saying that unsafe levels of lead were found in one-quarter of B.C. schools, some of which are in Vancouver. OneCity is calling for every school to have a water refilling station that provides safe, clean drinking water.
Fleming said the province has provided $750,000 across the province to clean up the drinking water, saying 鈥渃ontaminated water is a huge student safety issue.鈥�
Hoffman says parents should not be worried because the district is following ministry guidelines to test water and fix any problems immediately.
鈥淲hat we are doing to make sure the water is safe is making sure that on every floor in every school in our district, there is a source of clean drinking water,鈥� Hoffman said.
In August, there were news reports about drug needles being found near schools, and Hoffman said as soon as they were informed, the VSB worked with the city and park board to address the problem.
鈥淪weeps are done when school is in session on different occasions at regular intervals throughout the day,鈥� Hoffman said.听
Hoffman has plenty of work ahead of her, but she is enthusiastic about the potential.
鈥淚 think there are lots of opportunities coming and I鈥檓 excited, I really am,鈥� Hoffman said.
Tracy Sherlock writes about education and social issues for the 麻豆传媒映画Courier. Contact her at聽[email protected].听
