The principal of a school in Happy Valley-Goose Bay has resigned, citing understaffing — and parents rallied at the school to show their support and blast government officials.
Ashley Barrett sent an email to all parents of kids who attend Peacock Primary School, which has an enrollment of about 324, according to the NLSchools website.
“Due to high levels of understaffing in addition to the increasing demands of the education system, I have not had the ability to make decisions that protect student safety, well being and the quality of their education,” Barrett wrote.
Barrett said her resignation was effective Thursday, Oct. 1.
In her email, she said she has always believed in open and transparent communication and “have always made decisions based on what I feel is in the best interests of our students.”
There are seven positions — out of a total of 27 teaching positions — at Peacock Primary School that are unfilled.
Those include:
That’s according to a letter that was sent on Friday afternoon to parents of children who attend the school, from the superintendent of NLSchools Terry Hall.
He said there are educational staffing challenges across the country, and even in North America, but they are using “multiple recruitment strategies” to try and get teachers to Labrador.
About 50 parents showed up to the school to rally in support of Barrett. The school was closed for the day after 20 teachers called in sick for the day, according to Education Minister Paul Dinn.
“How come it had to come to this? How come you let our school go down so far? Why are you risking our children’s education?” said Shauna Bartlett.
Cries of, ‘Shame on them!’ could be heard throughout the crowd.
Bartlett said Barrett had been trying to get education officials to deal with the staffing issue.
“We should not have to fight for proper staffing for our children to get a basic human right,” Bartlett said about education access.
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Barrett said it’s been an honour watching so many kids grow over the last 18 years.
“I am encouraging families to advocate for positive changes in our education system, for the betterment of our children and their futures,” she wrote in the letter.
The president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association Dale Lambe says he couldn’t speak to Barrett’s case specifically, but was concerned when she highlighted the extra demands placed student safety at risk.
“Its just not good enough,” he told CBC News on Friday.
Lambe said the NLTA has been highlighting the staffing shortages in Labrador to the provincial government.
“What we’ve heard in HVGB as well as Labrador West, is that there are definitely shortages there. Which means if there are staff shortages, then the staff that are working there are left to cover for those teachers, which oftentimes means less than adequate programming for the students in the community,” he said.
Lambe said he expects the student population to rise — spurring demand for more teachers.
“Every day you’re hearing about a new development in Labrador. You’ve had the prime minister visit to talk about military spending. In Happy Valley-Goose Bay, you’ve heard all our mining projects that are being announced,” he said.
“If you currently have a teaching shortage, obviously those people that are coming in are going to bring families and those families are going to need to be educated. So, now is the time for government to really sit down and put effort into how they’re not only going to recruit teachers in these areas, but also retain them.”
Education Minister Paul Dinn said Barrett resigning was unexpected.
“It hit us out of left field,” he told CBC News, which contradicts what parents said at the rally — that Barrett had raised concerns with officials.
He said all teaching positions will be covered on Monday so that children can be back in class, while the working on the longer-term solution continues. The director of schools for the region will be meeting with school staff, too. Dinn said hiring bonuses, remote allowances and travel costs are part of the strategy.
“We want to make sure all our schools have a safe and caring environment to excel in. we are working towards that. Its not a quick fix by no means,” he said.
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