Monday September 2, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 8:40 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) slogan on their website is “Kids matter. Teachers care.”
Today on Labour Day — one day ahead of back-to-school, BCTF President Clint Johnston and Second Vice-President Robin Tosczak will be out at the annual BCTF Labour Day events (in Burnaby and Esquimalt, respectively).
“Getting to meet the kids who they will mentor, preparing new lesson plans, and setting goals for the year is something just about every teacher looks forward to,” says BCTF.
The BC Teachers Federation supports 50,000 public school teachers, and their students, says BCTF. They feel they provide strong representation and outspoken advocacy.
“Our federation is made up of more than 70 local teacher unions that are rooted in communities across the province,” the BCTF website states.
Key focus this year:
Tosczak says that teacher recruitment and retention is a a key focus of BCTF this year.
She also says that BCTF encourages teachers to pay attention to provincial politics and help out on campaigns where they feel the candidate will aid the cause for teachers.
Problems in the system:
Due to population growth and in some cases where under-funding of certain aspects of education have happened, the BCTF feels that “teachers are also doing mental gymnastics to figure out how they will fill gaps yet again to support their students”.
In two consecutive annual surveys, BC teachers have reported higher workloads than the year before. They say they are expected to do more with less and their most vulnerable students are the first to lose services.
This has an impact not only on those students, but on the morale of the teachers who care for them—15% plan to leave the profession within two years.
Not a new concern, but strongly repeated in the June 2024 survey: Teachers say the most impactful change to timetabling would be more time to prepare lessons (55.5%).
Link: Second Annual BCTF Survey (June 2024)
School funding:
Schools are funded by the BC Government and administered through 60 school districts across the province. Here on south Vancouver Island that includes SD61 (Greater Victoria), SD62 (Sooke & west shore), and SD63 (Saanich).
School districts receive what is called per-pupil funding as their root budget revenue source as well as additional funds for various specialized learning categories. All operations are dependent on that funding including teacher salaries, building maintenance, classroom supplies, and transportation services.
Capital funding can be applied for toward the purchase of land and execution of facilities construction. Teacher salaries are set by contract with the province.
Upcoming election:
With the upcoming provincial election in October, BCTF feels the stakes are high. They articulate issues like increasing class sizes and eliminating protections for 2SLGBTQIA+ students and staff.
“These are serious threats to the integrity of public education and the protection of schools as safe spaces for all,” says BCTF, noting that on Labour Day they are celebrating the hard-fought rights of workers.
In areas like Surrey and the west shore region of Greater Victoria, overcrowding of schools beyond their physical capacity is a significant challenge in every respect including learning, social interaction, and the overload aspect on school bus services.
- ===== RELATED:
- SD62 gets land for new middle school in North Langford (August 19, 2024)
- Provincial & school district collaboration for 105 more west shore child care spaces (August 8, 2024)
- Transport Canada exploring seat belts for school buses (June 26, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: EDUCATION | K-12 EDUCATION | SD62 (Schools in Langford, Colwood, Sooke, Metchosin) | BC 2024 PROVINCIAL ELECTION