‘Severe’ teacher and staff shortages being felt in Ontario schools, new report shows

A new report is highlighting teacher shortages across Ontario, with data showing that nearly half of provincial schools experience daily shortages for educational assistants. 

According to the People for Education, a survey finds absences impact high schools significantly, with 35 per cent of secondary schools reporting daily teacher shortages compared to about a quarter of elementary schools.

Additionally, the report finds that 25 per cent of elementary and 38 per cent of secondary schools experience shortages in administrative staff (such as vice-principals) at least once a month.  

Based on survey comments from principals, it has become more common to use unqualified people to cover absences, which they say is impacting student learning.

“In their responses, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of elementary principals and more than half of secondary school principals (58 per cent) report that they have had to ask parents to keep their child with special needs home for the day,” the report states.

“This is an increase over previous years. Principals named safety concerns and unavailable supports as the main reasons for asking that special education students not attend school for all or part of the day.”

The data is based on responses from 1,030 of Ontario’s publicly funded schools, representing all regions of the province and 70 of Ontario’s 72 school boards. 

Ontario principals sound alarm

According to Statistics Canada, the median hourly wage for educational assistants in Ontario is $24. Principals believe that the low number is one of the reasons that it is difficult to maintain necessary educational assistants in their classrooms.

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One elementary school principal in Central Ontario told People for Education that due to the staffing shortages, they can only respond to emergencies “and not do the actual work of supporting students.” Another Northern Ontario secondary school principal said they’re “holding on by a thread.”

“It’s sad to watch all of the work we have done over the years fall apart because we don’t have staff with time to maintain it.”

Another elementary school principal from the GTA said staffing is the top concern for Ontario school administrators.

“We have absences that we cannot fill daily, and we have to use unqualified people to fill the vacancies,” the anonymous principal said. “The impact is massive and is most certainly contributing to the learning gaps and learning environments in our schools.”

A spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the Ford government continues to plan for population growth and the increasing number of retired teachers by hiring more staff across provincial schools.

“Since 2018, we have supported the hiring of 7,500 staff, including 3,000 additional educators, along with halving certification timelines for domestic and international teacher candidates,” said Isha Chaudhuri.

“The government has permanently allowed second-year teaching candidates to work in schools faster and revoked hiring based on seniority rather than merit. We have called on the Ontario Teachers’ Federation to reinstate a short-term measure to get qualified, retired teachers in classrooms. We will continue to advance short- and long-term reforms to ensure certified educators are supporting students as we get back to basics in the classroom.”