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Yukon schools ready to start the 2023-24 school year, in spite of staffing shortages.

Thursday, 17 August 2023 17:29

By Stuart Bonell

Chief Zzeh Gittlit School in Old Crow (Photo: J. Fraser)

As of Thursday's media conference, more than half of the active recruitment in the Department of Education are teaching positions.

Yukon students are heading back to the classroom as early as Tuesday next week. Media releases late last week from both the First Nation School Board and the Government of Yukon announced staffing shortages ahead of the 2023-24 school year.

During a press conference on Thursday, Department of Education Deputy Minister Mary Cameron announced that recruitment in the department would be streamlined. While there has been success in recruitment so far, there are still vacancies.

“Regarding staffing for this year, as of August 16, together with our school board partners; we have filled 215 education professional positions,” said Cameron. “Active recruitment for positions shared last week continues, and quite frankly, evolves daily.”

The 41 positions being actively recruited as of Thursday are:

- 1 vice-principal
- 4 principals, including one for the future Whistle Bend Elementary School
- 7 Yukon First Nation language teachers
- 7 learning assistance teachers
- 22 teachers

Department of Education Superintendent Trevor Ratcliff was also in attendance. He said that students affected by vacancies will not find themselves without teachers.

“We have temporary teachers,” said Ratcliff. “Assignments we can put in. We have on call teachers […] And we can also adjust the learning groups.”

In an email to CHON-FM, First Nation School Board Director of Communications Roxanne Stasyszyn offered an update to the staffing shortages across the board’s eleven schools. While the vacancies can and do change quickly, there is at least one vacancy in each of the schools as of Thursday, with the exception of Ghuch Tla Community School in Carcross.

Stasyszyn also noted that new positions have been created in the school board since it began in February, and that staffing shortages will not prevent schools from opening on time.

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