COVID-related staff absences still creating challenges in P.E.I. classrooms: teachers' federation

The Island'steachers' federation says sick calls related to COVID-19 continue to create staffing challenges, sometimes leavingstudents without specializedsupports.

"Everyone is working very hard to reduce the strain of what COVID has put inside our buildings. But it has come at a significant cost to students and staff," said Aldene Smallman, the federation's president.

Since schools reopened at the end of January,the weekly staff absence rate at English schools has gone from eight per centthefirst week backto a high of 16.5 per centin early March.

While it dropped to 12 per centlast week, the federation says finding enough substitutes continues to be tough, particularlyfor individual schools dealing with a high number of extended absences at once.

Smallmansays that's led to a lot of job shuffling.

For example, staff who offer special supports to students, such asEnglish as an additional language,have had to step in to teach regular classes instead.

"Students can't receive the same level of support in those situations," said Smallman. "It's just the trickle-down effect of how these rates of absenteeism have affected students and staff."

Height of COVID peak was unanticipated

There are more than 400substitute teachers registered with the province. There are also 40 so-called itinerant substitutes, who have full-time contracts to move from school to school as needed. Thirtyof those itinerant positions were just added before schools reopened, in anticipation of a rise in COVID-19 sick calls and demand for substitute teachers.

But the Public Schools Branch says meeting that demand has still been challenging.

"This peak in COVID, nobody really anticipated it going as high as it has in the province, with 400-pluscases a day," said Kelly Drummond, the PSB's human-resources director.

"And I think the thing people need to keep in mindis that we have substitutes and casuals, but they're also impacted by COVID. And it's happening in various areas of the province at different times. So the peaks happen and they may be centralized because of spread in one particular area, which puts pressure on that area for a number of days."

Staff redeployment, travel pay

Drummond said at timesPSB and education department staff with teaching experiencehave been "redeployed" to schools, to cover classes when no substitutes are available.

The PSB's also started paying travel costs for substitute teachers to commute to eastern and western P.E.I.

"That's new, because we know our rural areas, Souris and West Prince, can be a challenge. With COVID, where schools may typically need two or three subs, they may potentially need 10 subs because there's a COVID outbreak in the community, and there's a limited sub pool to draw from," she said.

Drummond maintains those efforts have paid off. On average, just one per centof teacher absences haven't been covered since schools re-opened.

"Sometimes there are still issues. But some of the schools would've had to close if we didn't have those measures in place."

Still, the teachers' federationworries until COVID-19 cases drop off drastically, the staffing challenges will continue.

"Right now we're in acrunch," said Smallman. "We need an intense concerted effort for substitute recruitment."

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