Missed planning time continues to have a profound impact on the operation of schools and on your mental health. We have been constantly advocating on your behalf. Not a week has passed since the beginning of this year that we have not addressed the situation with the Board. In October we met with senior administration and members of the Human Resource Department to offer specific actions the Board could take to alleviate the situation. We continue to do so.

The week before the March break, the daily unfilled classes were in the 50s. When we returned from the break absences had increased into the 70’s, and is now around 100 each day. Public Health officials and medical experts anticipated these increases in response to the return of vacationers coupled with the removal of most layers of safety. Front line educators, like their counterparts in Long Term Care and Hospitals, are seeing the impacts of these policies in their daily working conditions. Please read the responses to the FAQs below for further understanding.

What are the Causes of the Occasional Teacher (OT) Shortage?

There are multiple reasons for the OT shortage.

• Province wide shortage. We regularly reach out to other regional OECTA offices to keep informed about the OT shortage. Some years ago, the Faculties of Education extended the program to 2 years. At the same time, it was taking OTs over 5 years to get a permanent job offer. This has resulted in fewer students in the Faculties.

• Job Satisfaction. More and more the teaching profession is being perceived negatively. For many the job is no longer seen as a desirable career.

• Board Hiring Practices. The Board has antiquated and insufficient hiring processes. Too many HR employees have shared responsibilities and no one has the exclusive or substantial authority in recruitment. Each year the HWCDSB has hundreds of student teachers practicing in classrooms and it is incomprehensible that the majority of these people do not end up as our colleagues. Our Board is habitually late in filling the OT list which results in these teachers taking positions elsewhere.

• Hamilton Public Board. The Public Board pays daily OTs $80 more each day and they pay OTs when there is a snow day. Other Boards give incentives for teachers who work more than 120 days or 75% of the school year’s Fridays. It is imperative that we are the most desirable employer in a time of limited OTs. Obviously that is not happening.

What are we Doing About the Problem?

In the beginning of November, we requested that the Board implement these specific changes;

• Assign one HR employee the responsibility of teacher recruitment. Start recruiting as soon as student teachers enter HWCDSB schools. Each candidate should be given at least one personal invitation to apply. HR should set up interviews quickly in the first teaching block and follow up with job offers within days.

• Don’t wait until the College of Teachers produces the certificates. The OCT is having challenges sending the certificates in a timely manner, why wait? Other Boards are hiring prior to the documentation being submitted.

• Eliminate the Pastoral Letter. We all know the stories of how some of these letters are obtained. Possession of the letter does not mean you are “more” Catholic. There are other ways to maintain Catholic identity in schools.

• Making our schools better places to work. If the workplace is welcoming and an enjoyable place to spend the day, the OT will be happy to return. Provide support from colleagues and administration when an OT is placed in the challenging class.

• Posting and hiring LTO positions before the summer so other Boards do not recruit them first.

• Be understanding and forgiving when rookie teachers make errors or don’t understand how things work.

• Not assigning OTs duties beyond their contractual obligations.

• HR needs to clean up the OT list.

What is the Board Doing?

It has taken far too long for the Board to begin to implement changes! The pressure you, the principals and this office have exerted appears to be beginning to make a difference. Here are some changes that appear to have begun to implement;

• The Board is beginning an external audit of recruitment in the Human Resources Department to review the hiring process.

• Beginning to implement steps in actively recruiting student teachers.

• They have committed to hire uncertified students from Faculties of Education.

• The Board has have agreed to timelines that will lead to job offers to permanent and LTO positions before the summer starts.

• HWDSB has made some steps in maintaining a more accurate OT list.

What can Schools do to Improve the Situation?

Let’s make each of the schools a welcoming place for guest teachers. Be available to answer questions and support in dealing with difficult situations.

Recent comments given by Dr. Peter Jüni, head of the Ontario Science Advisory Table, speak to what we already know in schools. “Oh, we’re in the middle of it,” Dr. Peter Jüni told a media outlet on March 29 in response to a question of whether Ontario was in the midst of a sixth wave. “When you look at our wastewater, it's very clear. You can call it whatever you want, you know; whether it’s a resurgence of the Omicron wave we had or a sixth wave, the point is really to understand this is not a BA.2 wave.” Elaborating further, Dr. Jüni attributed the recent increase in cases to the removal of mitigative strategies such as masking, and cautioned that we have gotten a bit ahead of ourselves by throwing caution to the wind. Clearly, COVID is not over yet. Members are advised to continue with the familiar COVID protective strategies which we have all become accustomed to over the course of the previous two years.

WSIB and COVID

WSIB Form 6

With COVID spreading so easily, many of our members are finding themselves falling ill lately. If it is believed that COVID was contracted in the workplace, it is advised that members pursue a claim with the WSIB. An approved claim would see the reimbursement of sick days used, and, should it be required, there are health benefits available for treatments needed in recovery. Additionally, should any longer term implications present down the road, an established claim today could potentially be re-opened to access benefits in the future. To initiate a claim, a worker must complete WSIB Form 6. It is highly encouraged that contact be made with the OECTA office for support with a claim.

WSIB Exposure Incident Form

In the event where COVID is present in the workplace but one does not develop symptoms, it is recommended that a WSIB Exposure Incident Form be completed as a precautionary measure to document the incident. Given that an individual may remain asymptomatic while infected, it is entirely possible to have had the virus and never know it. The presence of an Exposure Incident Form at the WSIB, though, could help to substantiate a workplace exposure to the virus in the event of a future claim made for any potential long-term complications. The Exposure Incident Form, in this regard, would serve to protect one's future interests. Please note that this form does not open a claim but acts only to document an exposure to the virus. In all likelihood, the form would remain in perpetuity upon the WSIB's servers. But, in the event that you need it, you'll be happy you took the 5-10 minutes to complete it today. Please follow the appropriate link below to complete the form.

So what does this mean? As a professional educator, you know best the students you serve. You gain insights into where each child is at on their learning journey through myriad points of assessment which span the range from formal assessments to observations during work periods or play centres, even to conversations shared while on recess duty. Your practices of assessment and evaluation are ongoing, and not limited only to formal tests or tasks. Teachers know best which assessments are needed for each student and when the assessments are needed. Recently, some administrators have asked teachers to provide specific and prescribed data on their students, including data reaching back into term one. Let's be clear, data collection for the sake of data collection is a fruitless activity which does nothing to improve the quality of service provided to students. If anything, it makes additional work for teachers who are already not receiving planning time, and who are exhausted after giving their everything throughout a pandemic. When are you expected to find the time to accomplish these senseless and tone-deaf asks? For certain, it must not come at the expense of time spent with your loved ones or time spent for yourself.

Soon, the Board will begin placing tutors in the schools to assist in reducing the gap. When your principals ask for information to identify the students who would most benefit, you should be able to suggest students with whatever assessment you use. Please reach out to the office if your principal insists on providing that information in specific form with all the students.

The format of EQAO testing is changing this year. The shortage of OTs has eliminated the possibility of training for Grade 3 and 6 teachers during school hours. Any training or preparation for EQAO during your planning time, at lunch or outside school hours is strictly voluntary. This government is notorious for dropping new initiatives at the last minute and expect it to happen. Our Board just passes the work on to you. Mental Health experts encourage us to determine that not all activities need to be done spectacularly, some activities only need to be done adequately. We know the EQAO adds little, if anything, to education. Please prioritize your mental health when dealing with EQAO.

Interested in Running for a Position?

Serving your colleagues in a position on the unit executive is an exciting and rewarding experience. To put your name forth as a candidate, please e-mail Horst Schweinbenz at horst.schweinbenz@yahoo.ca indicating which position you will be running for. Though the window to declare your candidacy in the first callout has closed, there will be a second and third call out in the weeks leading up to the election. Candidates may declare their interest during future callouts.

By April 25th, each candidate should send to Horst their election statement and a personal picture. Election statements will be limited to 250 words. Candidates are permitted to provide a link to a YouTube video of their speech, should they choose to create one. The hyperlink is not included in the 250 word limit. No Power Point can be used in the speech. Speeches for president will not exceed 5 minutes and all other positions will be limited to 3 minutes.

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