Teacher and administrator Recruitment (and letters of authority)
What are the most important things to consider in this topic area?
What’s currently on your radar in this area?
Is there something you need to know more about in this area?
1 response
March 22, 2024 (11:11 am)
Sonja Dykslag says:
This is location specific for sure - rural positions are more difficult.
Continious designations to VPs is a tough way to go when they are not willing to move up into the principalship.
The admin allowances for prinicpals in rural areas (small schools) are not encouaging principals to move to larger schools. Why go to a larger school with really no more compensation.
Gas prices are a concern right now and that is limiting the rural applications.
We have to grow our own people in many of our school divisions.
Letter's of Authority for EAs to become teachers. The example were regarding candidates from the Phillipines who were teachers there and now were EAs. The candidate makes an account on Twins and the they apply for the letter of authority, the cost for the applicaiton is about $250 (that can be a barrier),, then the school division then goes into Twins using the candidates reference number and then the division says they recommend, the candidate then gets a checklist that asks them to submit documentation (ie citizenship, birth certificate, transcripts, VSC, etc.), the applicaiton did not make specifics on what the person could or could not teach. Others at the table discussed that the Letter of Authority applications were very specific to what the candidate could and could not teach. For example, CTS and Calm but nothing else.
Substitutes on grid on day one or two and some go on grid on day 5 - this is not consistent with neighboring divisions so that creates conflict.
Do you agree?
March 22, 2024 (12:09 pm)
Sonja Dykslag says:
Can't get a hold of anyone at the office of the Registrar and Twins, ever. The email method is not working! The message of saying you will get a response with in 10 days is not happening and often the issues we are having do not have 10 days. Out of country trained teachers - getting a Letter of Authority is very difficult. The paper work is often gone for those people - ie. our Ukrainian people, Nigera, etc. We are not getting support from the registrar to help us out on this. CASS - we would like some help and guidance on how to navigate this process. The Letter's of Authority are restrictive, the fee is unexpected and the process is complicated. We need a Bridging program for the foreign teachers coming to our school divisions so they can build their skills to be teachers in Canada... we can support them financially as a division to do this program and then they can be committed to our school division. We need a shorter track program for foreign teachers who need to get Alberta Teaching Certification and then we can avoid the Letter of Authority issues. We are seeing more and more teachers not interested in the planning etc. so they are just subbing. Assignable time is killing us - more and more teachers think that marking is assignable time, the professional responsibilites are not being considered as unassignable time - they think everything they do in connection to their jobs that should be considered assignable time.
March 22, 2024 (11:50 am)
Sonja Dykslag says:
CRCS has been using Letters of Authority for foreign teachers and that has been going well. CASS needs to make it more public facing on the Registrar website - right now Letters of Authority is "off menu" and we need to promote this more and share that process with school divisions in clearer language. Practicum students - some of the Universities are saying no - but the government is saying yes. The work around is writing the ministers office and working around the University and getting Letters of Authority. CASS could advocate for more avenues for people to come from overseas and the US - the immigration issues are a big slow down. We need a smoother process here. Administration recuritment is also getting more difficult - external candiates are very minimal now so we need to be very strong in our mentorship within - ie. Aspiring leaders We need strong mentorship programs. People are not knocking down the doors to be principals. We need to work with our highschools to make sure we represent that teaching is a great career - we need to grow our own. We are very good at career fairs to show all the options, but we sometimes forget to showcase education. School divisions are offering more bursaries for students and EAs to consider going into teaching. We need to find ways to get more EAs to come into teaching. CASS needs to lobby that Worklun needs to be able to offer programming throughout Alberta. Most locals are in support of Instructional Superivsors and the ATA is good to work with on this. Apply to Educaton Virtual has been successful.
March 22, 2024 (11:28 am)
Sonja Dykslag says:
In Fort Mc it is a huge part of what we do. They recurit for teachers around the country. Going to Newfoundland, other areas of the country. Admin they try their best to go internally. For EAs we use the college to help generate staff. Budget for this is large - but they have signed 21 teachers with the national recuritment process. At the recuritment fairs we are seeing that the AB teachers are trying to travel and they are leaving Alberta to go to teach internationally for the first few years. We are finding that at the career fairs that the candidates are interviewing us vs. us interviewing us. The candidates are shopping for school division and are looking for allowances to go to the big centers for the weekend, caps on assignable time, incentives to move, etc. We are at a crossroads in education in the professsion, the media is not helping us. CASS is working hard on this, but the media and the narrative is working against us in many ways. Ie. Aggressive students and parents is the mantra of the ATA. Costs of living are so high right now. Let's start paying our 3rd and 4th year practicum students so they say. The urban centers are signing the students right out of school before they even graduate. We need more training spots for teachers in the universities. The marks to get into education programs is now higher than it is to get into law. CASS needs to focus on the narrative and turn it to be showcasing that teaching is a noble and awesome profession. They need to work with the ATA to help control the narrative. CASS needs to encouage the universities to accept more students and lower the acceptance requirements. A candidate with a 89% high school mark may not be the best teacher. We are all now doing exit interviews to see why our people are leaving. They are not leaving because they don't like the job for the most part - they are leaving because of the extra curricular, the planning, the marking. They like the teaching, but they don't like the extras that are taking away from their quality of life outside of school. Multiple careers is the mindset now. Teacher recuritment is a crisis right now! We need help! What are options - letter of authority needs to be accessed more and more and we need these letters to be more flexible.
Out of country trained teachers - getting a Letter of Authority is very difficult. The paper work is often gone for those people - ie. our Ukrainian people, Nigera, etc.
We are not getting support from the registrar to help us out on this.
CASS - we would like some help and guidance on how to navigate this process.
The Letter's of Authority are restrictive, the fee is unexpected and the process is complicated.
We need a Bridging program for the foreign teachers coming to our school divisions so they can build their skills to be teachers in Canada... we can support them financially as a division to do this program and then they can be committed to our school division. We need a shorter track program for foreign teachers who need to get Alberta Teaching Certification and then we can avoid the Letter of Authority issues.
We are seeing more and more teachers not interested in the planning etc. so they are just subbing.
Assignable time is killing us - more and more teachers think that marking is assignable time, the professional responsibilites are not being considered as unassignable time - they think everything they do in connection to their jobs that should be considered assignable time.
Practicum students - some of the Universities are saying no - but the government is saying yes. The work around is writing the ministers office and working around the University and getting Letters of Authority.
CASS could advocate for more avenues for people to come from overseas and the US - the immigration issues are a big slow down. We need a smoother process here.
Administration recuritment is also getting more difficult - external candiates are very minimal now so we need to be very strong in our mentorship within - ie. Aspiring leaders We need strong mentorship programs.
People are not knocking down the doors to be principals.
We need to work with our highschools to make sure we represent that teaching is a great career - we need to grow our own. We are very good at career fairs to show all the options, but we sometimes forget to showcase education.
School divisions are offering more bursaries for students and EAs to consider going into teaching.
We need to find ways to get more EAs to come into teaching.
CASS needs to lobby that Worklun needs to be able to offer programming throughout Alberta.
Most locals are in support of Instructional Superivsors and the ATA is good to work with on this.
Apply to Educaton Virtual has been successful.
At the recuritment fairs we are seeing that the AB teachers are trying to travel and they are leaving Alberta to go to teach internationally for the first few years.
We are finding that at the career fairs that the candidates are interviewing us vs. us interviewing us. The candidates are shopping for school division and are looking for allowances to go to the big centers for the weekend, caps on assignable time, incentives to move, etc.
We are at a crossroads in education in the professsion, the media is not helping us. CASS is working hard on this, but the media and the narrative is working against us in many ways. Ie. Aggressive students and parents is the mantra of the ATA.
Costs of living are so high right now.
Let's start paying our 3rd and 4th year practicum students so they say.
The urban centers are signing the students right out of school before they even graduate.
We need more training spots for teachers in the universities.
The marks to get into education programs is now higher than it is to get into law.
CASS needs to focus on the narrative and turn it to be showcasing that teaching is a noble and awesome profession. They need to work with the ATA to help control the narrative.
CASS needs to encouage the universities to accept more students and lower the acceptance requirements. A candidate with a 89% high school mark may not be the best teacher.
We are all now doing exit interviews to see why our people are leaving. They are not leaving because they don't like the job for the most part - they are leaving because of the extra curricular, the planning, the marking. They like the teaching, but they don't like the extras that are taking away from their quality of life outside of school.
Multiple careers is the mindset now.
Teacher recuritment is a crisis right now! We need help!
What are options - letter of authority needs to be accessed more and more and we need these letters to be more flexible.