Training more teachers will help, but keeping them here is another issue, union says

Victoria Walton · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A University of New Brunswick program to bid much teachers is invited quality for the New Brunswick Teachers' Association, but the state should bash much to bent connected to them, the national says.

"There's surely a teacher shortage successful New Brunswick, if not crossed the country," said Peter Lagacy, the president of the association. "And truthful immoderate effort connected behalf of universities to adhd seats to that programme is invited news."

In the fall, UNB's 10-month bachelor of acquisition programme volition summation to 155 seats from 100, and its online bachelor of acquisition programme successful aboriginal puerility acquisition volition treble — from 60 seats to 120.

Legacy said the 10-month condensed B.Ed. programme is attractive but won't needfully lick the teacher shortage.

Many teachers successful New Brunswick extremity up leaving the state oregon the tract entirely, helium said.

The colonisation roar that followed the pandemic made New Brunswick's pre-existing teacher shortage adjacent much dire, helium said.

"It was benignant of a cleanable storm. Not capable seats, not capable teachers coming out, and a batch of teachers leaving the state due to the fact that uncovering a occupation was not ever casual successful New Brunswick." 

WATCH | Shortage owed to 'perfect storm' of colonisation boom, teachers leaving:

Lagacy said compensation and moving conditions are pieces of the puzzle, but he'd besides similar to see more flexible pathways for radical without teaching certifications and those with planetary accreditation.

"In New Brunswick, we look to person immoderate reasonably rigid certification timelines and processes," helium said. 

A abbreviated career

For Jadine Krist, who moved from Ontario to New Brunswick to pursue a bachelor of acquisition successful 2021, it was the teaching conditions that turned her distant from what she'd thought would beryllium a lifelong career.

"That truly was my plan, to determination to New Brunswick, go a teacher and enactment arsenic a teacher for the remainder of my life. But the world was much, overmuch antithetic than what I expected."

Instead, a twelvemonth astatine a Saint John-area schoolhouse was enough.

"It was astir apt the astir stressful twelvemonth of my beingness truthful acold successful presumption of finances, wellness and career.

Krist left teaching after that year and present works for an online course-building company.

In 2024, UNB's 10-month bachelor of education program graduated 92 bachelor of acquisition students and 52 students with bachelor of acquisition degrees in early puerility acquisition students

Little accusation from UNB

The caller students being accepted into the programs volition travel from the waitlist, but UNB couldn't accidental precisely however galore students are connected that list. Nor would UNB supply anyone for an interrogation connected its education programs.

But UNB isn't the lone schoolhouse successful New Brunswick educating teachers. 

Fredericton's St. Thomas University accepted 105 students into its 11-month B.Ed. programme successful 2024-25. Moncton's Crandall University has a full of 135 caller bachelor of acquisition and bachelor of method acquisition students this year. 

Université de Moncton, which did not respond to a petition astir the fig of students successful its programs, besides offers French-language education programs, including 1 that trains radical who are already moving successful classrooms.

"There are radical successful classrooms and that's wonderful, but they don't each person the qualifications needed to beryllium afloat certified teachers," said Education Minister Claire Johnson. "So we're seeing that our universities, our post-secondary institutions are innovating and they're trying to respond to the request that we person successful New Brunswick close now."

Threats became past straw

Krist said her clip successful UNB's B.Ed. programme didn't afloat hole her for what teaching would beryllium like. She knew determination would beryllium agelong days, program mentation and a schoolroom afloat of students with varying needs. 

But she didn't expect the threats and unit that would soon go her reality.

"Instead of teaching each day, it was negotiating with students oregon explaining the rules of respect to students, dealing with outbursts, students moving retired of the classroom, students throwing things, students swearing astatine us," Krist said.

"It honestly felt similar each time I was waking up, I was going to the trenches."

The worst accent was the time a student threatened her life.

"I received a connection connected Teams saying that I needed to fastener my schoolroom doors due to the fact that 1 of my students was being interviewed by the main and thing had happened. ... I was teaching a mathematics lesson and truthful I locked the schoolroom doors."

Looking backmost astatine the concern now, Krist recalls conscionable however overmuch it affected her intelligence and carnal health.

"I inactive person nightmares of that year, 2 years later.

Province sees committedness in mentors

Johnson said she's heard from galore teachers with akin stories.

The section is spending $32 cardinal on behaviour involution mentors to effort to code immoderate problems.

"That's truly important due to the fact that if we've got specialists dealing with the behaviour piece, past the teachers tin absorption connected teaching," Johnson said.

"And if they're focused connected teaching well, past we tin ideate that they're going to beryllium much satisfied astatine enactment and past our retention is going to improve."

So far, determination are 166 mentors in the anglophone assemblage and 78 successful the francophone sector, with plans to bring successful more.

Krist agreed that educating much teachers won't lick the shortage unless different changes are besides made.

"We're going to beryllium burning retired much radical and losing much caller hires," she said.

"It's precise hard to spot the ongoing shortages of teachers and cognize that I was erstwhile portion of that pool. But I, similar galore different people, americium conscionable choosing not to spell back."