Province drafts lesson plan to combat high teacher turnover in North

Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba is creating a new strategy to tackle high staff turnover in First Nations schools and the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

Over the last 15 months, the Education Department has been developing a plan to recruit and retain classroom and traditional-language teachers who want to live and work in the North.

“Nobody likes to lose one of their teachers, especially those that have established that connection to the students and the community — nobody wants to go through that,” said Charles Cochrane, who oversees the Manitoba First Nations School System.

Mid-year departures disrupt student routines and require administrators scramble to find a replacement, which is difficult enough during the regular hiring season, Cochrane said.

He noted that educators are in such high demand across North America that his colleagues were recently approached at a job fair — where they were promoting positions in Manitoba First Nations — to consider moving to Oregon to teach.

Turnover rates in schools on northern First Nations can reach between 30 to 50 per cent every year, government documents show.

Briefings obtained by the Free Press via freedom of information indicate that bureaucrats are strategizing how to address the related fallout on education programming and student performance.

The office of Indigenous Excellence hired a lead to create a strategy to grow the workforce, with a special focus on candidates who are First Nations, Métis and Inuit, as well as traditional language speakers.

“Representation matters,” an excerpt of an Oct. 24 presentation that bureaucrats shared with superintendents said.

The lack of Indigenous teachers has negative impacts on students’ sense of belonging and in turn, their achievement and engagement, the province said in the presentation.

The Winnipeg Indigenous Executive Circle’s state of equity reports have repeatedly called for a holistic approach to train more teachers.

The advocacy group estimates city school divisions would need to hire upwards of 600 Indigenous teachers for staff to accurately reflect the Indigenous student population.

For Cochrane, the solution to the teacher shortage requires the expansion of community-based teacher training programs.

“Many of our community members are parents, and they don’t want to leave their communities and move,” said Cochrane, who is a member of Ebb and Flow First Nation.

Reg Klassen, who retired from northern Manitoba’s Frontier School Division last year after almost a decade as its chief superintendent, said the smaller the community, the more difficult it is to recruit and retain teachers.

Klassen cited isolation, complex workloads related to multiage classrooms and having fewer colleagues, and limited access to amenities, such as health-care facilities as issues remote teachers struggle with.

He suggested post-secondary programs and employers should conduct more outreach in remote communities and build capacity among residents.

“My suggestion would be: find your teachers. You don’t need too many of them, but go find your teachers… and begin a program, for a month or two months (in-person, locally) and get them to have some early success,” he said.

The retired educator said prioritizing relationship-building is key as candidates will feel more comfortable leaving home to complete their studies and do online learning.

The Education Department’s presentation noted the “achievement/opportunity gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has not improved in 20 years.

In June 2024, nine in 10 non-Indigenous students in that high school cohort (2020-21 to 2023-24) earned a diploma within four years. Just over half of all Indigenous students achieved that milestone.

Provincial officials said ensuring students have access to a stable teaching complement is “imperative” to make progress on this file.

Frontier, which encompasses 39 schools in communities including Brochet, Matheson Island and Cross Lake, has spent millions of dollars upgrading teacher-housing stock and improving internet access in recent years to incentivize employees.

“Starlink was a saviour,” Klassen said, referring to the internet satellite system that allows teachers who aren’t in their hometowns to connect with loved ones via new WiFi in their residences.

Amenities aside, a teacher’s community involvement is “of prime importance” for out-of-towners and school communities alike to succeed, he said.

Klassen said a teacher who gets involved in activities outside work and socializes is more likely to stay put if they aren’t from the region.

“Now, you’ve built connections. It’s not quite as easy to pack up and leave.”

As part of the strategy that’s in development, the province has sought feedback on community capacity to train teachers and post-secondary models.

It has also been searching for innovative certification pathways and equitable university entrance and hiring practices.

Neither Education Minister Tracy Schmidt nor Jackie Connell, assistant deputy minister of Indigenous excellence in education, were made available for an interview Monday.

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