Fort McMurray Schools Adjust Plans Following Ministerial Order on Complex Needs Students
FORT MCMURRAY, AB. — Fort McMurray’s public and Catholic school divisions are taking different approaches to comply with a provincial order on in-person learning for students with complex needs. The moves come as both divisions prepare to return to negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) next week.
In the Fort McMurray Catholic Schools division, there will be no changes to current arrangements. After a comprehensive review of available resources, student needs, and staffing constraints, the division determined it does not have the capacity to safely accommodate all students with complex needs in an in-person setting.
“After thorough consideration, we have determined that shifting certain grades or schools to virtual learning would not increase our capacity to provide more students with a safe, secure, and caring learning experience,” the division said in a statement Thursday.
Meanwhile, Fort McMurray Public Schools is implementing a new strategy to allow some students with complex needs to return to in-person learning. Starting March 17, the division will introduce rotating classroom closures to reallocate teachers to support students who have been required to stay at home. This will allow them to shift education resources and enable “team teaching,” ensuring students with complex needs have access to at least some in-person learning
Superintendent Annalee Nutter informed parents in a letter that the measure was necessary due to limited staffing and the inability to hire additional substitute or temporary teachers.
“This will be unique to each school given enrollment numbers and needs and will allow some of those students who have been at home to attend in some capacity,” Nutter wrote.
“We know this is difficult for your family, and we want you to know that this decision was not made lightly,” Nutter added
Parents with children in the Public School Division will receive advance notice of when their child’s class will be affected. During closures, students will be assigned skills practice and other work to complete at home.
The dispute at the heart of the issue stems from an ongoing strike by education support staff in both the Fort McMurray Catholic and Public School Divisions, represented by CUPE Locals 2559 and 2545 respectively.
While negotiations on wages are conducted at the Division level, there is limited funding available from the province. Alberta currently spends the least amount of money per student out of all Canadian Provinces.
The union is calling on Alberta to facilitate increased wages for support workers, arguing that higher compensation would resolve staffing shortages and improve services for students.
Lou Arab, a CUPE spokesperson, criticized the province’s handling of the situation. “The exit ramp is simple,” he said. “Brian Jean has the power to end this strike in a day. The province needs to come to the bargaining table and offer support workers a wage they can live on.”
Both school divisions will resume negotiations with CUPE on Monday in an effort to reach a collective agreement and bring support staff back to work.