Back to school: New Brunswick district talks security, cellphone ban, overcrowding

Students return to school in Moncton, N.B. Moncton, N.B., students and teachers discuss the excitement and preparations to return to school.

Randy MacLEAN started his day bright and early greeting students and parents at the newest school in Moncton, N.B.

The superintendent of the Anglophone East School District made his first stop of the new year at Wabanaki School in the city's west end.

Tuesday was his 27th back-to-school day as an educator and his third as the superintendent for the 40 schools in Greater Moncton and the surrounding area.

MacLEAN made sure to say hello to as many students and parents as he could, especially the ones who looked a little anxious about starting at a new school.

"It's my favourite time of the year. The first day of school, it's a new beginning, a new opportunity. It's new. We start over. An opportunity to do things fresh. It's why we get into education," said MacLEAN.

Wabanaki School principal Kim Plume-Marr said it was a thrill to see kids walk through the doors for the very first time.

"Oh, it's the best. It's the best feeling to see them enter especially with their parents who are very excited to see the new building," said Plume-Marr. "The teachers too. There's just an energy in the building."

School security

After stops at Wabanaki and Bernice MacNaughton High School, MacLEAN was off to Harrison Trimble High School.

Photos surfaced on social media over the weekend of what appeared to be members of the city's homeless population sleeping and using drugs on and around the main entrances of two Moncton schools, Trimble and Edith Cavell.

Security staff were patrolling outside Trimble Tuesday morning and there were no signs of any security risks there.

MacLEAN said the plan is to have them on site each day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The district also works closely with the RCMP and the City of Moncton, he said.

"To this point, knock on wood, we haven't had an issue involving a student or a safety issue involving a staff member," said MacLEAN. "We live in a city and the realities of urban living is not everyone has a house to curl up in every night."

In a statement to CTV News, Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold said the city was made aware of encampments at Harrison Trimble and Edith Cavell and immediately took action to remove them.

Arnold said bylaw officers and members of the Codiac Regional RCMP have increased their patrols around schools over the past two years, particularly overnight and in the early mornings.

"This, along with the proactive measures taken by the school districts, is having a positive impact," said Arnold. "Action is taken as soon as we are made aware of a situation or come across one while on patrol."

Overcrowding and staffing

The Anglophone East School District has an enrolment of over 20,100 students and it's growing by the day.

Two of the district's schools, Trimble and Moncton High, have over 1,600 students.

Moncton High School currently has 16 classroom portables.

It opened in 2015 with a capacity of around 1,200 students, but the numbers continue to grow, mostly due to newcomers to the city.

"We're growing, so with that we have to get creative," said MacLEAN.

The superintendent said the opening of Wabanaki School could create opportunities to lower class size at some other schools.

As far as staffing goes, MacLEAN said the access to labour force is the district's biggest challenge.

"We have challenges across all of our employee groups," he said.

MacLEAN said teacher shortages are something school districts across the country are facing right now.

"Every class as I understand is filled today, whether it be a substitute or a retired teacher. Retired teachers have been saviours to come back and work for us. It never ends. The recruitment and retention process never ends," he said.

Cellphone ban

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development updated its policy on cellphone use in classrooms in May.

Starting this week, the province's updated policy gives teachers more authority to oversee cellphone use in class.

Students must place their cellphones in a designated area of the classroom on silent mode during class time.

Mobile devices can still be used for medical reasons and for education purposes at the teacher's discretion.

MacLEAN said it's day one of the school year and it's too early to know what the changes will look like.

"We'll see how it plays out over time," he said. "It's the work of our staff and our instructional staff, the work of students and the work of our parents as well to ensure we guard the integrity of instructional time and the sanctity of instructional time to ensure every moment we have in the classroom is an opportunity to learn and there's not any diversions."

Wabanaki School

MacLEAN spent the bulk of his morning speaking to parents, students and staff at Wabanaki School.

The school name, which means “people of the dawn,” was selected to honour the district's commitment to truth and reconciliation among First Nations people.

Over 700 students from grades 6 to 8 will attend the state-of-the-art facility.

The large, bright and very modern facility is not quite fully finished.

"We're getting there," said MacLEAN. "The gym will be coming online toward the end of the month and some science labs coming online at the end of the month. We have space, kids are in, it's ready to go. It'll be finished towards the end of the month."

Principal Plume-Marr said it was and exciting day for her and her staff.

"It's something you dream of in your career, to open a new school," she said. "It's been a very exciting time. Last week and this week there's been lots of nerves, excitement, stress, but it's all come together today."

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