Nova Scotia parents, teachers warn student supports are shrinking

Nova Scotia teachers and parents are calling for more student supports.

Nova Scotia’s school year is wrapping up and there is growing concern for next fall as some specialized support teachers are being moved back to the front of the class to lead everyday schooling.

On Tuesday, the Nova Scotia NDP held a joint press conference with the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union (NSTU) and a parents literary advocacy group, where they called for more specialized supports for students.

The province is eliminating nearly 80 specialized teaching positions. No union jobs are being cut as those specialized support teachers are being moved back into classrooms full time.

“The Houston government claims to be focused on outcomes, but the outcomes at present tell us that students need more support, not less,” said NDP MLA and education critic Paul Wozney.

Provincial testing scores show that half of Grade 6 students aren’t meeting writing standards and a third of Grade 8 student are falling behind on reading comprehension levels.

Parents with the group Literacy Justice Nova Scotia say those numbers represent a failure of the education system and they have filed a human rights complaint against the province. They are calling on the government to help students improve their reading and writing skills.

“What this means is that one in three Nova Scotia children enter high school unable to read well enough to learn and this problem is years in the making,” said Louise Havanan, co-founder of Literary Justice Nova Scotia.

The NSTU says the decision to eliminate specialized teacher positions is shortsighted at a time when some students need more support with writing.

“The reality is, our students, they need supports,” said NSTU president Peter Day, who believes student outcomes in writing and math will be negatively impacted by the move.

“Our teachers are overwhelmed. They’re struggling to meet the needs of the students and to take these supports away, at such a crucial time, I think, is counterproductive. In fact, I believe we need to be going in the other direction.”

Education Minister Brendan Maguire said the province employs hundreds of specialized teacher positions and says these aren’t cuts but strategic redeployments.

“No one’s losing their job,” said Maguire. “What we’re doing is, we’re redeploying some of our most experienced teachers back into the classroom. We know that teachers have the largest impact when they’re in the classroom.”

Instead of eliminating teacher specialists, the advocacy group and union are calling for more coaching positions to help students who aren’t making the grade.

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