BC’s 50,000 teachers make magic happen every day in our schools, but the deepening teacher shortage is putting strain on our educators and the entire public education system.

The lack of teachers in BC puts an unreasonable stress on teachers and takes specialists away from working with vulnerable students. These specialists, like teacher librarians, school counsellors, resource teachers, and learning support teachers are critical to students’ education and wellbeing. They are, however, being pulled from their important work to cover classrooms because of the shortage. That means students are losing out and our teachers are burning out.

The shortage also means that more people without teaching certifications and the necessary training or qualifications are brought into the classroom. Every student deserves a fully trained and qualified teacher.

While teachers are doing everything they can, the issue is far greater than can be solved by any one teacher. The call is clear—the BC government needs to address the teacher shortage.

Sign up to join our group of public education advocates to help take action and put pressure on the government to ensure our schools are properly funded and concrete steps are taken to solve the teacher shortage.