BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK — Finding substitute teachers has been such a challenge this year that schools in the Pembina Hills School Division have had to occasionally rely on program assistants to supervise classrooms when no one else was available.
In order to compensate these program assistants for taking on these additional duties, Pembina Hills trustees passed a motion during their June 8 meeting to add a new “classroom supervisor” job classification to the non-union staff salary grids.
By doing so, program assistants who are called upon to supervise classrooms will be compensated at a dollar amount roughly equivalent to 90 per cent of what substitute teachers are paid.
The recommendation to add the job classification to the non-union salary grids was brought forward by Assistant Supt. of Human Resources Brett Cooper.
“This comes from some of the challenges that we’ve experienced as a school division this year trying to find subs,” he said.
Cooper noted he has spoken to other school divisions that have similar practices (and in some cases, even more problems finding subs than Pembina Hills) and he determined the best way forward was to put in place this classroom supervisor classification.
He stressed that program assistants cannot act as teachers, but they can at least supervise a classroom of students and assign tasks to keep the kids busy and calm.
Cooper acknowledged this is a role program assistants aren’t hired to perform, and it isn’t their preference. In some cases, calling on PAs to supervise classrooms can cause them a lot of anxiety.
“So, I think in fairness, they should be compensated for the additional duties,” he said.
Board chair Judy Lefebvre asked what would happen if an administrative assistant or a library worker were called on to act as a classroom supervisor instead of a PA. Cooper replied they would also be compensated at 90 per cent of what a substitute teacher is paid.
Trustee Melissa Hanna asked if there was a timeline or procedures in place to ensure schools didn’t just call on program assistants because a staff member didn’t feel like calling out to find substitute teachers.
Cooper indicated it has been made very clear to staff that utilizing PAs as classroom supervisors is a last resort only after every other option has been exhausted.
He added they have a substitute teacher list to draw on and an agreement in principle to call out to those folks when subs are needed. If a sub was bypassed because someone went with the “easier” option of using a PA, then they would hear about it.
