Understaffed Burnaby School District launches in-house diploma program for EAs

School boards in B.C. have had to employ some unconventional methods to address a province-wide classroom staffing shortage.

Embarking on a cross-countrytourto recruit French immersion teachers. Hiring replacements without teaching certifications.

And now, the Burnaby School District is launching an in-house diploma program to train and recruit education assistants.

The district currently has 450 permanent and temporary education assistants, who provide support in classrooms and often tend to children with special needs.

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But it's still short of filling the spaces that were reinstated in a 2016 Supreme Court ruling, which found that the province had violated teachers' rights, movingthe government to hire 3,500 teachers.

"It's been a bit of a challenge in terms of having the number of education assistants that we need," said Heather Hart, the assistant superintendent with the Burnaby School District, on CBC'sThe Early Edition.

"We're continuing to hire people into positions as we go."

Hartcouldn't put a number to the shortage, but said the district was hoping to enroll up to 30 students in its first cohort.

'Great interest' in program

A number of post-secondary programs, including Langaraand Capilano University,already offer certificate programs for education assistants. They can takeupto nine months of full-time study to complete.

But those programs aren't producing enough graduates to meet the demand, Hart said.

The district's coursewill start in July and end in November. Students will then jump into a four-week practicum.

The course, which is tailor-made for the Burnaby district, willteachfirst aid, behaviour analysis and non-violent crisis intervention.

Roughly 80 people have attended an information sessionabout the diploma, Hart said.

"We had lots of questions and people were very excited."

With files from CBC's The Early Edition