Teachers told to expect 135 multi-grade classrooms in 70 schools

Teachers in 70 schools can expect to be working in multi-grade classrooms this fall, with no training and no guidelines as to how students should be chosen for the combined classes, says the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association in a memoWednesday.

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According to the NLTA, as many as 2,400 students will be put in multi-grade classrooms, many in urban areas, "where most teachers have no experience or training in teaching in multi-grade classrooms."

The memo to teachers, published on the NLTA website,outlined how the changes contained inthe 2016 provincial budget will work, using the example of a school with 38 students in bothGrade 4 and Grade 5.

"In September 2016, there will be one class of 29 Grade 4s; one class of 29 Grade 5s and one multi-grade combined class of 9 Grade 4s and 9 Grade 5s," wrote the NLTA.

It said there are no guidelines from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for how students will be selected for the combined classes, and individual schools will have to pick and choose.

"No doubt this will put school administrators under pressure and in unnecessary conflict with parents who understandably will not want their children in multi-grade classrooms," wrote the NLTA.

The union said it has not been given answers on whether special needs children will be placed in multi-grade classrooms, or whether "high-achieving" students in one grade will be paired with "low-achieving" students in another.

Education Minister Dale Kirby said Tuesday that 20 per cent of Canadian students are taught in multi-grade classrooms and that there is evidence it improves outcomes.

"The NLTA will challenge this and ask if that is the case, why aren't all classes multi-graded?" said the union in its memo.

The teachers' association said while multi-grade classes are common in rural schools, most parents would not choose them.

"We have come a long way from the one-room school house of yesteryear. With this budget, we feel government has taken education a step backwards."