Sask. school division asks parents to step in for teachers during lunch-hour walk out
CTV
A Saskatchewan school division is trying to get parent volunteers to fill the gap that will be left when teachers refuse lunchtime supervision on Thursday.
A Saskatchewan school division is trying to get parent volunteers to fill the gap that will be left when teachers refuse lunchtime supervision on Thursday.
Teachers will walk out of schools at noon for an hour as part of an ongoing campaign of job action as contract talks with the Saskatchewan government continue to falter.
The planned responses by Saskatchewan school divisions have been mixed, with some going as far as shortening the school day. According to an email to CTV News from a parent, Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD) asked principals and vice principals to lean on parents in the hopes they would be willing to monitor the lunch hour.
"We are aware that different divisions are doing different things to ensure that students are safe during the noon hour one of those things includes trying to find a pair of volunteers to cover supervision that had previously been done by teachers,” STF President Samantha Becotte told CTV News when asked about the measure.
Becotte also said principals are often called upon to provide leadership in unexpected situations, they shouldn't have been asked to convey this particular message because they are also STF members.
"That is within the principal’s role, but at the point where the announcement was made – principals and teachers should not be participating or creating any contingency plans for school divisions,” Becotte said.
“Just like all teachers across Saskatchewan, they have the right to participate in job action and creating contingency plans really undermines that action this this is a responsibility of the school division,” she added.
