Rocanville parents concerned over lack of in-person options for some high school classes

Some parents of students were worried about giving their names, as they did not want to be identified by the community. They have stated:

“Students see city kids get things like shop class, etc. but then they turn around and have to take something like math (a basic) online. If the division can’t offer the basics to ALL students, then maybe they shouldn’t give money for the fancy things.

“The division seems to be so proud to offer French Immersion in Weyburn, but we can’t have a full staff to teach the basics for every grade here in Rocanville. It’s a numbers formula. The division calculates the number of kids and gives the staffing but it doesn’t seem to matter if you don’t have enough teachers for each room to share supervision and other duties.

“Teacher to kids ratio is all that matters on paper, not the actual amount of classes that can be offered. We have multiple splits in the high school end and we’re still having Grades 10, 11 and 12 students having to take online classes. If they cut any more, we will have splits in the elementary end as there are no more cuts possible in the high school.”

Carol Flynn, vice-chair of the Board and Trustees for Rocanville, Wapella and Moosomin, explained how South East Cornerstone School Division determines the amount of staff dedicated to a school.

“SECSD has a staffing formula that is applied to all schools. After that, there are some considerations with some extra staffing given to small schools to make sure that they can manage their programs,” she said.

Flynn also stated the reasons why online classes would be offered to students at the Grade 10 to Grade 12 level.

“Online courses are available for many reasons, small schools who don’t have subject specialists at the high school level, any student who wants a class that is not offered at their school, students who are trying to pick up a missing credit, and students who are working from home.”

However one parent said that the formula used to determine staffing among all schools is not adequate.

“This ‘ratio equation’ cannot work for all schools and it’s not working for Rocanville. The general public doesn’t know how this works at all. The division sets their numbers so far in advance that families aren’t even thinking about fall registration yet. By the time they do, the numbers are set and the cuts are finalized,” said Tannis MacFarlane-Kelly of Rocanville.

“Our principal does the absolute best he can with what he is given. He has had to reduce programs, multiple streams are offered in math and science and we could reduce those, but really? Why is that even on the table?

“Unfortunately, electives aren’t necessarily what interests all the students so if there is a variety of interest, it is hard to get enough students to sign up to warrant an in house teacher.

“For me, I feel the division’s motto of ‘Success for Every Student in Every School’ is a misnomer. Not every child is getting the resources he or she needs to be a successful student and a small but needed school is getting less and less to offer.”

School board responds to parents concerns about online schooling

South East Cornerstone School Division’s (SECPSD) Superintendent of Education and Deputy Director and Human Resources commented on the matter of some classes being offered only online at the high school level in Rocanville. 

Aaron Hiske, Superintendent of Education, was asked if there is a shortage of teachers that can teach a specific class/subject for schools, within the east central area.

“Staffing challenges change from year to year. Specific subject area teachers depends on university graduates and teacher prospects’ willingness to relocate from the city in which they received schooling to SECPSD,” said Hiske.

“There is a high demand for French Immersion teachers Canada wide, as well as senior science, math and PAA teachers.”

Hiske stated that every year, schools create a timetable of courses offered for the upcoming year, based on students’ interest. He said the school in Rocanville has “included student input on course offerings on a yearly basis” as a factor to help determine the staff and courses offered for the following year.

“As well, some of our smallest places in our division have been provided a bit of staffing over and above that formula. Some of our smallest schools we’ve bumped them up a little more, just to make sure they have pieces in place there,” said Hiske.

Deputy Director and Human Resources, Keith Keating, was asked if teachers are hired based on what subjects they can teach or if the hiring of teachers is based on the student population of the school.

“It’s a bit of both because you have very specific requirements. For example, at the high school level you need a teacher for English, a math teacher, those types of things. They’re hired based on enrolment but also what the needs of the students at the school are,” Keating said.

He said online classes that are offered by some schools are an advantage to students, as in the past if there were not enough students enrolled in a course at a school, then the school would not offer the class at all.

“We’re quite fortunate to have the schools offer an online approach. Historically in the past, if there weren’t enough students enrolled in a particular course, then that wouldn’t be offered at the high school,” Keating said.

“They try to offer as much as they can face to face, sometimes teachers will double up classes. Let’s say you have five, six, or seven kids who take a class, sometimes they’ll double up a class, or a teacher will teach two subjects at the same time within a school. But if there’s not a lot of need for a class in a school, in terms of the number of students who want to take it, then the online option is the best option that we really have.

“For the classes taught online, we’ve also made a switch to synchronous classes for many of them where students have an opportunity to meet with their teacher online, but also quite often for students who are in school, will get support from those teachers who are in school, as well.”

MacFarlane-Kelly is one of many parents who expressed their concerns regarding how hard it may be for students to learn difficult subjects like math or science through an online environment.  

In regards to Grade 11 and Grade 12 students required to take prerequisite classes in order to get into post-secondary programs, parents from Rocanville have stated that some of those classes have been pushed online. Hiske responded to why that may be.

“Schools offer as many options for students as possible within current staffing levels, based on student interest in those classes. In some instances there are very few students interested in a particular class, such as Physics 30, French 30, and a wide range of electives,” he said.

“We are fortunate to have access to CSVS (Cyberstone Virtual School) in order to offer this program to small groups of students that would otherwise not have the opportunity to take these classes.”

Hiske was asked, for kids who need to take mandatory classes to get into post-secondary programs, if they are able to go to another school to take in-person classes as opposed to doing the online version of the course.

“University requirements vary based on each university and program being applied for. Schools strive to provide the best opportunity for students by delivering face to face and accessing online courses from CSVS. It would be difficult for students to travel to take a course as travel time, timetabling and other factors would hinder making this option possible. Thus, CSVS is a good option. We continue to work to ensure that online, when required, is a benefit.

“Many post-secondary institutions have online portions to their programming. A student experiencing this teaching environment in high school is a good skill to have in their learning journey.”