Education disruptions kept to a minimum, says student

With teacher job action and sanctions, including withdrawal of lunch hour supervision, extracurriculars, and sports, it was expected that many students would have faced a disrupted school year. However, besides a handful of tournaments and larger school events – such as the Downtowners Optimist Band Festival and HOOPLA, the provincial high school basketball championships – being cancelled, most students experienced minimal disruption in the 2023-24 school year. 

Nyshane Clarke, a recent high school graduate from Regina, was impacted by some of the job action but says the disruption was “not significant,” including its impact on the quality of his education. Clarke was a French immersion student and takes advanced placement (AP) classes. Outside of the classroom, Clarke was a member of the anti-racism, cross-cultural team (ACT), played on the badminton and volleyball teams, and participated in robotics. 

Having graduated this June, Clarke plans to pursue post-secondary education in the University of Regina’s faculty of business administration, majoring in finance, marketing, or communications. Clarke’s pursuit of post-secondary education was also not impacted by job action. He’s been looking forward to his high school graduation ceremony, as the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools as Clarke was graduating from elementary school.

While Clarke had some worries, and faced minor disruptions to his usual school life due to teacher job action, he is hopeful that the actions of teachers across the province will allow for a better schooling experience for students and educators alike. 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

What do you think of your teachers?
I think my teachers are amazing, for the most part. I can see the effort they put in every day to make lesson plans, to teach, to mark, and things like that. I’m doing some AP classes; one for French and one for calculus. I’ve seen my teachers put the effort in and they’ve really helped me whenever I was struggling with questions or anything I didn’t understand.

What do you think of your curriculums?
I feel like I kind of just go along with it. We cover a whole bunch of different bases, whether it’s history, social studies, or math, and all those other mandatory classes. It’s giving everybody general knowledge that will probably help prepare them for their life after high school. It definitely seems like whenever we go into something that’s really heavy or a sensitive topic, sometimes teachers will put trigger warnings. My teachers always make sure to mention it and try to get everyone in the right mindset so that we’re prepared for the lesson. 

Do you have any thoughts on the number of students in your classes? Are there students with different needs?
For the most part, it’s been good. But it’s funny; there’s a lack of French education teachers. There are about five or six teachers, and over 100 students across all grades [in our French immersion program]. My grade 12 classroom is around 30 students, but it hasn’t really affected me much. At times, it makes it harder for the teacher to get around to everybody. In my classes, I see a lot of people with different learning styles and different needs. At times, the teacher has to address them in different ways in order to help them get their work done and help to make sure that they understand what they’re learning. 

"... he is hopeful that the actions of teachers across the province will allow for a better schooling experience for students and educators alike."

What have you thought about teacher job action?
I’ve talked with some of my teachers and I’ve read some things, too. I see what they’re fighting for. I think those are important things to address, like classroom sizes and complexity, or making sure that individual students get the support they need to improve their learning experiences. Smaller class sizes could have helped, because it would let teachers give personalized help to people who need it. Right now, sometimes it can get too noisy or feel overwhelming; it would help to have a smaller class when it comes to being able to focus or making sure you understand the subject. Plus, for more introverted students, being around so many people, it might affect the way they learn or take in information.

Dealing with things like violence in order to make sure that the environment in which kids are learning is safe and good to learn in, I think it’s really important. I admire what the teachers are doing and how they’re pushing for the betterment of schools. I watch them, I see how they put in the time, the effort, and now the job action. They are dealing with crazy stuff sometimes. But I still see them being dedicated to the cause and dedicated to the students. 

Were your extracurricular activities impacted by teacher job action?
Yes, they were. Especially with badminton. The badminton season alone started really late, to the point where we only had two weeks left before the city-wide tournament when we started practicing. Even then, we had a week that was cut out because of job action. With ACT, we’ve been trying to go forward and plan for our fundraising events for charities or to raise awareness about different things, but it’s been kind of hard to plan them with job action as well. Teachers weren’t able to be involved. Even though it’s mostly student-led, teachers help coordinate a large part of it. 

In other years, we would have presentations like Pink Shirt Day assemblies or anti-bullying presentations. But this year, we weren’t really able to do these school-wide presentations. For Pink Shirt Day, we just sent out the presentation to every homeroom. Other events that students would plan had to be changed around or modified, like the ACT team’s Diversity Week or the annual school-wide fundraiser for the Alan Blair Cancer Centre. We still got to do them, it just looked different this year. For Diversity Week, we’d usually have smaller activities, like flag or language guessing games in all the homerooms, and then a bigger thing, like a potluck or lunch with a bunch of performances on the last day. Now, we’re just going to sell different foods from different ethnicities and cultures during the normal lunch period. We don’t have the time to put on a big performance, such as a traditional clothing fashion show or traditional dances, or even a potluck. It’s always really fun.

 It’s an interesting feeling; it’s a really important thing that teachers are fighting for, so that’s good. But I definitely do feel a little disappointed since it is my last year in high school. It would have been fun to see [the performances], but we’re still planning the activities, just smaller. It helps to make up for it.

Were there any other ways that job action impacted you? How does this year compare to other years?
I was impacted by the shortened school days, where they would withdraw noon-hour supervision, and then we would go home early. I was still able to get my school work done, whether it was at home or at school, which is good. I was still able to email my teachers if I ever needed help with anything. But it was just something different. After we got back from a strike day, or even if we had noon-hour supervision withdrawn, we still got our work done. We still talked about what we needed to discuss for assignments. We were still able to talk to each other. For me, I didn’t feel like it had a big impact on me, just a change.

In my grade nine year, COVID-19 had a lot of impact. We didn’t have any sports, we didn’t have any school dances, no tailgate parties for football games, and stuff like that. There were a lot of times when we would have to go online, which took away my time from being around other people, and I very much like to be around other people. It was hard for me to focus at home, too. 

I would say that it feels like it’s been a normal school year. Job action started later in the year, around the halfway mark. A lot of the earlier things I did get to be part of, I did get to have fun. I’m still keeping up my studies. Compared to something like the COVID-19 lockdowns, it does look more normal. When job action started, I was kind of dreading the idea that the school year would look different, that I would miss out on opportunities, but so far there have only been a few big ones, like badminton season, for me.

What do you think about how teachers managed to keep classes running during job action?
I find it really impressive. I know a lot of the point of the strike days and the job action that’s being taken is to disrupt the students’ schedules to a certain extent to get the government to realize or come to terms with the importance of what the teachers are striking for. But I also find it impressive because teachers still found workarounds and made sure they were still meeting the required curriculum that they had to teach. They’re still finding ways to accommodate the students in some way, shape, or form. The impact was kind of meant to disrupt the students’ time at school and a normal school year, but really to try and get parents and other citizens involved and supporting the cause.

On May 17, it was announced that the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee and the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee had reached a tentative deal. What do you think about that?
I’m hoping this might end up doing something positive for the teachers. I was in my calculus class and us students were talking with our teacher and we were all really hopeful for something good to come out of it, so that we can finish off the rest of the year on a good note.

I can kind of see how the agreement is trying to touch on most aspects of the teachers’ demands, but I’m not sure how much it is affecting it. It doesn’t seem like it will be affecting a lot. I’m not in the government, so I don’t know what it looks like over there, but I feel like there could be a little bit more resources thrown out to address those things. They are putting something forward, and I don’t want to say that it’s inadequate, but it’s not enough to really help the problems that were there in the first place.

"I also find it impressive because teachers still found workarounds and made sure they were still meeting the required curriculum that they had to teach. They’re still finding ways to accommodate the students in some way, shape, or form."

Collective bargaining between the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee (TBC) and the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) began in May 2023, as the contract at the time would expire in August 2023. By July, there had been a lack of progress made at the bargaining table, according to the TBC. Around the same time, the Government of Saskatchewan began a billboard and digital ad campaign regarding teacher salary and school funding that the STF called “misleading and ridiculous,” and which went against the agreed-upon commitment to good-faith bargaining from both sides. The ads highlighted teacher wages, touting that teachers in the province received $92,000 per year, compared to the average $90,300 in Western Canada. However, teachers would need to have taught for at least ten years and meet multiple education requirements to reach the salary mark of $92,000.

On October 12, teachers joined together for a province-wide day of action, as the TBC declared that negotiations were at an impasse and filed for conciliation, where a neutral third party would assist in bargaining talks. On October 24, the TBC and STF executives announced a sanctions vote, where 95 per cent of voters said “Yes” to the use of sanctions. By December, the conciliation board declared an impasse, creating a report released in January that supported the STF’s demands of class size and complexity being addressed in bargaining.

Sanctions soon began on January 16, 2024, with a province-wide strike. A second strike took place on January 22, followed by a series of strikes that rotated through each school division and different areas of the province. Negotiations resumed in February, though the GTBC implemented stall tactics and then left the bargaining table after less than a day. Sanctions then expanded to withdraw noon-hour supervision and extracurriculars. 

On March 8, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a Multi-Year Funding Agreement with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA), to provide the minimum $356.6 million per year for four years. On March 14, teachers put forth an announcement calling for binding arbitration to address classroom size and complexity. If the government had accepted, all job action and sanctions would have been suspended and negotiations continued. However, the request was not met and rotating strikes and withdrawn voluntary service continued. 

"I feel like there could be a little bit more resources thrown out to address those things."

By April 8, teachers were to indefinitely withdraw all voluntary service, such as lunch hour supervision and extracurriculars. This job action was quickly reversed as the TBC and GTBC returned to bargaining on April 12. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that a “final offer” would be voted on by teachers on May 8 and 9. This final offer included an Accountability Framework to ensure that the agreement would be adhered to, which included an additional $18 million per year of funding to address classroom complexity, the creation of a task force on classroom complexity, and a policy table to review classroom violence.

This initial proposal was “overwhelmingly” rejected by teachers, with 90 per cent of the STF membership voting against the offer. A second tentative agreement, one now endorsed by the STF, was created after further bargaining, to be voted on May 29 and 30.

However, many teachers were still voicing concerns about what this version of the deal will bring to the table. even going so far as to vote for further potential job action and sanctions on May 15 and 16. Many of the teachers’ demands, such as classroom complexity and violence in schools, have been reduced to a Minister’s Task Force on Classroom Complexity and a policy table on classroom violence. The Task Force would be made up of teachers, students, and parents who would share their opinions on classrooms with diverse needs. The policy table would be made up of the Minister of Education, STF representatives, and SSBA representatives to determine the scope of classroom violence, eventually ending in a final report which would include suggested solutions. 

55 per cent of teachers once again rejected the second tentative agreement, with 88 per cent of the voter base casting their ballot. 

"I don’t want to say that it’s inadequate, but it’s not enough to really help the problems that were there in the first place."

Negotiations resumed on June 5, but an impasse was declared the same day, as the GTBC refused to move forward without binding arbitration, where a neutral third party would make the final, legally binding decision on bargaining, after having refused the STF's initial offer of binding arbitration back in March. Sanctions were reimposed for June 10, featuring once more the withdrawal of all voluntary services. However, teachers soon agreed to binding arbitration on June 14, allowing voluntary services to resume. Three nominees for the arbitration panel were then announced on July 23, including Dawn Harkness, a retired Saskatoon Public Schools teacher chosen by the STF, Daniel Ish, a former University of Saskatchewan law professor and dean of the College of Law, chosen by both the STF and the GTBC, and Greg Chatlain, a former director of education of Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools chosen by the GTBC. Within the arbitration panel, both sides will have the chance to submit written statements and present on two key issues, to then be reviewed and create a path to a new collective agreement.

With this, the school year ended without further disruption. Students like Clarke and others graduated and attended end of year celebrations and school trips. On August 8, it was announced that arbitration hearings will take place December 16 to 20 in Saskatoon. The hearings will focus on two main points: wages and class complexity-accountability framework. The resulting decision will be made legally binding and become part of the Provincial Collective Bargaining Agreement.