Addressing Teacher Shortages in Cree Communities
Nearly 500 平特五不中 student teachers were placed in Montreal-area schools this fall, but did you know that more than 30 new Cree 平特五不中 B.Ed students are studying in their home communities in Eeyou Istchee, places like Chisasibi, Waswanipi, and Ouj茅-Bougamou? As part of OFNIE, (the Office of First Nations and Inuit Education), 平特五不中 Education has partnered with the Cree School Board to offer the Bachelor of Education First Nations & Inuit Studies, helping to certify more Cree teachers in Indigenous communities.
鈥淭his program is important because like the rest of the province, we are experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers,鈥� commented Mary Bear, Director of Professional Development for the Cree School Board. She went on to describe the fact that the relocation of Cree teachers away from their home communities in order to pursue certification programs can pose many roadblocks. 鈥淲e find that the community-based programs that we offer seem to be more successful and the retention rate is higher. The students don't have to uproot their families and they have more support when they are in the community鈥�, said Bear. Most of the students in the program are not new to the education field; many of them worked in schools, daycares, or youth recreation settings with some have worked as substitute teachers.
Like 平特五不中鈥檚 on campus B.Ed Kindergarten and Elementary program, the B.Ed FNIS focuses on preparing educators to certify them for teaching kindergarten and elementary classes, with an emphasis on second language and Indigenous culture. Already established in both Kahnaw脿:ke and Listuguj, Quebec, the program was extended to the Cree communities this semester with classes beginning online at the end of September. 鈥淟ike our other programs, this was a result of an intensive collaboration with the Cree School Board鈥�, explained OFNIE Co-Director Dr. Stephen Peters. 鈥淪tudents from nine Cree communities simultaneously follow courses and ongoing placements in community schools, cycling between the school environment and the university classroom environment continuously. Courses were intended to be delivered face to face but have shifted to remote delivery due to COVID restrictions.鈥�
OFNIE adapted the regular semester system for the new Cree communities鈥� B.Ed FNIS for instructor hiring efficiency and to better align with students鈥� schedules and academic preferences. Instead of following courses concurrently, the students take one course at a time over a three-week period, followed by field placements in the local community schools.
鈥淵es, COVID had a big impact on our program,鈥� responded Mary Bear when asked about the obstacles to starting a new program during the health crisis. 鈥淲e were doing our recruitment during the lockdown in our region. When we found out that courses would have to be done online, we had to order laptops, then we had to orient our students to on-line learning which was foreign to them. In some communities, internet access is not very reliable, so we did experience setbacks, but now things seem to run much more smoothly. Yes, it was a real challenge starting a new program during the pandemic but we did it!鈥�
