COVID-19 in Quebec: School principals leave the ship

After an incredible year of not breathing, the school principals leave the ship. Some fall into battle, choose to teach or resign, which increases the deficit that is already very real at the beginning of the school year, fearing for the organizations that represent them.

Nicola Provost, president of the Federation of Quebec Educational Institutions (FQDE), said: “There are many who tell us that things are falling apart like flies this year.

According to an internal survey conducted by FQDE, the results came from 32 of the province’s 72 school service centers, with at least 60 school administrators currently on sick leave, while more than 20 will resign. Return to teaching at the end of the year or the following year.

Although the data are not in FQDE comparable to previous years, Mr. Provost firmly believes that these figures are “far higher” than ever before.

There is an increase in the number of members who have decided to return to teaching or who have opted for chaplains, although the association has not been able to quantify the incidence in the Quebecois de Persons de Direction des Ecoles (AQPDE).

Management of epidemiology and COVID-19 cases, in addition to the many logistical ups and downs that need to be placed on the school network, has pushed many to the limit, Nicola Provost notes, suggesting that more administrative positions will be vacant at the start of the school year.

Last year, at least twenty executive positions were filled several weeks after students returned to class, he adds.

The now-finished event year has also encouraged teachers to be tested by an administrative position, confirms Carl Ovallet, president of AQPDE. “We have teachers who are ready, but this year is not helping, they are passing the turn for next year,” he said.

At the Federation des Centers de Services Scholar to Quebec, its spokeswoman Carolyn Lemieux said that despite the outbreak, there were currently no indications that the outbreak had worsened. Already felt for a few years.

One of the possible solutions under discussion is to authorize the recruitment of candidates who do not have their teaching credentials, especially to allow professionals access to management positions, Mr.^Me The best.

Salary increase

As for the school principals’ associations, it is pointed out that the recent pay rise for Quebec teachers will not help recruit school principals.

If an assistant gets the top job, a teacher who is at the peak of his or her salary level will now earn only a few hundred dollars a year, while the number of days worked will be reduced from 200 to 260 days per year.

“Of course, the number of working hours can’t be compared, so it’s not very attractive for almost the same salary,” Mr. Provost says.

The same goes for the Montreal Association of School Administrators. “Currently, there may be more attraction to the rest of a teacher,” says its chairman, Kathleen Legold, although she did not see more departures than usual on her team.

After union members of the school network, school administrators will begin negotiations with Quebec this fall on their pay and working conditions.

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