The Northern Lights School Division has created a new incentive to try and bring more teachers to the north.
The incentive will offer recently graduated teachers a $10,000 signing bonus to work in Bear Creek, La Loche, Stony Rapids, Sandy Bay, or Uranium City.
NLSD is also prepared to give a $5,000 signing bonus to new teachers wanting to move to their other locations in Air Ronge, Beauval, Brabant Lake, Buffalo Narrows, Cole Bay, Cumberland House, Green Lake, Jans Bay, La Ronge, Pinehouse Lake, St. George’s Hill, Timber Bay, and Weyakwin.
Jason Young, director of education at NLSD, said that the division has been dealing with the teacher shortage since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The division has tried multiple other strategies to attract teachers to the north but hasn’t noticed much change.
“I think part of it has to do possibly with the number of people that are entering the profession; I don’t know that we’re seeing as many people entering the teaching profession, and with that comes demand for employers, fewer resources, and fewer teachers all together,” said Young.
In 2019, NLSD, along with the University of Saskatchewan, Cumberland House Cree Nation, the Northern Village of Cumberland House, and the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, signed a memorandum of understanding to offer a Bachelor of Education degree program in the community.
Young said the partnership has been successful in the community, and the school division has plenty of staff in Cumberland House. He hopes similar partnerships will happen in other NLSD communities.
“Every year we saw the shortage, and we responded with a number of strategies, and we’ve also engaged with the Ministry of Education to support us in some of these efforts to address the teacher shortage,” explained Young.
Along with the signing bonus for recently graduated teachers, NLSD also offers all-inclusive rental agreements and a moving allowance.
With the school year ending, it is unclear how many positions will need to be filled for the next school year, but NLSD is currently hiring in nearly all locations.
Current openings are listed on the NLSD website at https://www.nlsd113.ca/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1067825&type=d&pREC_ID=1358355.