Queen’s University tackles French-teacher shortage with innovative program for learners

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A national shortage of French-language teachers has prompted one university to try an innovative approach when it comes to recruiting more educators – and keeping them working close to home.

Queen’s University in Kingston has partnered with a network of 13 school boards in the eastern part of the province to offer local French speakers an alternative schedule for earning a teaching degree: They travel to attend classes at the school one weekend each month (plus all of July), and the school boards provide candidates with paid teaching positions during their studies.

Peter Chin, who is Queen’s associate dean of teacher education and helped create the program, noticed that the shortage of French-language teachers meant schools in the area were increasingly hiring uncertified instructors. The other issue was that graduates of the university’s traditional teacher education program came from farther afield, and didn’t necessarily stay to teach in the region when they completed their studies.

“There’s such a shortage of French teachers that school boards have been hiring people whose only credential is they spoke French. So I thought, let’s up the game and get those people bachelor of education degrees,” Prof. Chin said.

“This became a potential for a made-in-eastern-Ontario solution.”

About 20 students will graduate from Queen’s French-as-a-second-language multisession program this spring, then another 30 the following year. Most of the current learners are French speakers who have worked as educational assistants, early childhood educators or uncertified instructors in schools between Durham region (east of Toronto) and Ottawa, and will likely continue teaching in the area.

Among them is Andrea Skinner, a 47-year-old mother of three teenagers. Ms. Skinner studied kinesiology and health sciences and works as a personal trainer at an abilities centre in Whitby, Ont., about two hours west of Kingston.

Two years ago, one of her clients, a teacher, mentioned that the Durham District School Board needed French supply instructors. Ms. Skinner was a strong candidate, having studied in French immersion and tutored in the language. She immediately landed a position as an uncertified supply instructor in French.

The thought of returning to university to become a teacher, however, didn’t occur to Ms. Skinner until her school administrators forwarded an e-mail about the Queen’s plan. Her family obligations meant she couldn’t return to traditional full-time studies, but the new program fit her schedule. She’s also been able to earn an income, both through her teaching placement and by continuing to work as a personal trainer.

Ms. Skinner is in her first year of the two-year program. She travels to Kingston once a month and stays in an Airbnb with other teacher candidates. She is studying the general theory and practice of learning, and specifically how to instruct students in literacy and numeracy. Her teaching hours count toward her degree.

“We are in need of French teachers. So, what better way to incorporate that than by getting the French teachers that are already out there and putting them into this program to get them qualified?” Ms. Skinner said.

The demand for French-language instruction in public schools has grown over the years as families look to give their children a competitive edge in the future job market or fluency in a second language. For many French immersion classes, in particular, school boards scramble to reconfigure classrooms and find qualified teachers. Some boards have wait lists for the program, while others have a lottery system to contain exploding student growth.

Denise Andre, executive director of the Eastern Ontario Staff Development Network, which represents the 13 school boards in the region, said the program at Queen’s could help address the French immersion teacher shortage.

The fact that school boards provide students paid teaching placements – typically long-term supply teaching jobs – for days they’re not at Queen’s is a large reason it’s proving attractive, she said.

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That was certainly the case for Stephanie Giles, who was an early childhood educator in a French immersion classroom in Bowmanville, Ont., for about a decade

For years, Ms. Giles, 34, dreamt of attending a teacher education program, but it felt untenable. She couldn’t carry any more debt, especially with two young children.

“I was planning on doing it, but it was causing a lot of anxiety, because 18 months with no paycheque and two young children is undoable, and a mortgage and all of that fun stuff,” she said.

She had just returned from maternity leave in early 2022 when her superintendent shared an e-mail about the Queen’s program.

“It just seemed too good to be true, to be able to work and learn at the same time.”

In April, she will graduate with her teaching degree, part of the first cohort to leave the program.

Ms. Giles feels she’s in a lucky position because her school board has already brought her into a permanent teaching role as long as she meets her learning requirements. Currently, she is teaching a Grade 6 French immersion class.

“It’s a lot of work, don’t get me wrong. But it’s opened a lot of doors for me.”