“We launched this survey because educators, parents and administrators were beginning to raise the alarm about a crisis in our classrooms while the Education Minister kept saying everything was just fine,” NDP Education Carla Beck said. “Based on the results we’ve seen so far, describing the situation as a crisis is not an exaggeration.”
“It’s so important that we hear voices like Sarah’s so we can move forward with education that works for students, teachers and parents,” Beck said. “We hope that the stories shared in this survey, coupled with the news that several school divisions are now reporting that they will have to dip into their reserves or cut staff, will galvanize the public to push for stable, adequate, predictable funding for our schools.”
Over one thousand people have filled out the survey so far, which will run until September. About forty percent of respondents so far are teachers and twenty percent are parents, with members of the public, staff, administrators and Educational Assistants making up the rest.
A few clear themes and calls to action have emerged from the survey results so far, including participants’ desire that the government adequately fund education, listen to and act on input from teachers and staff, and address a decline in supports in the classroom.
“Going in, we knew there would be some glaring issues, but from the responses we’ve seen so far, the situation in our classrooms is even worse than I thought,” said NDP Education Critic Carla Beck. “Premier Moe is failing students, teachers and parents by not ensuring sufficient, predictable funding, by breaking his promise to add 400 EAs, and by failing to even track how many students are in our largest classrooms.”
The survey can be found here: www.ndpcaucus.sk.ca/brighter_future
The NDP caucus plans to present a summary of the final results in September. No identifying information shared by individuals in the survey will be published without the participant’s consent.