Iqaluit parents fume over possible loss of school phys ed teacher

Chris West addresses members of the Iqaluit District Education Council May 25, saying dedicated phys ed programs are integral for the health and well-being of youth. (PHOTO BY LISA GREGOIRE)

Jennifer Pearce attended an IDEA public consultation meeting May 25 to voice opposition to a possible plan to eliminate the phys ed teacher at Aqsarniit Middle School in Iqaluit. (PHOTO BY LISA GREGOIRE)

Gwen Healey, chair of the Iqaluit District Education Council, says at a May 25 meeting that council members support physical education in schools, but they have no say over whether principals hire or fire phys ed teachers. (PHOTO BY LISA GREGOIRE)

If rumours are correct and the principal of Aqsarniit Middle School in Iqaluit is planning to cut the physical education teacher’s position in September, he’ll have to do battle with a number of angry local parents.

About 20 people showed up at an Iqaluit District Education Authority annual consultation meeting at Nakasuk elementary school May 25 and most parents did so to voice disapproval for what they say is a shortsighted decision that will have a big impact on student well-being.

Jennifer Pearce launched the discussion with a measured plea.

“I am tremendously concerned,” Pearce said. “How did we make that decision and is that a decision we can negotiate change for?”

The chair of the IDEA board, Gwen Healey, explained that based on enrollment and teacher-to-student ratios, the board approves the overall allotment of teaching positions for Iqaluit public schools.

But, she stressed that how individual schools divvy up those positions is entirely up to the school principal — in this case, Aqsarniit principal Don Peters, and his administration.

The May 25 meeting is an annual affair that gives the IDEA an opportunity to let parents know what they’ve been up to, what they’ve managed to accomplish over the year, to set an agenda for the coming year and then to entertain questions from the floor.

At least two principals were in the audience — Inuksuk High School principal Jay Thomas and Nakasuk principal Tracey MacMillan — but they were there mostly to listen.

It was the parents who did most of the talking.

One after another, they addressed sympathetic board members to talk about how important phys ed programs are for physical and mental health and how, for some kids, sports and sporting games are the only things that get them out of bed and attending school at all.

Healey and other board members, including Catherine Hoyt, said they could not advocate one approach or another on the issue.

But they voiced their support for phys ed overall and said they could be involved by helping to facilitate a meeting with members of Qikiqtani School Operations and the principal at Aqsarniit which, unlike other schools in Iqaluit, does not have an active school parent committee through which to raise these concerns.

“So if we set up a meeting and parents and community leaders come out and what if the principal doesn’t want to make a change. What do we do then? How do we, as parents, have a say in our school?” asked Micheline Kilabuk-Côté who has students at both Aqsarniit and Joamie elementary schools.

“Physical education in school is very important and I don’t agree with the principal just taking it away, without notice.”

Chris West, another parent, picked up where she left off.

“You would think that the principal would have communicated with the parents, with the community, with such an important issue,” West said explaining how governments at all levels are trying to support and promote fitness programs to combat rising obesity in children.

Parents said they understand that Aqsarniit is planning to continue offering phys ed to students but there would be no designated phys ed teacher.

Instead, another teacher or teachers would be assigned phys ed class duty. Parents said that would diminish the quality and duration of activities.

But having other teachers offer phys ed classes is not uncommon. Joamie School has been offering phys ed classes without a designated phys ed teacher for years, one parent pointed out.

In a strange twist, Joamie is actually hiring a phys ed teacher this year, which led one parent to wonder whether the loss of one position at Aqsarniit was somehow related to Joamie’s gain.

No, another parent explained. It’s just a coincidence.

The Government of Nunavut just announced that it would be supplying a “learning coach” to every school in Nunavut, she explained.

Since Joamie already had a designated learning coach, it meant an extra teaching position and, according to a conversation she had with Joamie’s principal, the school has chosen to hire a phys ed teacher.

Based on enrollment numbers, Healey said Nakasuk will get four new positions, Inuksuk will get 1.5 and Aqsarniit will lose 1.5 positions.

And while the issue of phys ed clearly dominated the meeting, parents did raise other issues as well including the disparity of breakfast programs between schools.

Hoyt explained that each school gets a limited amount of funding from the GN to support breakfast programs for hungry students and that it’s up to parents to top it up through fundraising.

Parent Chris West asked whether the IDEA should advocate for more money for breakfast programs and Hoyt said it’s already an ongoing part of their advocacy mandate.

Kilabuk-Côté also asked about lunch programs, saying it was so busy in town during the lunch hour that it isn’t safe for kids to walk home — or standing outside their house in the cold waiting for a parent to arrive home from work.

Healey said Kilabuk-Côté isn’t the first to raise the issue and that lunch programs are definitely on the IDEA’s agenda for the upcoming year.

And speaking of the upcoming year, Healey took the opportunity to harness some of the energy in the room and channel it into capacity.

Because of illness, relocation and other personal issues, the board will have six vacancies up for grabs in this year’s election, slated for October. She encouraged parents passionate about education to convert that passion into action.

Note: an earlier version of this story reported different numbers for new teacher allocations based on the GN’s enrollment formula.