Music teachers being reassigned
Waterloo school board forced to move instructors to help fill empty classroom positions
Tim Moher knows the benefits of a music class.
From ukuleles to trumpets to trombones, the longtime music teacher at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board watched first-hand how an introduction to the arts could change a students’ entire perspective on what it means to learn.
A sudden switch that has the power to change a child’s entire trajectory, or deliver a lifelong passion that gives meaning and wonder to the mundane.
But it’s not just the art form that’s important, it’s the instruction. More importantly, he said, the trained instructors.
Moher is joining a chorus of voices calling on the Waterloo Catholic District School Board to reverse its trend of reassigning music and health teachers for classroom assignment due to a variety of different factors, including teacher shortages and unfilled classroom positions.
“The students’ faces came out of their ‘school is boring’ dormancy, and I saw spirit in the rise that I had never seen in all the years I was teaching,” Moher said of his first time working in the itinerant music class, which travels to schools with different music programming.
“Many students who never found their place in the school community because they were never confident in sports or served as a library volunteer every single lunch hour, now had their place.”
He watched tears of frustration as students worked to get the note, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
“The end story was they learned to overcome obstacles, perseverance, experiment until they could triumph over their failings, and succeed.”
The Catholic board is not considering removing music instruction but is instead having to move specific music teachers out of these roles to fill gaps in other classrooms.
The main concern with this approach to music teachers like Moh
er is that those who step in as replacements won’t have the musical knowledge to appropriately teach the coursework.
However, the process is already underway.
“Due to the rapid population growth within the region and our schools and the ongoing shortage of qualified teachers, WCDSB has had to make the difficult decision to reassign some teachers who do not have a classroom position to ensure that there are teachers in every classroom. The health and music teachers have been going through reassignment for the past two school years,” said board spokesperson Lema Salaymeh.
She said the board is committed to providing health and music instruction, but the teacher shortage has driven the need for the board to “reconsider how it can guarantee teachers in classrooms and the instruction” of these subjects.
“While planning is still in progress, we remain committed to preserving the integrity of the instruction, the workload of our teachers, and staffing our classrooms with qualified teachers,” said Salaymeh.
Some teachers who do not hold classrooms, including itinerant planning time teachers, have been reassigned.
Salaymeh said there is no plan to reassign additional nonclassroom teachers at this time.
In a statement sent to the Record, the Waterloo Region District School Board said it has not been forced to make any similar teacher transitions.
Teacher shortages have plagued boards across the province after the COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid retirements, and more choosing to leave the profession.
The Ministry of Education has been implementing strategies to fast-track more teachers and build back the ranks, including increasing budgets for school boards.
“To ensure students get back to basics in classrooms, our government provided Waterloo Catholic District School Board $316 million in funding, an increase of over $17 million in funding over the past year,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Since 2019, provincial funding has increased by 19 per cent at the board, with enrolment growing by about nine per cent, provincial data shows.
The board is responsible for deciding how to allocate its teachers, the ministry said, but emphasized that “we expect school boards to manage their finances and focus on students building strong foundational skills in reading, writing, and math.”
While it may not seem like a direct correlation, Moher argues that proper music instruction helps lead to better academic outcomes for many students across the board.
Outside of the many studies that show children who engage in regular music study have larger vocabularies and enhanced language comprehension skills, he said, it can’t be underestimated how getting to enjoy a music class can spread into a more enjoyable time in every other classroom.
He points to The Record’s recent article on student well-being, which found that children continue to report lower levels of well-being as they age through the education system.
“Is it any wonder that as there are less requirements for the arts as you age that you are less engaged or motivated? said Moher.
Moher will speak to trustees on Monday and is calling for a committee to look at ways to ensure music instruction remains a priority in the school system.
“Schools are growing and demands are changing, I understand that,” he said. “But if we are bringing in more students, we need to ensure that we can offer them the same level of education, and that has to include music.”