The school division has managed to hire more teachers, but a chronic shortage persists. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

teacher update

NLSD hires a dozen teachers in recent weeks, still short 21

Sep 3, 2025 | 5:39 PM

The Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) has managed to hire an additional 12 teachers in the last two weeks but are still short 21, despite classes now being underway.

While the school division will continue looking for more teachers to hire in the coming months, director of education Jason Young explained they will rely on non-certified teachers, educational assistants and resources through the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre to help. He noted it is becoming more common for NLSD to hire non-certified teachers to make due.

“What it means is they don’t necessarily have an education degree, but may have certificates, diplomas, other degrees, so a variety of educational backgrounds,” Young said.

“We try to find the right fit and the right mix to help assist with teaching in the classroom.”

The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre is a fully accredited online school that offers Kindergarten to Grade 12 to Saskatchewan students of all ages and backgrounds, while educational assistants tend to provide support to teachers by helping with instruction, daily routines, and behavioral and social needs. Young noted educational assistants provide a pivot role in classrooms throughout Northern Saskatchewan.

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Although the school division was able to make more hires in recent weeks, Young added there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to recruit and retain teachers. He said that should involve the creation of more teacher housing, the expansion of teacher education programs in northern communities, and investments in infrastructure like the new Nįtélazёtúë Elementary that just opened this month in La Loche.

“We are making an effort to recruit,” Young said.

“Today we are launching a video campaign for recruiting teachers for the division. We just keep adding more resources and more strategies for our approach to recruit teachers. One of them is launching a new video series we will have out probably by tonight.”

At the end of the 2023-2024 academic year, the NLSD had 3,742 students enrolled and employed 658 staff, including 223 teachers.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com