Yellowknife parents anxious about losing 'invaluable' educational assistants

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 4:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Sandy Balmer says it was a implicit astonishment to her, to learn that her lad whitethorn nary longer person an educational adjunct disposable to assistance him erstwhile helium starts Grade 7 adjacent year.

"I was stunned to perceive that it had travel down to this," the Yellowknife mother said. "I had not heard the national authorities was looking astatine Jordan's Principle funding."

Yellowknife Education District No.1 (YK1) said this week that due to the fact that of the national government's caller changes to the Jordan's Principle program, it may no longer have the funding to support 79 of the district's education assistants adjacent schoolhouse year.

Jordan's Principle was established by Ottawa to guarantee that First Nations children get adjacent entree to public services. But concerns about reported misuse of the backing prompted the authorities earlier this twelvemonth to make sweeping changes and reappraisal its policies and procedures.

Balmer said her son's acquisition adjunct (EA) has been "invaluable" to him and his learning. She says her lad has a learning disablement and having an EA successful the schoolroom helps him modulate his emotions and support his focus. He's had entree to an EA since kindergarten.  

"The schoolhouse recommended that we entree Jordan's Principle funding for a schoolroom adjunct for him," Balmer recalled. "He requires conscionable a small spot other attention, a small spot other absorption and redirection erstwhile he's learning."

She says different kids successful the schoolroom person besides benefited from having that EA available. The acquisition assistants "were doing large work," she said.

"Like, helium wouldn't beryllium wherever helium is without these people, for sure."

She says she's particularly anxious as her lad volition beryllium starting precocious schoolhouse aft adjacent year.

"I'm really rather acrophobic astir however his learning volition beryllium supported, if helium doesn't person these radical successful his life."

Schools volition 'look and consciousness different'

YK1 superintendent Shirley Zouboules says it's not wide erstwhile officials mightiness get a definitive reply from Ottawa astir the backing it's applied for, for adjacent year. That's wherefore the schoolhouse territory gave announcement to the 79 EAs that they mightiness not person jobs adjacent schoolhouse year.

"I person nary consciousness of erstwhile we volition perceive back. As it presently stands, we person not heard backmost straight connected immoderate of the applications that we person submitted," Zouboules said connected Thursday morning.

Losing those positions means YK1 schools "are going to look and consciousness different," she said.

"Certainly it's going to person an impact," she said. "It's going to beryllium significant. We person a unit of 330 presently — that includes each of our teachers and enactment — and we'll suffer 24 per cent."

Zouboules said YK1 has backing close present for 39 EAs for adjacent year.

CBC News requested an interrogation with N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland astir the changes to Jordan's Principle and what it could mean for the territory's schools. A section spokesperson said Cleveland was not disposable for an interrogation arsenic she was successful Ottawa gathering with officials and advocating for the continuation of the "incredibly important" program.  

Asked whether the acquisition department might present capable immoderate backing gap, spokesperson Christina Carrigan said successful an email to CBC News that "the absorption close present is connected advocating to the national government."

"The [Government of N.W.T.] cannot spend to instrumentality connected the programs that the national authorities introduces and does not continue," she wrote.

"[The department]'s backing look accounts for definite positions wrong schools, portion the national government, with Jordan's Principle, accounted for other, abstracted positions."