It's that time of year when students usually bring home their report cards, but if Burnaby parents want to know how their kids are doing, they'll have to call their teachers.
B.C. teachers have been on a partial strike since Sept. 6, while the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association have attempted to negotiate a new contract.
As part of the job action, teachers are not doing administrative work, issuing report cards or volunteering after hours.
School district spokesperson Gilian Dusting said parents can contact teachers if they want to know how their children are doing.
"In most cases, teachers are getting back to parents in whatever way they can," said Dusting.
For Grade 12 students, who may need transcripts for scholarships or post-secondary applications, the process involves more than a phone call.
"In our district, students are encouraged to go to each of their teachers to get their marks. They then take the marks to the office, and there will be someone there to enter them into transcripts," Dusting explained. "That's how it's being solved; the students go from teacher to teacher."
Dusting said there are methods in place to authenticate the marks, which may involve administrators confirming the information with teachers. That way students can't change their marks en route to the office.
The B.C. Public School Employers' Association was arguing that report cards are an essential service (so that teachers would have to issue them despite the job action), but on Nov. 29, the B.C. Labour Relations Board ruled in favour of the teachers.
The association also wanted the teachers' federation to pay 15 per cent of teachers' wages and benefits back to school districts, but the Labour Relations Board also ruled against that idea.
School board chair Larry Hayes doesn't think the teachers' job action has had much impact on students.
"I know I certainly have not had calls and other trustees have not had calls directly from parents to say there's a huge impact," he said. "I think there's a lot of patience on everybody's part at this point."
He did, however, say that evening Christmas concerts may be affected, since teachers are no longer volunteering after hours.
"If not all the schools, the majority of schools are continuing on with just doing the daytime performances," he said. "That will impact some families who can't get out to things during the day."
www.twitter.com/JenniferMoreau
