(Canada) NL: Retired principal fights for SPED support; "He’s never seen things as bad as they are now"

Sept 10, 2025, The Telegram: Retired Stephenville principal fighting for supports for children with special needs  

https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/retired-principal-fighting-for-special-needs-kids  

Newfoundland and Labrador,

Wally Childs, who retired in June, said he’s never seen things as bad as they are now

For years, Wally Childs experienced the frustrations of parents fighting for supports for their children in school.

As a school administrator, he dealt with angry parents. He was the one who had to move staff around so that the children with needs had the required supports. He worked beside staff who were worn out from being stretched beyond their limits.

Now, the retired principal from Kippens is experiencing things on the other side. He’s advocating for his grandson and other children who have started a new school year without the support they require.

His story is no different from many being heard across the province as parents talk about the lack of student assistant hours and the impact that is having on their children. It’s a trend that has been repeating over the last couple of years.

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, Childs organized a demonstration outside Stephenville Primary, the school where he was principal until he retired in June.

Childs and the other protesters are calling on the provincial government to take action and to provide more student assistants and teaching learning assistants (TLAs).

About 30 people attended the demonstration, and Childs said the stories he heard would break your heart

 “It’s sad,” he said simply.

Being there for Alex

Childs said part of his reason for retiring stems from the fact that his grandson, Alex Dolye, who is autistic, would be starting Kindergarten at Stephenville Primary in September.

 “I knew what needs he had. I knew what support we could probably give him as a school, or what was probably going to be lacking or what we were going to struggle with,” said Childs.

“I had a decision to make. Do I stay around and try to fight here? Because, really, my hands were sort of tied fighting inside the school.”

So, he opted to retire.

 “Then, if there’s an issue, I could tackle it without having to worry about someone sending me an email saying don’t be talking.”

Safety concerns

Alex is very smart, but Childs said he’s a runner and is not aware of the dangers that can present.

Childs dropped Alex off at school on the second day, and while chatting with a former colleague, saw his grandson running up the hallway with a student assistant running after him. It was only a couple of minutes after he dropped him off, and at the same time, another student was running in the other direction with another student assistant running behind.

Alex has a student assistant with him for some periods and a TLA for others.

Ideally, Childs said, his grandson should have one-on-one support for safety. If there were no issues with him getting out of the classroom, then he could be grouped with another child with a shared student assistant.

Not enough workers

Childs said the government talks about inclusion, but without support, that’s not possible.

 “If there’s no ideal teaching conditions, there’s no ideal learning conditions.”

He said there are three TLAs, a half-time librarian and a full-time reading specialist at the school who are being used as student assistants.

It’s a contradiction, in a way, he said, because if these teachers applied for jobs to work with special needs children, they would be turned down because they don’t have special education degrees.

Childs said his issue is not with the staff, and the school is doing a phenomenal job of providing the support children need.

 “They go above and beyond the scope of their jobs to support these children and be a part of their lives.

 “But I’ve never seen it this bad,” he said, adding he’s also concerned for his colleagues.

When he left in June, there were 16 student assistants at the school. He said they needed more, but made do.

The school started the new year with eight, and that’s not enough, he added.

 “So, you can imagine what it’s like there for them right now. The teachers look like they’ve worked three months already.”

No reason for the decrease

Childs said only five children with special needs transferred out of the school, and he figures double that came into Kindergarten.

He said the school would have known about any needs long before the year started. These children attended Kinderstart sessions and had been viewed by special services and autism itinerants.

So, he asks, why are kids having to struggle for two months every year?

 “Why can they not start school on a fun note like everybody else?”

One of the messages from the demonstration, he added, was that people shouldn’t have to fight for this again next September. . . .

The government has allocated 400 extra hours for support, but that’s being shared across the province. Childs said the Stephenville school only got five hours and was only able to add one position.

There’s also supposed to be another 500 hours coming to the province from the federally-funded Jordan’s Principle program.

He suggests that the province should implement those hours now and then get reimbursed when the Jordan’s Principle funding comes through.

While he feels the program is amazing for the kids that it helps, Childs said Jordan’s Principle should not have to be a factor in children getting support.

 “They should be given the support by the Department of Education, by the government. They all should be supported, and then kids that are First Nations that could use the Jordan’s Principle support to get access to other things, like laptops or whatever to use at home or to attend appointments. That’s what Jordan’s Principle should be used for,” he said.

 “Jordan’s Principle is not the issue here. We shouldn’t have to wait for these things. They should be given to kids.”