Parents group urges more support for students with special needs

A group of concerned parents in Gander has launched a petition calling upon the provincial government to add more support staff and teachers serving students with special needs.

Rachel Elliott
Kicker

A group of parents say there is a shortage student assistants and support staff in schools in the Gander area and across the province.

The Facebook group FUSS (Families United 4 Student Success) launched a petition in October 2025 calling for more support staff and teachers to serve children with special needs.

FUSS is a group of families that come together to advocate for safe and effective school-based services for children with special needs across Newfoundland and Labrador. Ashley Way, one of the organizers of FUSS, started the petition because she and other parents were concerned about how much help and support students with special needs get over the course of a day.

“We’re seeing students who have gotten their supports completely taken away because there’s just no person to fill that position,” Way said.

Way said many support staff feel they don’t get adequate training to deal with some of the behaviours they see daily.

“You know, they don’t want to be put in a position where maybe they’re not equipped to deal with some of the students that they need to help,” Way said.

Student assistants are doing a “phenomenal job” with the number of staff that they currently have, added Way.

“They are stretched so thin,” Way said. “You’re going to end up losing all of these great people in the schools because they’re so burnt out.”

Some classrooms have only one student assistant for five kids who need one-on-one help, Way said.

Bettina Ford, MHA for Gander and its districts, presented the petition at the House of Assembly last week on behalf of FUSS.

“I had one worker tell me that they [student assistants] have to apply year after year, and where they’re located can change,” Ford said.

One of the requests on the petition was for the government to develop a recruitment and retention plan for student support workers.

Ford said that FUSS was also distributing in-person petitions for people to sign along with the online petition.

“They had engagement not only from families in the Gander district, but families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador,” Ford said.

“It’s not only beneficial to the students who need it, but its beneficial to the entire classroom because students who require the extra help are getting it,” Ford said. “It’s a better learning environment for everybody, and for teachers as well.”

She said with the large number of students in one classroom, ensuring that adequate support is available to students is important.

Ford said Paul Dinn, minister of Education, is aware of the situation and is working on it.

Kicker contacted the Department of Education but did not receive comment before deadline.