The upcoming school year and the mental health of teachers are among the priorities of the newly-minted President of the NLTA.

Trent Langdon has just one full week under his belt.

Langdon’s main focus is the province’s back-to-school plan as September draws near. He believes there is ample time to figure out a solid plan for the upcoming school year—especially as mainly students remain unvaccinated.

Premier Andrew Furey would only say that the details would soon emerge when recently asked what the upcoming school year will look like.

Langdon says the pandemic really helped to highlight many of the issues previously raised by the Teachers’ Union.

Langdon says COVID-19 really exposed issues with class size. He says some classes were very large, and teachers were still expected to maintain social distancing between students. From his experience, the cohort model was just smoke and mirrors – especially in high school settings.

Langdon says teachers cannot support their students if they are not in a good place themselves—and mental health remains an important focus for the union.