teaching in Vancouver?

Has anyone here been (or is) a teacher in the Vancouver public school board? I am considering a high school job there and wondering what the working conditions are, especially compared to Ontario, where I work now. I read in the Vancouver collective agreement that teachers teach 25 hours a week and have less than 30 minutes of prep time per day. Is that the case? If it is, then their working hours are much longer than in Ontario...

I've tried to post this on a specific teaching forum, but the Canadian ones I found were very inactive...

have you tried davescafe? I think you'd have better luck there.

I'm not in YVR, but I do work for a Western Canadian public school board. I think it's worth noting that the collective agreement lays out the maximum amount of time you can work, the maximum number of students you can teach, etc. Lots of schools manage their money in ways that allow teachers to teach less than the maximum allowable number of minutes. Yes, you could end up in a school that makes you teach every last minute you're permitted to. Or, you could end up at a school (like mine) where you have less contact time but you are held more accountable for "administrative" responsibilities like planning (we are expected to do a lot of collaborative planning with other teachers) and assessment (I have more than two hundred and fifty report card comments that I have to write myself, without a comment bank, three times a year).

I work as a special needs support staff with Vancouver (for the last 3 years now). My boyfriend's mum is a longtime teacher in ON so I maybe can weigh in a bit....
Teachers definitely have crappy conditions in BC. In fact, you prob know this already they are trying to strike but our gov't made that illegal. So this year I am finding morale very low. Prep is less than 30 per day, they complain (justifiably!!!) every day

Some of my friends teach in the private system and find it easier, more supportive.

Also, consider your neighbourhood carefully, in Van we have a VAST east west disparity in our schools. I prefer the east, I like the challenge, but it sure is a challenge sometimes! Highschool should be better.