This is reality in Ontario schools! Yes – even in Sault Ste. Marie!

Follow the link below to listen to the CBC interview with Terri Preston, CUPE Ontario School Board Coordinating Committee Chair.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/universally-ignored-educational-assistants-also-face-violence-in-classrooms-jan-22-2015-1.2927800

CUPE Local 4148 conducted a survey of our Educational Assistants and Early Childhood Educators earlier this year. Following are the results:

Stats are based on the 77 surveys returned to the executive. Almost 80% of the respondents reported being subjected to an act of student aggression in the past two years. More than half of these respondents report these acts occurring on “almost a daily basis” and almost 40% of the remaining respondents experienced student aggression and violence more than three times in the past 2 years. In addition, 70% of all of the respondents report witnessing an act of student aggression and/or violence on “almost a daily basis”.

Most of our educational assistants are assigned to 4 to 6 special needs students at once. With the Liberal Party cuts to funding for Special Education, 27 of our full-time (6 hr) E.A.s have been bumped to part-time and 13 part-time E.A.s have been laid off despite the fact that the level of student needs has remained constant.