Educational Assistants protest staff cuts
August 24, 2011
REGINA—Hundreds of educational assistants (EAs) have lost their jobs while the number of intensive needs students climbs steadily, according to new numbers obtained by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Saskatchewan.
Ministry of Education documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that 350 full-time equivalent EA positions have been cut since 2007. Because EAs ypically are part-time workers, the union estimates the loss to be many hundreds of individual EAs from the education system, province-wide.
News release and staffing charts (pdf)
RealRenewal statement on Educational Assistant cuts (pdf)
In the words of a parent (pdf)
An Educational Assistant speaks out (pdf)
Cutbacks to educational assistants
This CUPE fact sheet records the number of education assistant positions lost and gained in Saskatchewan between 2007 and 2011.
Education Assistants: The Facts (pdf)
EA cuts hit home
CBC Saskatchewan reports that cuts to educational assistants are beginning to hit home for families in the Prairie Spirit School Division, where 41 EA positions have been eliminated. A lively online discussion follows their report.
Changes to support services
Few parents of special needs children are aware of a major change in approach and resource allocation that will impact services for their children.
Background - Regina
A few years back, the Regina Public School Board conducted Stakeholder Focus Groups to examine student support services, followed by a review of current research. The final results were compiled in the Student Support Services Review document.
In general, the focus group participants felt resources were spread too thinly, and communication and coordination needed to be improved. The research review focussed on trends to make programming more inclusive. The Support Services Review offered recommendation to address these issues.
Significantly, resources to carry out the review recommendations are to be gained through re-allocation, not through adding resources. This involves a reduction in support to educational assistants and a range of other support positions, and a reduction in the number of Structured Learning Classrooms. According to theory, this will provide funds for beefing up training and hiring of classroom teachers, so that teachers are prepared to take over the role of working with special needs students in the context of their regular classroom day.
Provincial and national scope
The plan follows a Ministry of Education report that recommends a 75 per cent reduction of educational assistants over seven years, redirecting their work duties to “professionals” (teachers, psychologists, etc.). The stated intention is to develop a more inclusive, integrated approach to education. However, employees and parents have raised a number of questions about this directive.
Noting that the number of special needs kids in the system more than doubled between 2000 and 2008, there are concerns that the plan will amount to a reduction in services to special needs children, leaving classroom teachers to struggle on their own with greatly increased responsibilities and demands.
Parent-advocates of special needs children in BC report that their system has gone through similar changes. While they support the idea of more inclusive instruction, they warn that if such changes are to be successful, they cannot be accompanied by a reduction in resources elsewhere. Separate learning spaces and specialized support staff remain important to the success of inclusive classrooms.
Recent actions
Some 100 people parents and staff attended a public forum organized by CUPE on April 29. There was a clear consensus in the meeting that parents do not want their children to be short-changed, in terms of the amount of attention and support they receive in classrooms on a daily basis.
Since then, the Education Minister has released a statement distancing the Ministry from its staffing recommendations. The letter states they do not have a policy to reduce educational assistants, and that such decisions are the responsibility of local boards. The Regina Public administration has also released a statement saying they are viewing the guidelines provided by the Ministry as a recommendation only. Clearly the response of parents and staff has aided in cooling talk of further staff reductions.
The province has stated parents MUST be invited to participate in planning student services.
Regina parents to talk among themselves, review key documents, and keep their ears open for any opportunities for input provided by the board.
Parents who want to get in touch with other parents of special needs kids may contact RealRenewal for assistance.
Board publications:
Stakeholder Focus Group Report.
Special Education 2007 – A Review of Current Research and Practice
Student Support Services Review
Ministry of Education publications:
Proposed Staffing Ratios (pdf)
Golden Rule - A journal article the Ministry provides as its research base (pdf)
Enhancing Opportunities Report (pdf)
Staff Members' Publication