Education ass’ts need more support

Dear Editor:

Re: “CEAs support our forgotten children,” (Courier letters, Feb. 26).

There has been much in the papers lately about sending our most vulnerable students home from school, as adequate support cannot be provided due to the absence of staff. There have also been articles about violence in the schools in which staff are underreporting the violence they experience.

I believe these issues go hand in hand, and unless the chronic underfunding of our schools is addressed, this will continue to be a rising statistic. When you have an entire population of precarious workers who, for the most part, barely make a living wage, you can’t expect to attract and hire much-needed employees.

Most educational assistants work an average of 28 hours a week and earn $31,000 to $35,000 a year. They continue to put in unpaid hours and feel undervalued (don’t get me started on the fact that many are paid almost $4 an hour less when they support hundreds of children on the playground).

They love these children and their jobs — why else would they stay? Our neighbours next door in the Sooke School District found a way to staff EAs at 30-plus hours weekly. What a great start!

EAs are getting burned out — thus attendance is down and vulnerable children are under-supported while the existing staff try to bridge the gap. Building relationships with children is paramount. In this climate it is difficult to achieve. Let’s do right by our children and our CUPE and teaching staff. Jane Massy, President CUPE 947 Victoria