Union concerned that special education staff and students are returning to school

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A great deal of anxiety and stress is packed together with lunch as hundreds of support workers and some teachers return to work in Windsor-Essex schools this week.

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Contrary to the popular notion that schools were closed with an announcement from the provincial government on Monday that students will return to online learning for the next two weeks, those in special education programs continue to attend each day as they have. since the beginning of the COVID -19 pandemic.

“It’s a huge slap in the face to see the narrative that schools are closed,” said Tyler Campbell, District 9 president of the Ontario Federation of High School Teachers for 900 support workers on the Greater Essex County District School Board. . “The schools are not closed. Our most vulnerable children, most of whom do not wear masks and cannot socially distance themselves, will return on Thursday. ”

Prime Minister Doug Ford said face-to-face learning would be delayed at least two weeks to January 17 amid a vertical spike in COVID cases.

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Remote learning mandates have never been applied to Ontario special education staff and students.

Campbell said that approximately 400 children will return to specialized elementary and middle school programs.

Elementary students with complex learning and physical challenges attend Attention to Individual Needs (GAINS) classes, while high school students attend Skills to Enhance Personal Success (STEPS) classes.

There are also approximately 400 students in special education programs with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board who are eligible to return to school on Friday.

“It’s a tailspin for support staff,” Campbell said.

Agata Pitre is an educational assistant working in a GAINS classroom at Frank W. Begley Elementary School in Windsor.

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“I’m pretty nervous,” Pitre said about going to school on Thursday. “We have 10 students in our class and only two can wear a mask. The rest cannot tolerate a mask and many of our students require hand-to-hand support. The six-foot spacing does not apply and some of our students need help to go to the bathroom, so we are in the bathroom with them in an enclosed space. It’s very stressful and makes me a little anxious. “

Pitre and other staff will receive an unfitted N95 mask as part of their PPE and a spokesperson for the public board said that all special education rooms are equipped with a HEPA air filter.

Pitre said they have been advised to open a window to improve ventilation.

“You can open the windows in Begley but it’s cold outside as well,” he said.

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Jennifer Daskalakis is a support worker in a GAINS classroom at John Campbell Elementary School in Windsor.

“I feel a little more comfortable now that I am vaccinated,” she said. “But I know that some of my co-workers are struggling with that and I understand that.”

Support worker Alisha Ayala compared her duties to those working in long-term care. She said low wages lead to high staff turnover and the staff shortage is leaving other workers “completely drained.”

A spokesman for the board said there is no staff shortage.

“We have no GAINS / STEPS staff shortage that we know of at this time,” said Scott Scantlebury. “We monitor our staffing levels every day and have contingency plans and options ready for various potential staffing shortages should they occur.”

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But Campbell argued that “there are basically 40-50 job openings a day. We have been dealing all year with the shortage of support staff and this will only increase the problem when people have to take a medical leave due to stress or health reasons ”.

Campbell said support workers are struggling with the daily challenges they face.

“They took the tests out of the schools, there is no test,” he said. “The government has abandoned education. We barely survived and we managed ”.

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