Teachers and education workers at public schools in Renfrew County start a work-to-rule campaign today (Nov. 26th). President of the Renfrew County Teachers Local of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Allison Ryan, says to start the day, members will gather outside of elementary schools and hand-out information to parents dropping off their kids. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is planning a walk-in 15-minutes before the start of the school day.
Ryan says more talks are planned with the government today, Thursday and again on Monday to try and work out a contract.
Ryan says some of the things they are pushing for is to maintain the current Kindergarten model of one teacher and one Educational Assistant, more support for special needs, capping class sizes from Grades 4 to 8 and addressing violence in schools.
She adds the ETFO represents 400 teachers in Renfrew County from Kindergarten to Grade 8, another 200 Educational Assistants and 28 Professional Support Personnel which includes counsellors.
Job action is also planned by all public English High School Teachers along with Early Childhood Educators and Office Managers with the Renfrew County District School Board. Staff will stop preparing for EQAO testing, attending staff meetings and providing comments on secondary report cards. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is pushing back against the increased class sizes resulting in less courses offered to local students along with mandatory e-learning.
Previous story on local impact as a result of increased class sizes:
