Educational assistant shortage hits dire levels, Thames Valley school board looks to hire 200 positions

There is such a chronic shortage of education assistants (EAs) who provide specialized support to students with special needs that the Thames Valley District School Board has dropped some qualification criteria and is hiring students to fill in on a temporary basis. 

"EAs work in jobs that are often very violent, we're paid very low, and our job security isn't great," said Rebecca Avey, an educational assistant for the past 23 years who has recently become the president of CUPE Local 7575, which represents the EAs who work for the Thames Valley board. 

"There's shortages in all kinds of sectors right now, and the problems are compounded in times of chaos like the pandemic and so here we are, short of trained and qualified people to work." 

Thames Valley has more educational assistants than it ever has, said Andrew Canham, the superintendent in charge of special education, but there's not enough on a supply list to fill in when someone calls in sick. At least once a week, someone from the school board offices has to go to a school to fill in for an EA who is absent. 

"This school year we have an unprecedented high number of EAs. In 2018, we had 1,000 full-time EAs and this year we have 1,054. The challenge we're facing is that as staff members are absent due to COVID-19 or other reasons, we have a shortage in the number of casual employees," Canham said. 

"We're averaging less than one per school per day and we'd like to see 20 per cent more than that." 

That means stress on the existing EAs, who struggle if they have to call in sick, and on classroom teachers, who sometimes have to work with students who need one-on-one care, said Avey. 

The board is looking to hire 200 casual educational assistants who would be on-call and able to fill in when needed. The pay is $22 per hour and the school board has greatly relaxed the criteria for those casual positions. 

Recently, those hired had to have a two- or three-year diploma in development services worker, child and youth worker, educational assistant or educational support, or a relevant degree or diploma and paid experience working with kids with special needs.  

Not anymore. 

Now, the board is willing to hire those in their last year of studies in a child-related field, and the board is working with Western University, King's University College and Fanshawe College to recruit, Canham said. 

The staffing shortages have meant that principals or vice-principals have to fill in for the missing EAs, or students are grouped in with other kids who also require assistance, Canham said. 

Enrollment overall is higher than expected this year, and that includes students with special needs, he said. Sometimes, students have to go completely without EA support, or they are buddied up with another child who also needs help and support, said one London teacher.

As funding has dried up, educational assistants are not assigned to children as readily as they used to be, but kids' acuity has increased, she said. Having an EA in the classroom allows the teacher to deliver the curriculum to everyone in the room.