Sudbury educators link insufficient staffing and violence in the classroom to provincial underfunding
CBC
Educators in Sudbury are once again raising alarm about violence in schools, arguing chronic underfunding is leading to unwieldy class sizes and reduced staffing that create frustrated students who lash out.
They made a similar plea in September 2023, when students returned to the classroom after pandemic disruptions.
At an event hosted by Sudbury MPP Jamie West, unions for local teachers and early childhood educators described examples of how they feel underfunding is failing students.
The president of the Rainbow local of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Liana Holm described an incident that a teacher reported to her.
She said a student, distraught at having lost a shoe, started swinging a backpack at other students.
The teacher intervened to find out what happened and the student charged her, pushing her against a wall.
The teacher called for help but staff were dealing with other incidents.
The teacher used non-violent crisis intervention techniques and help arrived about 45 minutes later.
"Keep in mind that while all of this is happening to our educators, students are watching these incidents," said Holm.
"They take a toll on everyone. Violence and disregulation is becoming normalized. This is alarming and cannot be sustained."
The union and West say the province has cut funding on average per student by $1,500 since 2018, when adjusted for inflation.
He said there are now five to six students with special needs in classes that include 35 students.
A mother of one such student described how her family has had to wait to get him help
Jessica Montgomery is president of the Sudbury District Labour Council, but was speaking as a mother when she explained how access to help for her son is getting harder.
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