OSSTF/FEESO Celebrates Support Staff Appreciation Day

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 7, 2014) - "Today, as part of Education Week, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) celebrates the contributions of educational support staff workers who have helped make our education system world class," said Paul Elliott, President of OSSTF/FEESO.

"It was with great pride that our Federation founded the first Education Week in Ontario in 1930 to celebrate the excellence of public education. In 1999, we introduced Support Staff Appreciation Day as an integral part of Education Week to ensure that the essential role played by all educational workers was fully recognized."

Elliott further emphasized that, "Our schools, colleges and universities are staffed by an educational team-a team that includes many types of education workers and staff. The hard work of these education teams in schools and universities ensure safe, inclusive and clean environments for student learning and success. Our administrative professionals, technicians, and plant support personnel, to name a few, all contribute to the well-being of our students. In addition, educational assistants, social workers, child and youth workers, psychologists and speech language pathologists and other members of the team provide the necessary support for our special needs students."

"As governments work within an agenda of austerity, the important services that support staff members provide continue to be threatened by cuts. We know that the Hudak Conservatives have stated that if elected, 10,000 support staff workers in Ontario will lose their jobs. It is this kind of agenda that devalues and disrespects the work that these important education team members do for students every day."

Elliott concluded by stating, "We must recognize the importance of all workers within our schools and universities to ensure students' needs are met within our public education system. We ask that all Ontarians, especially students and parents, help us celebrate Support Staff Appreciation Day by expressing their gratitude to educational support staff for the roles they play in inspiring confidence in our students and helping them prepare for tomorrow."

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.