22 education workers walk off job at Toronto special needs school
Posted January 26, 2021 2:08 pm.
Principals and vice-principals from other schools have been brought in to a Toronto public school that serves special needs students after 22 educational assistants refused to work over safety concerns.
A confirmed 45 students are currently going into Beverley School on Baldwin Street.
Toronto education workers union president John Weatherup says staff and parents want rapid testing at the school.
“I think it’s the integration of special education and COVID-19. The government has not funded the school board’s properly, special education in particular,” Weatherup said.
“The issues they deal with special ed students, masks getting ripped off, and it’s both a problem for the staff because it’s a health and safety issue as well as the students.”
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says talks are ongoing to address the concerns.
TDSB spokesperson Sherry Schwartz-Maltz says administrators from local schools are helping out.
“The education assistants that work in a facility like this are amazing and specialized and wonderful but the teachers are working right now and we’ve brought in principals vice-principals from local schools help work with them so they’re guiding the learning kids and are absolutely safe,” Maltz told reporters.
“For a more long- term solution we have a lot of the resources at the board (speech pathologists, behavioural therapists and health and safety) and all those additional central resources are being taped into work with the kids and to work on the learning situations… to try to make the situation better.”
They also say that all of the cases have been resolved and that there are not any active cases as of Tuesday.
