Dear Editor,
I am pleased to hear the Saskatchewan Government is reviewing the role of education assistants in our schools. Our education is touted to be "student based" and the students' needs should be the first thing considered when changes in staff are looked at.
Our province is currently moving toward community residence for our special needs citizens instead of large institutions. When you look a little farther this would be a great opportunity to move the education of the special needs students into the community as well. This could be done with the restructuring of the educational assistants jobs rather than job cuts. Special needs students need assistance outside of the five days a week, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., September to June calendar. Options such as year long learning as in Ontario and Alberta and store front learning need to be looked at, investigated and considered.
One of the options that has been talked about is hiring more professional staff at the school division level. Supporting these students cannot be done from a distance. While these positions may be needed they should not and will not ever replace an educational assistant in the classroom. Day-to-day contact enables the local staff to make the best and most consistent decisions possible for their students. Local schools and staff need to have the authority to structure individual programs for their students which may reach outside the confines of the school building and the school year.
Families have much information and observances that the professionals need to hear and not disregard. Having a university degree does not make you an expert - living with a special needs person does.
I believe that strong community awareness leads to strong community support. Moving the education into the community could also ease the trauma of transition that many of the special needs community face during the ages of 18 to 22. If learning and working more in the community and less in the school helps with the transition from student to working citizen then that can only be a good thing. These students would be empowered by the opportunity to be strong contributing citizens.
I would implore the government and all interested parties to centre this debate on the students' needs. Lets form a circle of support around the students rather than parallel lines that never meet and are only about each interest group. Further consultations are needed with local school boards, families, students, educational assistants and the government with all parties being treated as equal partners with dignity and respect.
Reducing the number of educational assistants in itself may not seem significant to others, but to families of special needs children it makes a huge difference in the quality of education and life for our loved ones.
Arlene Wilkie,
Unity
