teacher

signaller

social worker

occupational therapist

instructor

YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

I’ve Been in this position for decades. Many of my colleagues and former colleagues who are amazing at what they do are retiring early or on stress leave. The administration can be demanding and although they say they appreciate us we all know that actions speak louder than words. The admin can be manipulative and when it comes down to it they will treat staff like behavioural children if they don’t do what they want them to do. The union is a waste of money as well. They only represent some of their members. They almost always offer two choices to solve a problem. They offer the choice that they want you to choose and try to convince you  that it has the better consequence. The other choice is always some thing that nobody would ever choose with a terrible consequence. Both “the board” and unions treat staff that way. When they don’t like someone they transfer them to a school that they know has high needs. There are many classrooms out there where EA’s  are getting hurt daily by the students and are wearing Vite guards, padded jackets and protective gloves. They often put staff members they don’t like in those classrooms because they’re hoping that they will quit. That gets them out of paying pension. Over the years, I have seen many colleagues who cannot work with aggressive students get told that it’s part of the job and if they couldn’t do it they can’t work and they try to get them to retire early or quit that way after being beat up and traumatized on the job. Then they replace the person with a casual employee who is not trained in Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI). The only difference is this employee who is a casual (supply) gets paid less and generally wants to get hired on as full-time so they’re very compliant (real keeners) not necessarily qualified. Another problem…. When an EA is absent they used to replace them with casuals, who had the same educational background and training therefore, they were qualified to do the job. Years ago, a lot of people here in Ontario went to teachers college so these qualified teachers were out there looking for jobs, but there were no teacher jobs available so “the board” hired qualified teachers to do supply CYW work. The problem with this they are not trained CYW’s. They didn’t learn the same things in teachers college about behaviour management. Teacher’s college focussed on the curriculum it’s a slap in the face to us because it’s like saying you’re three years of education and child and youth work is not as good as a teachers four years of university getting a BA followed by one or two years of teachers college. It’s been many years now that when EA’s are away they seem to get anybody they can to do the job. For example, if there is a parent who is a lunch monitor and perhaps in school to be an early childhood educator. (ECE NOT CYW) and a  CYW’s is absent with no supply they will ask the parent if they can stay for the whole day and do the job as a casual employee. It’s disrespectful to us like anyone can replace us. Also, some E A’s are doing a job that is comparable to the job of a security guard. The zero tolerance to bullying is a bunch of lip service . Children who have an independent education plan. (IEP) don’t get suspended like other students who don’t have that.  There may be a student who has an autism diagnosis who has social struggles at recess and the other students don’t know because this student with autism may appear to be just an average kid, and fully integrated however, sometimes that student bullies a particular student and gets away with it because they have an IEP, and it’s a legal document. Overall, I have worked with many many amazing teachers, EA’s, secretaries, caretakers, but in the over 20 years that I have worked for the YRDSB I have only had one amazing principal, some downright terrible ones and some just okay.  I think that the admin talk a bunch of talk, but all it’s lip service to make things appear OK on the outside. “The board” wastes a lot of time and money making things appear OK.  At the end of the day, many employees including teachers are overworked and underpaid, except for the admin. So many amazing teachers are retiring early because the job is costing them their mental health. That’s what the board wants. They want people to retire early so they can get out of paying them their pension and medical Benifits when really the only reason these people are retiring early is because they are mentally ill as a result of the job! The board is losing amazing employees and the future will involve less qualified (but compliant little robots) working for even less pay.  The manipulation and abuse staff have to put up with takes a toll on their health and them unable to work. There is a direct correlation between stress and disease. Stress doesn’t only effect mental health but can cause other serious life threatening diseases over time. So many employees don’t even realize that they are being abused and manipulated because they are generally good, kind people who don’t deserve to be treated that way. Part of my job as a child and youth worker involves data tracking. I have to track students behaviours. I am experienced and skilled at observing. Hence,  why I have observed this happening to all my colleagues over the years. If I didn’t mention it… EA’s and teachers are highly overworked and underpaid. 

Productive environment, especially when taking initiatives to learn and take on tasks out of my comfort zone. The corporate level allowed me to take on several assignments where I was able to support senior staff and challenge myself. In a supervisory role, I thoroughly enjoy leading by sharing my knowledge and helping others to learn. I think the most difficult part of the roles was being able to assess personalities, especially where power struggles come into play and learn to navigate through them. It is important to win people over and build strong relations and in an organization/department with several individual mindsets, that can be a pipe dream but not impossible.

My typical day starts one hour before the students arrive to school and ends one or two hours after the students are gone.  Time flies as I am swimming in work all day long.  I go from teaching a subject, to meeting a parent in this office at lunch time to a staff meeting after work and finally to correcting and preparing for the next day.  Teachers attend mandatory and voluntary information sessions; learn new computer programs, and new methods of teaching.  Management is usually very supportive and helpful.  Some of my colleagues were simply priceless: from helping me find resources using the Internet to re-explaining the teachers' evaluation process and the paperwork involved in the presentation of such an evaluation.  The workplace culture was one of collaboration, respect, and helping each other.  The hardest part of the job was to try to find time and  energy to socialize.  The most enjoyable part of the work is that teaching provides opportunities to change lives.

Check the building grounds and structure for safety and vandalism. Open the building and check for security breaches. Make sure all heating and HVAC is operational. Organize the crew to do their duties by priorities. Look for any deficiencies and have them serviced by the contractor(s). Relay any concerns with the Administration and contractor of any equipment or area of the building being serviced. 
 I have learned to operate various boilers, chillers and Building Automated systems over the years. Management is where all communication is sent to working staff directing any changes from the director and the ministry of labour and so forth. Hardest part of the job is not being able to get things done in a timely do to complications. The most enjoyable part of the job is the finished product, a job well done and have fun while doing the task at hand.

I started out my first year as a Special Education Resource Teacher with only about six months of supply teaching experience.  I was not assigned a mentor teacher as was usually the case with first year teachers.  As far as the paperwork went, I was given a certain amount of assistance from the principal.  However, at the beginning of my second year in this position, the principal was replaced, and I was given little or no assistance with any aspect of my job.  I repeatedly asked for help with one particular part of my job from head office, but to no avail.  Then, when it came time for reviews, I was given very lukewarm reports, and the lack of assistance on the part of the Board was never acknowledged.  My self esteem suffered a great deal on this job and it took many years to get over this experience after having worked there for four years under these conditions.

A caretaker with the board will have a minimal stress job for as long as they want.  The pay is average and every 4 years when the union contract is up you will be pushing for higher wages through union strikes and so on.  That being said, you will never be fired as long as you show up and do your work.  You're cleaning, sweeping, mopping - it's easy but can be labour intensive with repetitive movements.  Your fellow caretakers are all positive and welcoming in general. You have great benefits and sick time and employee services.  You will earn a pension.  Lots more females in lead and district lead positions.  The organization is top heavy with managers.  Other boards pay well, but the scheduling with YRDSB is better with shift rotations from speaking to others on this. Overall great place to work, but cost of living will be a challenge.  Lots of caretakers have side jobs.

I learned to work as a team player.

I learned that children can think for themselves and make sound decisions when well guided.

The most enjoyable part of my work was evaluating the children's progress as well as my own professional growth as a teacher.

The hardest parts of the job were to enforce rules and adapt my teaching style to every child.

The workplace culture is one of high-performance due to hectic schedule, meetings, planning, correcting, and evaluating.  However, it is an inspiring culture where your administrators help you grow professionally.  You are encouraged to attend thought provoking workshops. You work with well educated, positive colleagues who share their knowledge and welcome new ideas. You work with administrators and colleagues who create a supportive environment.

I work in a community class that - this coming year - will be supporting students in grades 1 - 4.  All students have 
developmental delays as well as behavioral issues.  No two students are at the same learning level.  It is very busy and quite a challenge to provide each student with just what they need at any given time.
My co-workers and I work well together and all follow the protocols that we have in place. We put our heads together constantly to come up with more effective strategies.  The students are very
impulsive and we are continuously trying to stay a few steps ahead of them.  I enjoy my work very much.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Very organised call out system for supply staff . Good schools, some excellent administrators and fabulous , dedicated teachers .

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sometimes there are very rude students who are disrespectful of supply teachers … they seem to forget we are humans too. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work culture seems to be a positive one with good support systems for full-time staff employees at all levels .

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I arrive to a new day every day. Being a supply teacher is a stressful living . After over thirty years as a regular full time teacher it takes a lot of humility to be a supply teacher.

Because this school board is so vast, there are multiple demographics it serves. Each area has unique challenges and usually has some advantages.
Since Covid, the approach of many administrators is to be supportive of children and parents even at the cost of undermining or ignoring the teachers' or support staffs' authority. This often causes a lack of respect toward school staff (teachers et al), and a greater emphasis on giving parents what they want such as higher grades, lack of consequences for negative behaviour and very little recourse for staff.
I love the role I have in special education, but would not encourage my child to become a teacher.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Teacher 8 salaries reported	$79,750 per year
Signaller 165 salaries reported	$88,827 per year
Social worker 3 salaries reported	$93,999 per year
Occupational therapist 6 salaries reported	$92,402 per year
Instructor 6 salaries reported	$50.27 per hour

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