It's World Education Support Personnel Day!
Today, we recognize the care, strength, and dedication that educational support staff bring to our school communities.
Education support personnel are essential to quality public education and to safe, inclusive learning environments. Their work must be fully recognized and properly valued. #ESPday
We need to make a show of strength that is equal to the threat of losing our public hospitals to privatization.
The @ontariohealthcoalition invites you to get on board to STOP Ford's privatization of health care! On Thursday, May 28, we will gather outside Union Station in Toronto for a rally at 12 p.m., then march up to Queen’s Park for a giant protest. The Health Coalition have bought entire train cars and blocks of tickets to bring in Ontarians from all over the province on VIA and GO trains. There is no cost for a ticket!
SIGN UP:
⚫️ Please register by Wed, May 20 at ontariohealthcoalition.ca.
⚫️ Seats are first come, first served. Sign up ASAP!
⚫️ Each person must submit a separate registration.
⚫️ Donations to help cover the cost of the tickets are most appreciated
Today, we use our voices to speak up and affirm our commitment to act and end violence against Indigenous women and children.
It's time for change, and it's time for healing!
Together as #onted educators, parents, guardians, and friends, we must speak up, take action and educate to end gender-based violence.
The Moose Hide Campaign Day is a national day of Indigenous-led ceremony, learning and action to end gender based violence. Learn more at https://moosehidecampaign.ca.
This week, a delegation of ETFO members is in Winnipeg attending #CLC2026 to raise issues, make connections, debate, and strengthen our role in the labour movement.
With unionists from across the country, public and private sector workers, we are organizing for our collective fightback. Unions are leading the fight!
In response to the provincial government’s 2026‑27 core education funding announcement ETFO had this to say:
“Calling this budget ‘record‑breaking’ is meaningless when it fails to meet the needs of students, especially those with disabilities. Educators have been clear that we need adequate, stable, inflation‑protected funding to support all learners. This government continues to ignore these calls, choosing instead to mask real‑dollar cuts with political spin.
Students with special education needs, English language learners, and those requiring mental health supports are disproportionately harmed by education budgets that fail to reflect the real needs of students and the actual costs of running schools. According to the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario’s report, Ontario is last among provinces in revenue generation and social program spending. Yet, the Ford government can find millions to purchase an airplane. That choice is deliberate and shameful. While the province has chosen to increase the declining enrolment adjustment allocation, this targeted boost does nothing to address the chronic underfunding that boards face across the system. This level of underfunding will lead to fewer educators and caring adults in schools, and it will not improve learning conditions for students who remain in classrooms with inadequate supports. Additionally, the government is placing critical decisions about funding, staffing, and student supports in the hands of chief executive officers who do not understand the realities of Ontario classrooms. Entrusting school board budgets to individuals with no education sector experience will make an already serious situation even worse. Families must not overlook the Ford government’s failures. They must raise their voices with their members of provincial parliament and the Minister of Education. ETFO will do the same. If this government genuinely cares about student success and well‑being, it will listen and act on the improvements that are urgently needed.”
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is raising urgent concerns following the release of the Auditor General of Ontario’s Special Report on Special Education Needs, which confirms that the provincial government has chronically underfunded special education and neglected the needs of students with disabilities.
“This report is another damning indictment of a government that has abandoned its responsibility to Ontario’s most vulnerable learners,” says ETFO President David Mastin. “After more than a decade of chronic underfunding and policy decisions that have stripped supports out of classrooms, school boards simply cannot meet the needs of children with disabilities. The system isn’t just strained; it’s fundamentally ableist.”
The Special Education Needs report examined whether the Ministry of Education and school boards have adequate procedures to ensure that special education programs and services comply with requirements and meet students’ needs. The audit found that many students waited months for specialist assessments, with about one-third waiting over a year to be formally assessed. It also found an absence of standard criteria and guidelines for identifying and supporting students. Sixty per cent of surveyed teachers reported that they received minimal or no training in the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans. Staff absences and vacancies went unfilled by a qualified individual between 49 and 72 per cent of the time. The report further revealed that students with special needs were sometimes sent home, or asked to stay home, without schools formally tracking the number, documentation, or rationale.
Forty-six of Ontario’s 72 school boards collectively spent almost $400 million more than they were funded for special education in 2023-24. This underscores the widening gap between student needs and supports available in Ontario schools.
Read the full release at etfo.ca. LINK IN BIO.
#specialeducation #onted #onpoli #promisesunfullfilled
ETFO members! It is important that you attend the All-Member Meeting for your area. This meeting with a provincial officer will review the 2026 bargaining plan and the upcoming strike vote.
All members are strongly urged to attend the all-member meeting in their local to ensure they are fully informed of timelines and what's at stake. Meeting details can be found at: etfocb.ca. #ETFO #onted #publieducation
May 10th honours Jordan River Anderson and the promise of Jordan’s Principle: that First Nations children receive the products, supports and services they need, for health, education, and social well-being. In Ontario, stricter rules and backlogs are impacting children and their caregivers.
Spirit Bear represents the 165,000 First Nations children involved in the case at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Educators can access free PDF books and teaching guides on the First Nations Child and Caring Society website to learn more and share Jordan’s story. Learn more about Jordan’s Principle and Spirit Bear by visiting the First Nations & Child and Family Caring Society
Registration is now open and our summer courses are filling up quickly!
Summer Academy includes in-person courses at various locations across Ontario, as well as virtual sessions.
The courses are facilitated by dynamic presenters and are structured to meet the personal and professional needs of ETFO members.
Visit events.etfo.org for more information and to register. Registration fees are $75 for in-person courses and $30 for virtual sessions.
It's Mental Health Week, and the Centre Canadian Mental Health Association has a message: Come Together, Canada
Social connection is essential to overall health and well-being. But too many people are feeling alone. In Canada, millions of people say they often or always feel lonely. Together, we can strengthen belonging, reduce isolation, and support well-being, because connection strengthens mental health. Stronger connections = better mental health.
For over 50 years, Grassy Narrows First Nation has lived with the devastating impacts of mercury contamination and broken government promises.
And for over 50 years, they have been fighting for justice.
It is beyond time to make things right!
During Provincial Rep Council, ETFO local leaders added their voices to demand government action. We stand with #GrassyNarrows. @grassy.narrows.solidarity
In a joint letter with the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (@osbcucscsocupe ) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (@osstf_feeso ), we called on the Minister of Education to reaffirm its commitment to the play-based learning model in Ontario’s Kindergarten program and to recognize and strengthen the role of designated early childhood educators as experts in early learning.
We know and have witnessed the critical importance of play-based learning in the early years and the essential role of DECEs as pedagogical leaders within Ontario’s Kindergarten program.
Play-based learning is a foundational and evidence-based approach that supports the holistic development of young children. Decades of research demonstrate that younger learners learn best through exploration, inquiry, and meaningful engagement driven by their natural curiosity.
Through play, children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, creativity and imagination, as well as the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive capacities necessary for long-term success.
Central to this approach is the professional expertise of DECEs. Their specialized knowledge of early childhood development supports the design of responsive, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate learning environments that honour children’s agency and support diverse learning needs. Working collaboratively with teachers, DECEs strengthen the overall quality and effectiveness of the Kindergarten program and are indispensable to its success.
While the 2026 Kindergarten Curriculum continues to reference play-based learning, it does not reflect the same depth of research, context, and pedagogical grounding found in earlier versions of the program. This approach risks diminishing the importance of play-based learning and may inadvertently undermine the integrity of Ontario’s early years framework. It also risks minimizing the specialized and essential role that DECEs play in supporting children’s learning and wellbeing.
#publiceducation #onted #onpoli
