Oshawa, Ont: Increasing violence in elementary schools; support staff desperately needed

Nov 1, 2017, Oshawa Express (Ontario, Canada): Lack of funding, resources blamed for rise in classroom violence—Parents, teachers say children with special needs falling through the cracks http://oshawaexpress.ca/lack-of-funding-resources-blamed-for-rise-in-classroom-violence/ With violence in the classroom purported to be on the rise, parents and teachers are pointing directly at a lack of funding and resources to children with special needs as the reason.... Earlier this fall, the teacher’s union revealed its members reported more than 300 incidents of violence in Durham Region elementary schools during the 2016/2017 school year. As reported earlier in The Oshawa Express, ETFO Durham has now launched the “Safe Schools for All” campaign to educate parents, guardians and the public at large about violence in schools and is calling for the Ministry of Education to update its current funding formula for special needs education, which has not received a full review in more than a decade…. Teachers also claim more support staff such as educational assistants, child and youth workers and psychologists are desperately needed in schools to help children who may be lashing out due to mental health issues…. “We know in the Durham District School Board one in four children have special education needs and the funding does not match the needs.”...