r/Winnipeg • u/TravisBickle2020 • 12h ago
News Violence directed at Winnipeg School Division support staff surges, union reports
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/10/16/violence-directed-at-winnipeg-school-division-support-staff-surges-union-reports•
u/SLYRisbey 10h ago
This happens in all school divisions. Unfortunately, most division employees are not able to speak out without fear of losing their positions. Whistleblowers laws do not apply as a way of speaking out. Not all EA’s in Manitoba are part of MGEU to speak on their behalf. I’m glad they did! It’s about time that the public is made aware of the daily violence EAs are faced with.
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u/SmarkInProgress 9h ago
Matt Henderson is a doofus who's slashing of SPED programs in WSD has directly led to an increase of these violent incidents.
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u/AspectOk234 8h ago
Of course those with special needs or disabilities have a right and deserve an education and to socialize, but it needs to be in an appropriate environment for everyone involved. I don't think most people feel children with disabilities shouldn't be included in a regular classroom with supports. The line needs to be drawn if the mental capabilities of a particular child leads to behaviours in the classroom setting that put staff and other children at risk. This is not happening. Fairly regularly my kid comes home and shares about how the entire class had to be cleared out in the middle of a lesson and wait in the hall while attempts are made to settle a child who is dysregulated and causing an unsafe environment. It's coming to the point that my child is fearful of being around these children due to being physically hurt by them in the classroom or at recess. These situations are traumatic for all to witness and have to experience when trying to learn and belong at school themselves. It comes down to safety, and having kids with those types of behaviours integrated into the classroom is putting the needs of the minority over the wellbeing of the majority. The schools and adults in the room, no matter how much they care or try, clearly have no control and our provincial government (no matter the party) have made it quite clear that there will never be appropriate funding allocated to manage these situations appropriately for all involved.
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u/Fantastic_Fox_6414 10h ago
The amount of needs coming into schools without the resources to accommodate is shocking 😲
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u/PedalOnBy 9h ago
The number of parents who think their kid is just “energetic” is also shocking. This is why they come in with no diagnosis and no support.
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u/mama_karebear 8h ago
Even when they come in with a diagnosis, sometimes there's little to no support. Or an EA is assigned multiple kids, all with different needs, and unfortunately usually one (or more) of those kids fall through the cracks. As an EA I've seen this happen far too many times because EAs are quitting due to low pay/low hours so there's not enough support
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u/jeglaerernorsk4 8h ago
This. My friend had to pull her kid out of school for a year because he wasn't learning, because the teacher had her hands full with several high needs kids in the class. She has some education training and could tell he was behind in math and English, and thankfully she was able to catch him up enough at home that he's back in school this year. But she was lucky she was able to do that while her husband worked. (Also, she is now in school to become an EA since she knows there is such a need for them!)
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u/PedalOnBy 8h ago
Absolutely. We’ll find we get one kid who’s funded and two or three others with no funding because they’re not violent or aggressive. So we end up grouping them together with one EA so that if one student does need help at a certain point at least the others can get a little bit of help now and then.
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u/mama_karebear 8h ago
We had a kid come in last year and wasn't funded, but because of behavioral issues, one of the EAs in the class was switched to him, leaving the original students who were assigned to her with no support. Thankfully there were multiple support staff in the class so we were all able to help the other 2 kids
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u/beautifulluigi 8h ago
This is frequently exacerbated by GPs or family docs telling families "let's wait and see" or "give them some more time" when families bring forth concerns about their 2, 3 or 4 year old. And families trust their doctor, because we are taught to trust doctors.
This means that kids don't get a place on the 2+ year waitlist for occupational therapy or speech therapy or developmental assessment until they're 4 or 5, or maybe not at all. So then maybe they age out of the preschool system without ever getting seen or supported. Early intervention is important, but it maybe gets missed.
So then the child shows up to school - if schools are lucky, they put eyes on the student at kindergarten registration and can anticipate that supports will be needed. Not that it will change the amount of support actually available, mind you, but at least they might know what to expect.
Or maybe they do get seen by a developmental pediatrician and so they come to school with a report that says "DeMarco will need 1:1 support from an educational assistant at school" and because a doctor has said so, they think it has to happen. Only, DeMarco is one of 15 students at their school who has this same statement on a report, but there are only 6 EA's allocated to that particular school.
But every year there are surprises.
And then there are the families whose cultural background means they have a different view on disability - that it is shameful or a punishment for their past mistakes - and so they maybe haven't accessed supports because of the stigma involved in having a child whose neurotype is different. And... research has shown the incidence of autism is higher - statistically significantly higher - among immigrant families.
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u/VonBeegs 6h ago
I'm not shocked. We had conservative provincial governments slashing rich taxes and services for how many years?
This is what happens.
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u/nuttynuthatch 5h ago edited 1h ago
You can assume that those numbers would be doubled if all assaults were reported. I know sooo many e.as that don't bother reporting it because 1. The don't have the time to fill out the paper work and 2. They feel it is for nothing. I've had my hair pulled more times than I can count, been spit on, slapped, pinched, kicked countless times. Also had a handful of gravel thrown at my face and threatened repeatedly. I always tried to report all the assaults but so many others didn't.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 10h ago
It always puts a knot in my stomach as soon as I read an article like this because I know too many people will come away with the impression that Inclusion Doesn't Work instead of Inclusion Doesn't Work When It's Not Properly Resourced.
EAs are a fundamental part of an inclusive education system but they are frequently forced into situations that they are not trained for and with a lack of support. EAs need to be treated as an important and part of the Inclusive Ed system. They need to be properly compensated for the important work they do. They need to have access to training and PD. We need more of them in our schools and to have proper Admin and Resource support for them as well.
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u/PedalOnBy 9h ago
It’s interesting you say that because Matt Henderson sent an email out to all WSD employees on Friday talking about this. He cited 10 pillars of inclusive education, and the very first one mentions students feeling a sense of belonging in the place and with their peers. Not having adequate supports and forcing children into a classroom where they cannot possibly succeed due to perpetual overstimulation and then as they grow older, forcing them to stay in those classes when they know, they aren’t the same as their peers and don’t belong does them such a disservice.
I understand the 2005 regulations about this require schools to have a place for all students. That doesn’t mean all students are required to go to their local school. That many school divisions, no longer even offer specialized placements for students who could benefit them so much is incredibly disappointing.
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u/kickacol 9h ago
And all their peers know it. I've talked to enough students at recess, none of them say "It sure is nice that that kid who throws chairs, or hits is EA is our class", they don't say "I'm sure learning empathy". I hear a lot of "ugh, be nice if so and so wasn't here today", "class is way better when so and so is with his ea somewhere else".
These are good, nice kids. They're kind, they're patient. They don't call the kid names, or bully them or make of them.
They just know that that kid is wasting their time. When they have their second outburst of the week, and they all have to get out the class to wait for them to calm down. They don't like it when that kid disrespects their teacher.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 8h ago
I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about Inclusion and what it is. Parents and advocates don't want something labelled "Inclusion" by school boards that doesn't work and is one-size-fits-all and under-resourced, as much as Educators and EAs don't want it.
My kid has had a great inclusive ed experience with only very minor hiccups throughout Elementary, Middle, and High School. In the beginning she spent most of her day with her peers in the classroom with 1:1 support, in muti-age classrooms. That evolved over time and now she spends her high school days in a smaller group with disabled peers because that works for her. They tried inclusion in a typical art class, and she hated it. So no one forced something that wasn't working. She loves school, learns every day, and participates in the way she can as part of the school community. She still sees others around campus who she made connections with on Elementary and Middle School.
For other kids Inclusion looks different.
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u/PedalOnBy 8h ago
I completely agree. I’ve worked in classes where they’re only five or six kids and it’s amazing. They’re not overwhelmed. They’re actually learning, and they’re not scared of school.
Beyond other children not liking those kids being there many are scared of them. We have so many children who get injured every year because of kids who haven’t learned how to control themselves or express their emotions. Hitting, kicking, biting, it’s not a safe environment for anybody.
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u/0caloriecheesecake 3h ago edited 3h ago
Classrooms and schools should be safe havens for kids if we are discussing trauma informed and TRUE inclusion principles. Having students assault themselves, peers, and teachers, plus scream and cry all day on a regular basis is the opposite. There is an epidemic, that is not only about “better diagnosing”. If that were true we’d all remember these kids growing up. Teachers would remember this too from 20-30 years ago and we don’t! We may remember one or two, but not the amount of kids afflicted that we are seeing. If it were all about “genetics” we would have 1000x more disabled adults, many of these children are so much more “disabled” than their parents (who hold jobs, have families, and do not require adult services, like their kids will). Sadly, we don’t have room in contained classes for all these children, which is why the smoke and mirrors about inclusion in regular classrooms. The answer is science, figuring out why more and more kids are being born with profound autism and more “St. Amant” type centres to provide care for these kids that is needed when even inclusion sites in schools aren’t the correct place either. It’s even worse if you live outside the perimeter and families don’t have the same options and schools don’t have inclusion sites.
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u/beautifulluigi 2h ago
My current theory is that the "quirky" adults who were actually neurodivergent have been more successful at finding partners since the internet. Take two neurodivergent people and have them reproduce and... Voila.
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u/TravisBickle2020 10h ago
The reality is that the system will never properly resource inclusive education.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 10h ago
On the one hand I know what you're saying, but on the other hand I haven't been doing advocacy work for 15 years to simply give up. We are making progress in slow ways, building on the work that advocates have been doing for decades prior.
And there is hope if we can put pressure from all sides - like in this instance of EAs speaking out. Just this week Matt Henderson and the President of Manitoba Teachers' Society attended alongside advocates at the National Roundtable on Inclusive Education. We need everyone working toward a common goal of functioning inclusion - Admin, Teachers, Politicians, EAs, parents, and students.
I can tell you from several things I've seen behind the scenes this week I remain hopeful.
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u/jeglaerernorsk4 8h ago
Matt Henderson is the one who destroyed SPED programs in the first place pretending it was for inclusion instead for lining his pockets. As long as he's still in charge I don't have much hope.
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u/notsowittyname86 7h ago
We can criticize Matt, I certainly criticize his ideas all over this thread; but he is NOT lining his pockets. Special Ed cuts don't go to him. I know and even respect the man. He is a true believer in what he says and does. I just happen to disagree with some of his ideas.
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u/SuccessOk4455 5h ago
Gross. Henderson is an idiot. True. He's not lining his pockets from cuts directly. True. He is paid very well. True. The classrooms don't have the resources that are needed. True. He's not doing his job.
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u/notsowittyname86 9h ago
What gives you hope? All I have seen is talk and more burden put on teachers. We can't "build capacity" out of this problem and it is destroying staff's mental health.
From everything I have seen we have lost support every year since I started. Students are doing worse than ever. There's a push to halt assessment and discourage identifying students in need to hide the problem. All teachers are told that UDL and best practices are all that's needed. If only they knew, and did, and cared more! Matt's former division is further along the path Matt would like to follow and they also don't have functioning inclusion.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 8h ago
What gives me hope personally, in addition to things happening behind the scenes, is simply the act of seeing MTS President together with a Superintendent together with the biggest Inclusive Ed advocates in the country in conversation, together, about Inclusive Ed. That gives me hope that we can put pressure in all directions (from Admin, Educators, and Advocates) towards properly resourcing Inclusive Ed. If we are all working together towards the same goal there is much more hope of forward progress.
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u/notsowittyname86 7h ago
I mean this in the kindest way...
So talk then?
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 7h ago
Talk precedes action, which is what we are going for. I'm not sure how you think we are going to get anywhere unless we are on the same page and working toward the same goal. Don't you want Admin and Parents and Self-Advocates pushing for the same things that teachers want - Inclusive Ed that doesn't simply place more burden solely on teachers?
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u/notsowittyname86 7h ago
Listen to people's actions not words. For the past 10+ years, all we have had is talk. The actions have been cutting support, cutting programs, silencing and shaming staff. Every year staff are talked at and talked at with no real supports. Even the specialized training doesn't actually give many concrete solutions or successful answers. It just sells why inclusion is important without explaing, realistically, how or pointing to successful examples.
I'm sorry I sound so negative but as someone in the trenches this is what I deal with every day. I put on a positive mindset every day and do the most I can for my kids...but this is the reality.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 7h ago
Not to diminish what you are saying but do you think parents and advocates want a system that breaks teachers? We are not advocating in silos. We want a functioning system that CAN exist if properly resourced. We are all part of the same system here and we ALL suffer when it is broken, and I would argue it is the kids who are failed most. I've been working at this for more than a decade, building on what people who have come before me have done. Parents and teachers are not opposing groups. There are parents who are teachers, who are in family with teachers, who are friends with teachers. We all want and need a functioning system and we are working every day to try to make that happen. It will be easier if we all work together to a common goal. Teachers may be in the Inclusive Ed trenches every day but so are parents and most importantly so are our kids.
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u/TravisBickle2020 10h ago
Talk is cheap and action costs money. The funding for what you’re asking for doesn’t exist.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 10h ago
So what exactly do you propose? I'm curious.
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u/No_Seaworthiness5644 9h ago
They're acknowledging the reality of a system that has never been properly funded. I know you feel the hope that it could work but it would requires a massive, continual increase in funding for that to happen.
My school doesn't have an elevator for children with disabilities to access their neighbourhood school. There are many schools around Winnipeg like that. We don't have the funding to provide ACCESS to schools, a Human Rights embarrassment.
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u/TravisBickle2020 6h ago
Coming back and reading over the comments, it seems that you’ve managed to direct this thread toward a discussion about inclusion and away from the increase in violence educational assistants are experiencing. The article states that the increase is occurring amongst all students including those with additional needs. The article follows similar ones about increasing violence directed at teachers. What is being done about this?
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 6h ago
I was engaging in conversation with what appeared in the full text of the article you posted, beyond the headline, including comments from MGEU, EAs, Matt Henderson, and a parent.
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u/TravisBickle2020 6h ago
Just pointing out that the increase in violence has to do with all students and not just those with additional needs.
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u/SuccessOk4455 2h ago
15 years? Things have gotten significantly worse in that time. So Mike T-shirt Cannon Henderson shows up at a round table. He has never taught in these conditions. He is so misguided and ill informed. Is he being bitten at work? What does he know. Nothing.
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u/Chantsy4337 5h ago
As a parent to a child with exceptional needs what you said is accurate-inclusion doesn’t work when it’s not properly resourced. Yes 👏 I feel that it’s two fold. One, there isn’t enough funding for the kids who really need it. And two, even when that support is available it seems that the EA often (not always-there are some wonderful, skilled EA’s out there) doesn’t have the skills or experience/know how to manage the child in front of them. From our experience it often feels like a lose lose situation where many of these kids fall through the cracks.
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u/notsowittyname86 9h ago edited 9h ago
It will NEVER be funded to the needed level. So what is the second best option for all children?
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u/jeglaerernorsk4 8h ago
Ugh fuck Matt Henderson. He bears a big chunk of responsibility for this mess.
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u/novasilverdangle 4h ago
I’m a teacher. The increase in violence is much worse than reported. Many EAs and teachers do not report violence. Sometimes they don’t bother because reporting does not make a difference in the student behaviour, sometimes administrators pressure the staff not to report or the report “disappears” and sometimes the staff are martyrs and think it’s ok for the students to threaten and hurt them because the kids have a hard life or a disability.
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u/Cobalt32 11h ago
Kicking, biting and other types of student aggression toward educational assistants in Winnipeg has surged 118 per cent since 2022-23.
The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union released a breakdown Friday of violent incidents involving support staff in the Winnipeg School Division, the province’s largest.
“You don’t need to teach math to see the numbers are going the wrong way,” MGEU president Kyle Ross said in a news release.
The data shows a surge in “student-related aggression” involving both children with additional needs and other students between 2022-23 and 2025-26.
During the 2022-23 school year, there were 884 reports of a non-teaching employee in the WSD being bitten, kicked or subjected to related behaviour. There were 1,925 incidents last school year.
MGEU represents more than 1,900 division support staff, including educational assistants, administrative clerks, secretaries and library technicians in public schools across inner-city and central Winnipeg.
Ross told the Free Press the union obtained the figures through a freedom of information request in response to anecdotal concerns that came from the workforce.
“It was really eye-opening for me to see this (data) and see it continue to grow over the last couple of years. It’s not a good situation for the students,” he said Friday.
The overwhelming majority of aggression incidents in the division — 99 per cent of them, year over year — are reported by EAs.
Hitting was the most common type of aggression in both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
A student hit a staff member at least 855 times between September 2025 and June, an increase of 224 from the previous school year.
One employee told the Free Press these figures don’t account for all incidents, despite what she said was her division’s top-notch reporting system, because staff are nervous to make disclosures.
“I’m seeing coworkers hurt. I’ve been hurt. We just don’t have the staffing that we need and that is critical,” said the EA who agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity because she didn’t have WSD approval.
As a result, staff have to carry out tasks they are not qualified nor paid to do, such as changing diapers, she said.
“EAs are going to do it because they care. They’re not going to leave a student without getting their needs met. The division knows we care and I think that gets taken advantage of.”
MGEU is calling for more training in de-escalation tactics and for new hires so that WSD staff can spend quality time developing relationships with individual children they are assigned to support.
The union has also identified concerns that its members are being hired into lower-level EA positions and asked to complete tasks beyond their pay grade once they’re on the front lines.
WSD Superintendent Matt Henderson said he wants staff to know their employer views workplace safety as “paramount” and efforts are ongoing to protect them and prevent burnout while classroom complexity increases.
“These incidents are, oftentimes, when we’re trying to figure out what a child is trying to communicate to us,” Henderson said.
“All children should be loved and cherished and it’s really incumbent around systems and adults to really understand what (their) needs are.”
He noted the division has committed in collective bargaining with MGEU to train more EAs to use mechanical lifts and support hygiene-related tasks. Significant money and time is required to facilitate the process of moving EAs from Classification C to D.
Since he assumed his position three years ago, the division has established professional development days for EAs, added 300 new positions and ensured individual employees have at least six hours of daily work. “Support comes in a variety of ways,” the superintendent added.
While noting the union is appreciative of the division’s efforts to bolster training to help staff better support students who are neurodivergent, Ross said more needs to be done because the incident tally is “far too high.”
He said violence affects staff morale and work-life balance and makes recruitment and retention more difficult.
“It’s not fair to the workers to say, ‘That’s part of the job,’” he said.
The Manitoba Teachers’ Society has been raising concerns in recent years about an increase in violence in all corners of the province.
“It’s a significant and concerning problem,” said Alan Campbell, executive director of the Manitoba School Boards Association.
“At the end of the day, the question around safe learning spaces and safe work spaces for staff comes down to the same conversation around adequate provincial government support.”
Campbell called provincial funding for students with intellectual and physical disabilities, as well as public dollars available for mental-health resources, “20 years behind what it should be.”
Boards are hiking local education property taxes to make up for shortfalls as student needs increase, but the status quo isn’t sustainable, said the former trustee and father of an eight-year-old with Down syndrome.
Manitoba’s latest school finance reports show funding for “special needs,” including purchasing equipment and hiring staff to support students who have physical, cognitive and emotion or behaviour-related challenges, has risen by $62 million over the last two decades.
Since 2005-06, it has increased from $117 to $180 million — meaning it is has roughly kept pace with the cost of living over time.
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u/kickacol 10h ago
“These incidents are, oftentimes, when we’re trying to figure out what a child is trying to communicate to us,” Henderson said.
“All children should be loved and cherished and it’s really incumbent around systems and adults to really understand what (their) needs are.”
This is bullshit. We have kids who have their own full time EA, in their own classroom, who don't interact with other kids. Maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't be at school. They aren't being integrated.
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u/adunedarkguard 9h ago
I have 2 friends that are EA's for high needs kids. One of them has a kid that always has 2 EA's with them, and they're regularly assaulted.
For both of them, being bitten, scratched or having to put themselves in front of other staff that are being attacked isn't daily, but it happens a few times a year.
There's a big gap between the resources these students need, and the situations they're being put in. My perspective as an outsider is that the school has a lot of pressure to accommodate kids with high needs despite not having the resources to safely accommodate it, and the EA's bear the brunt of it. Lacking real job protections, they just have to take it.
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u/Fantastic_Fox_6414 7h ago
Which goes against anything some EAs unions say and workplace health and safety
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u/Jultheturgee 8h ago
you're missing the part where matt henderson is trying to "integrate" these kids in classrooms when they already were in programs that supported their needs. he cut down and forced these kids into programs that do not have enough supports for them. they could do just fine at school if that did not happen. he's also cutting down the number of EAs in these programs and forcing them into schools where theyre not needed to try and prove they can do with less, which is backfiring majorly. plus trying to cut down funding to special education, which they were already misusing funds for. and theres also a major lack of protective gear, which would help these EAs in situations where a student gets violent (because it does and will happen, especially in classrooms with students with high support needs)
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 10h ago
Someone who needs full EA support shouldn't be at school? Where do you propose they be instead?
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u/thirty33three 10h ago
At home or in a care home where their needs are being met. School is for learning and socializing, it's not a care home. Kids with severe special needs aren't going to magically transform due to inclusion and love, they aren't going to enter the workforce when they graduate and live independently. They are going to be dependent and part of the special needs part of society for the rest of their lives. I don't mean this as all special needs kids shouldn't be in school, but inclusion should also mean they are treated the same as everyone and have the same consequences as everyone. If they are hitting, biting, etc. and a danger to teachers or kids then suspend and/or or expel them.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 10h ago
Apparently you may not want to hear this but Education is a Right that everyone has access to. Like legally. Please tell me why disabled kids who won't become part of the workforce don't benefit from being educated and learning and socializing. School is for everyone and learning is for everyone regardless of their future place in capitalism. We are a community and they are part of it. There is a reason why we stopped segregating people with disabilities.
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u/Urinethyme 4h ago
Education is a right, but education at a specific school or enviroment is not.
I say this as someone disabled and had multiple types of alternative type schooling. (From EA, hybrid schooling, alternative school (for disruptive behaviours), tutors that came to my house instead, etc.
I was a psychotic and violent child. It would not have been fair to place me in a setting that would affect other kids.
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u/adunedarkguard 9h ago
Forcing kids into an environment that causes them distress isn't exactly helping the kid.
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u/Artistic_Internal698 9h ago edited 9h ago
One could argue that is exactly the problem. All students have a right to an education. One that meets their needs, improves their capabilities, confidence, and life experiences. I would argue the state is shirking it's duty to provide a quality education to these students by offloading them into classrooms with inadequate support and programing.
Students with needs deserve an education focused on their needs and flourishing. They deserve to receive proven interventions which will increase their independence and quality of their lives. Students with needs deserve to be in an environment that is better tailored to them filled with adults who are specialists in supporting them to succeed. Parents deserve to have their children supported effectively.
For some students, not all, that environment is not a Gen Ed classroom. The majority of them languish as an after thought with performative busy work and reporting. Others are trapped in incredibly uncomfortable learning environments which are at odds with their physical, emotional, and sensory needs. We can talk about "shoulds" and "coulds" but this is the reality for the majority of our students with exceptionalities right now. And likely will be until our system changes.
I come at this as an educator who has worked exclusively and generally with students with exceptionalities for my entire working life. I have family members in this community. I care deeply about all my students and try my best to help my students with exceptionalities. It keeps me up and night that I can't meet their needs and causes me moral damage. I have seen targetted intervention and specialized programming work miracles. Instead, we fail every single person in the education system with our current practices.
It also makes me uncomfortable to say this; but all students deserve to learn in an environment that is physically and emotionally safe. The majority of students have experienced, sometimes often experienced, classrooms that are not. Students with exceptionalities such as ADHD and dyslexia deserve to learn in an environment in which they can listen and read. Some can't do so with excessive disruption or loud vocal stimming around them.
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u/thirdratedonmckellar 9h ago
I don't disagree with you at all. Inclusion looks different for different kids. For my kid in Early Years that meant mostly being in the general classroom with her peers and her 1:1 support. Now that she is in high school she spends the majority of her time in a smaller group with peers who are also disabled. Forcing her into a general classroom at this stage of her life doesn't fit. She is still part of the school and part of the community. For other kids it looks different.
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u/Fantastic_Fox_6414 7h ago
I'm not sure about all divisions but some divisions have this as a general rule for programming..students in k-8 are in general classrooms with same chronological aged peers, highschool has general , coop and slp education where students in these last 2 programs can remain until 21 yrs. They are smaller classes and run more on what students interests are.
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u/Artistic_Internal698 8h ago
Then it sounds like our views are quite similar. I'm not against inclusion. Inclusion in general Ed classes is likely the best place for many students with exceptionalities, especially if they recieve proper 1-1 support, tailored resources, and intervention opportunities.
However, this idea that ALL students must be included in all general ed classes is massive disservice to them. All specialized programs and classrooms are under active risk of dismantling right now. WSD is an example of this. Many divisions offer essentially zero tier 2 and 3 interventions for students. We KNOW students with dyslexia can learn to read but refuse to fund scientifically proven programs that teach them to.
Specialized programs and supports have disappeared for funding and ideological reasons. Neither Conservatives nor progressives have any interest in changing the status quo. Meanwhile, all humans in the education system suffer.
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u/Chantsy4337 4h ago
Is there a program at your school for kids with special needs? Our 14 year old just moved to highschool at a new school and we've had such a hard time with integrating him into this new environment. There doesn't seem to be any form of special classroom or program he can attend and we are failing miserably.
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u/Urinethyme 4h ago
I agree. I had multiple alternative types of schooling because it would not have been safe for me to be around others. It also wouldn't have been safe for myself.
I dislike the 'positive terms when it is disabled. It is common among those with disabilities that wording like this invalidates what we deal with.
There is absolutely nothing exceptional, super powers, special abilities that I have received because of my disabilities. I have disabilities because I literally cannot do things that the general population can. I also feel like changing wording has also made people take my struggles as less severe then they are due to "positive" wording. I also feel that because of the previous sentence it further decreases public perception of how much supports may be needed. If the public starts to think disabilities aren't disabling, why put money towards it?
Disabilities is not a bad word. Being disabled doesn't make me less.
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u/SuccessOk4455 4h ago
This isn't soley about "Inclusion" . School funds are grossly mismanaged. There is little oversight on Principals.
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u/mrdustpan21 10h ago edited 10h ago
Hot take but it's not an EA's job to "love and cherish a child." That's the parent's job. EAs support children to the best of their abilities, but it should never come at a cost to their safety.