OSSTF/FEESO Celebrates Support Staff Appreciation Day

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 8, 2013) - "Today, as part of Education Week, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) celebrates the contributions of educational support staff workers who have helped make our education system one of the best in the world," said Ken Coran, President of OSSTF/FEESO.

"Our Federation founded the first Education Week in Ontario in 1930 to celebrate the excellence of public education. In 1999, we introduced Support Staff Appreciation Day as an integral part of Education Week to ensure that the essential role played by all educational workers was fully recognized."

Coran further emphasized that, "Schools and educational institutions are just buildings; it is the people inside them that ensure that our students are able to succeed. Schools, colleges and universities are staffed by an educational team-a team that includes many types of education workers and staff. We need that complete education team to equip students with the knowledge, attitude, skills and sense of community they need to be successful and we need for a vibrant and strong Ontario. The hard work of these education teams in schools and universities ensure safe, clean and welcoming environments for learning. Our administrative professionals, technicians, and plant support personnel, to name a few, all contribute to the well-being of our students. In addition, educational assistants, social workers, child and youth workers, psychologists and speech language pathologists and other members of the team provide the necessary support for our special needs students.

We must recognize the importance of all workers within our schools and universities to ensure students' needs are met within our public education system. We ask that all Ontarians, especially students and parents, help us celebrate Support Staff Appreciation Day by expressing their gratitude to educational support staff for the roles they play in inspiring confidence in our students and helping them build their futures," concluded Coran.

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.