access to specialist teachers and programs because the funding is based on per pupil grants rather than grants per school. In the context of the Ministry’s on student well-being, including addressing mental health issues, the lack of guidance counsellors in elementary schools is a barrier to meeting the needs of students. In a 2016 report focusing on guidance counsellors, People for Education reported that: “In 2016, 83% of all elementary schools report having no full- or part-time guidance counsellors, and only 2% report having a full-time guidance counsellor.” It is shortsighted for the government to not ensure greater student access to guidance counsellors in elementary schools. Teacher-librarians play a critical role in developing student literacy, supporting teachers’ classroom instruction, and making the library the technological hub of the school. Studies conducted by People for Education document the extent to trained teacher-librarians have a positive effect on student literacy achievement and on children’s enjoyment of reading. It is ETFO policy that all elementary students have access to a teacher-librarian. In recent years, many school boards have replaced teacher-librarians with library-technicians, who are not teachers and not trained to support teachers’ classroom instruction. The per pupil allocation of teacher-librarians has not changed since the funding formula was introduced. School libraries cannot fulfill role of assisting teachers meet the learning expectations of the provincial curriculum without up-to-date resources and technology. The education funding formula must be amended to provide dedicated resource funding to support school libraries. People for Education has systematically documented the decline of student access to and specialist teachers. In its 2017 annual report, the organization states: 52 per cent of elementary schools had at least one teacher–librarian, either full- or a decline from 60 per cent in 2008, and an all-time low in the 20-year history of the People for Education Annual Survey.
access to specialist teachers and programs because the funding is based on per pupil grants rather than grants per school. In the context of the Ministry’s on student well-being, including addressing mental health issues, the lack of guidance counsellors in elementary schools is a barrier to meeting the needs of students. In a 2016 report focusing on guidance counsellors, People for Education reported that: “In 2016, 83% of all elementary schools report having no full- or part-time guidance counsellors, and only 2% report having a full-time guidance counsellor.” It is shortsighted for the government to not ensure greater student access to guidance counsellors in elementary schools. Teacher-librarians play a critical role in developing student literacy, supporting teachers’ classroom instruction, and making the library the technological hub of the school. Studies conducted by People for Education document the extent to trained teacher-librarians have a positive effect on student literacy achievement and on children’s enjoyment of reading. It is ETFO policy that all elementary students have access to a teacher-librarian. In recent years, many school boards have replaced teacher-librarians with library-technicians, who are not teachers and not trained to support teachers’ classroom instruction. The per pupil allocation of teacher-librarians has not changed since the funding formula was introduced. School libraries cannot fulfill role of assisting teachers meet the learning expectations of the provincial curriculum without up-to-date resources and technology. The education funding formula must be amended to provide dedicated resource funding to support school libraries. People for Education has systematically documented the decline of student access to and specialist teachers. In its 2017 annual report, the organization states: 52 per cent of elementary schools had at least one teacher–librarian, either full- or a decline from 60 per cent in 2008, and an all-time low in the 20-year history of the People for Education Annual Survey.
BudgetBrief2018.docx