Their kids have witnessed “vulgar” verbal attacks, seen teachers chased down the hall, even assaulted, and say too-frequent lockdowns at their elementary school have made students anxious.A group of Oshawa parents says the situation has grown so out of hand at Beau Valley Public School that their children sometimes don’t want to go to class. And they are calling on the Durham public board and province for changes to help curb such disturbing incidents across all boards — and better support students with special needs who need more support workers with them in class.“There are many parents that feel the same as I do,” said Erin MacCormack, a mother of two daughters. “I have talked to many parents from different cities, and their stories are all shocking and sad. Kids are struggling in today’s classrooms. They see kids hitting other kids, kids hitting teaching staff, (protective gear) on staff, classrooms destroyed.“They are fearful when these things are happening.”It’s an issue the elementary teachers’ union is lobbying the government to address — arguing its members are twice as likely as secondary school teachers to take time off because of workplace violence, noting that rate in general is higher for education workers than for other professions.Some relief is on the way. Education Minister Mitzie Hunter said in an interview the province has added $219 million to a local priorities fund for boards across the province to hire 875 teachers and 1,600 education workers to help address the problem.In the Durham public board, that means 27 new educational assistants and 13 full-time elementary and five secondary special education teachers, said superintendent John Legere.He also said the board regularly reviews staffing levels, and “we intend to provide some additional support” to Beau Valley, in terms of special education staff.The Elementary Teachers’ Fed ...
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