teacher

educational assistant

elementary school teacher

staffing coordinator

speech language pathologist

Edmonton Catholic Schools

A typical day at work as a Therapeutic Assistant in Occupational Therapy involved a blend of direct interaction with students and collaboration with the Occupational Therapist. Each morning, I would gather with the team to discuss the goals for the day, review the progress of individual students, and prepare the materials needed for our sessions. I would spend time conducting screenings and assisting with assessments, which were key in identifying each student’s needs and shaping our approach to their therapeutic goals. Throughout the day, I led one-on-one and group activities designed to improve fine and gross motor skills, executive functioning, and sensory processing. This hands-on engagement not only allowed me to implement therapeutic strategies but also facilitated meaningful connections with the students, making each interaction rewarding.

Through my experiences, I learned invaluable lessons about the importance of adaptability and patience in a therapeutic environment. Working closely with students aged 12-15 years who faced various challenges taught me to be more observant and responsive to their changing needs. I developed a deeper understanding of emotional and behavioral theories, which I applied when leading social-emotional learning programs and addressing individual student concerns. Collaborating with school teams and other stakeholders honed my skills in communication and teamwork, emphasizing the significance of a cohesive approach to student well-being. The diverse issues students faced enabled me to see the impact of tailored interventions, which is something I had previously underestimated.

Management played a crucial role in fostering a supportive workplace culture, encouraging open dialogue and collaboration among staff members. Supervisors actively sought input from team members, which created an atmosphere of trust and respect. Despite the challenges we faced, particularly when dealing with students experiencing intense emotional or sensory difficulties, the camaraderie among staff made difficult moments more manageable. The hardest part of the job was witnessing students struggle and feeling the weight of wanting to provide them with the tools to succeed. However, the most enjoyable aspect was experiencing their breakthroughs, no matter how small, and celebrating their progress alongside them and the team. Each day was a reminder of the profound impact we could have in shaping their educational and emotional journeys.


I never thought that I’d be writing this about ECS but this place has so many issues it’s just beyond ridiculous and certainly disillusioning.  The school I worked at had no training, no orientation and some of the teachers are just lazy, complacent and just don’t try that hard.  If a student doesn’t understand something or just decides that they don’t want to do any work, nothing is done about it, the teacher just moves on to the next lesson whether they understood or not.  If a student has a meltdown or does something ridiculous like tells a staff member to f-off, again nothing is done about it even if that member took the time to submit an incident report.  
The “leadership” team is a joke; neither of them knew anything about the union processes for hiring and if something wasn’t done in the way they expected you are hauled into the office like a 10 year old who can’t behave themselves and told what you did wrong.  Have something to say or want to try to defend yourself, good luck because there is only time in the meeting for the leadership member to tell you what they want and why you were wrong.  They also have no problem asking questions like “are you calling this person a liar”, sure if the shoe fits.  Micromanagement has no place in any company; especially in schools, it doesn’t work and completely ruins communication, trust and the culture.   Support staff are looked down upon and not treated with much respect, I didn't feel valued at all, almost like invisible and disposable which is not a feeling you want to have often at work.
 
Some other staff members were awesome, friendly and helpful but others had no business working with kids, short tempered, blame other staff members for something when that person had nothing to do with it, confrontational, argumentative and just plain unpleasant to be around.  The kids who need support are not getting the support they need mostly because the “leadership” team keeps breaks the rules and staff is too afraid to report them.  Benefits were ok but the pay was way too low for what was expected so definitely never again will I work at that school, super disappointing and troubling.  To all the parents who think that their kid is going to get support next school year, good luck because it's not going to happen. 


What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with kids of all ages, it's so humbling to see the world simply and happy like kids do, also see them learn so much in academics and in behaviour throughout the year.My favourite was working with grade 1 two years in a row.


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The supervisors for EA don't really communicate  changes made ahead of time so I have not had stability with the age group of kids for a while now.Personally that seems very disorganized to me.So I have had to move one because I expressed my concerns and they were not heard at all.


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I'm the school their are alot of fun educational activities that take place.I like how much importance the staff and teachers give to attending mass.We also are guided to teach spiritual values and moral values as well.Special emphasis on being kind and respectful to one another.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Currently I am working with Junior High, so I help in academics for the most part challengers kids in grade 6,grade 7 (I support kids in three different grade 7 classes), grade 8 and Grade 9.Mainly I give academic support in subjects like Math, Science and Language Arts.In Junior High I don't do indoor or outdoor supervision.Casually I cover the elementary schedule of another EA colleague.This is when I am assigned to supervise a young child my or girl ( usually they are in the autism spectrum and have other behavior challenges as well.

The last five years of my teaching career I was given the opportunity to be on the ground floor of opening a new school. This is a special honor. Given this position opened many new opportunities. I started and lead the curling club. In our first, second and third year we won the championship. The first year we opened the school I worked with some wonderful top educated co-workers. Each of us knew we had to work as a team in order to have the school up and running for September. We all had to give up our summer vacation that year to have the school ready for opening day. Opening a new school is a chance of a life time! This was probably the hardest part of my job. Keeping that in mind, it was also the most enjoyable part of my job.
Seeing the students understand a new concept in Math was very rewarding.
Through testing and observation I assessed the individual needs of  my students in the subject areas I taught. Daily, weekly, monthly and year plans were made for teaching in each of my subjects.
I learned how to plan the subject curriculum over a year. So that I could complete the entire curriculum, plan for review and testing. The year plan had to have a built in time factor for reteaching if needed.
Communicating  with parents and their children was an on going learned skill.

The past two years have been invaluable in regards to what I have learned about teaching, my students, parents, administration, planning and general pedagogy. As a novice teacher, there is a steep learning curve which one must endure, but the learning for me will not end. My students teach me so much about learning practices through my own reflection of lessons. 
My coworkers and administration are very supportive. We share resources, collaborate and work together to reach consensus' on what will be best for our students. It is an amazing atmosphere to be employed in. 
The hardest part of my day is knowing that I am responsible for the well-being and learning of my students.Furthermore, children are delicate by nature, thus I always ensure I nurture them and demonstrate my care and concern for them while trying to educate them. The most enjoyable parts of my day are when I have genuine connections with my students. For instance, students checking in with me to let me know how they are doing, or how they are feeling about a test they have to take today. Everyday is not always wonderful, but there are always wonderful parts to each day. I have definitely chosen the right vocational aspiration for myself.

It is really an awesome place to work. The staffs are friendly, accommodating ,understanding and Co operating. We work as a team and we always stay  on focused. We have great passion for the kids,mostly those that need special attention.We always take the kids out for field trip and the kids always have fun .The Edmonton Catholic Schools is well  organize  in a way that you will always see it as a family. Every body is treated well no matter your race or colour. Teachers in Edmonton Catholic school's are well train  and they are always ready to work. You hardly know the Principal because he or she will humble to  render some services you never expected. Indeed this is a place to learn humility, service and team work. We carry the parent alone, we also make sure wee attend to them at any time they need   our services.

I worked with a dynamic, dedicated staff of the highest calibre.  Really!  Consistently, teachers cared about the students, their progress, and their future.  They were a great bunch of people - fun, caring, helpful to the students and to each other.  Of course, there were 'politics' but such is life in any profession.  No two days were ever the same!  Teaching, however, is demanding more than the public will ever see.  Long hours are spent in preparing lessons and marking, extracurricular activities, committee work, department meetings, staff meetings, district meetings, professional development and parent meetings so often the job work/life balance may be skewed in favour of work to the detriment of family.  It's a challenge to keep the balance. Overall, if you like teaching/counseling and I did enjoy it, it was a good place to work.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The benefits package. The administration is great and supportive as well. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not very high wages. It is hard to not be stressed while I'm working knowing I'll need to work another job to pay bills because the wages have not kept up with the increased costs of living

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Seems good. Each school would be different, but my school has a great and very professional principal.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A lot of flexing between classrooms. Some days are much smoother than others depending on the state of some particular students with some behaviour challenges.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The kids in the special needs classes. The district is awful though. They keep taking away program supports for the kids. Leaving them with no services and no help for inclusion.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They keep taking away the supports (specialized staff) and leaving the special needs programs especially to sink or swim. They don’t do what they advertise.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
In class is good. It depends on school and classroom. The district only cares about cutting jobs and saving money.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I’m the classroom is busy but rewarding

Are you sure there aren’t any other positions available for you in a different organization? The focus should be on the students, support staff (EA’s, OT’s, SLP’s, etc), instead a lot of money seem to be useless spending on office items, senior admin & staff.

A large amount of bullying and child like behaviour from staff, very clicky and back stabbing, it’s best to record conversations with others or better yet keep to yourself.  A lot of swearing, temper tantrum’s, whining from staff.

HR not very supportive as their hands are tied. Time to maybe show senior staff and admin the door and have some new and fresh people with skills in place.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Teacher 8 salaries reported	$75,730 per year
Educational assistant 4 salaries reported	$19.50 per hour
Elementary school teacher 3 salaries reported	$77,667 per year
Staffing coordinator 1 salary reported	$63,077 per year
Speech language pathologist 1 salary reported	$50.96 per hour

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