executive assistant

signaller

professeur en soutien scolaire

assistant d'éducation

teacher

Ottawa Catholic School Board

As an EA, I constantly felt undermined, disrespected, and micromanaged. Collaboration with staff was non-existent, and support from administration was severely lacking. Instead of being treated as a valued member of the educational team, I frequently felt like my professional judgement and concerns were ignored.

The system appears more focused on protecting appearances than addressing real issues. I witnessed student behaviour being excused, minimized, or reframed while staff were left to deal with the consequences. Accountability seemed increasingly rare, and those expected to manage challenging situations were often left without meaningful support. 

The toll this job takes on mental health cannot be overstated. Burnout among staff was common, yet there was little flexibility, little understanding, and little recognition of the emotional demands placed on employees every day. The expectation seemed to be that staff would continue absorbing stress, aggression, and difficult behaviours regardless of the impact on their own well-being.

The compensation is no where near adequate for what is expected. No one should be expected to act as a punching bag (physically or emotionally) while being told to tolerate it as part of the job.

I left feeling frustrated, exhausted and completely disillusioned. If you value your mental health, professional dignity, and your overall well-being as a person, I would STRONGLY recommend you look for a job elsewhere. Because here, your value as a person will not be respected nor will it be supported.

Have worked for 30+ years and the whole time was very tough on my disability which caused many recurrences of bad health. My disability caused me to miss time and therefore was never given the chance to succeed properly. In fact, they increased my workload in comparison to others in the same position to try to get me to quit and they did this over the last 15 years. My first choice as a taxpayer would be to amalgamate the 2 Ottawa boards as it's very well known that the public board treats their employees much much better. Have had many chances to bring a human rights claim against them but had to bite my tongue to keep supporting my family. The board gives success pins to everyone at 20 years 25 years and 30 years...I never got one. The board gives a retirement watch but probably not to me. Extremely discriminatory workplace.

OCSB is a workplace that primarily focuses on curriculum for education of its students. OCSB would benefit from focusing on re-evaluating the needs of school systems in today's society. As an EA in the OCSB the job can be rewarding when encountering wonderful co-staff and students. Additionally it is rewarding when making a difference in a students' experience and progress in school and with their overall behaviours. However, the job runs the increased risk of burn out as there is minimal EA support in schools; therefore, leading the current employed support staff with many high-needs students to support (i.e. 1:5 staff to student ratio minimum.). Lastly, the salary does not reflect the hard work and dedication of Educational Assistants in the school. This adds to the increased risk of EA burn out due to the fact that EA staff can afford to take few days off to re-charge in order to provide the best support.

Working at the school board is a rewarding fun job...so many innocent rewards from helping children achieve academic and social goals.
Working in group homes and mental health also has its rewards when supporting troubled youth in finding structure for their lives and seeing them succeed in accomplishing those personal goals
Working with adults who suffer from addictions is a job I've done as a volunteer and as a paid employee and will continue to support people and provide them with the tools to take change of their own lives, and not have to live as a slave to their addiction

All of these jobs have amazing people who choose to go into these jobs...not for money but because they are passionate about helping others.

I have worked for the ocsb for almost 22 years. They are a very family oriented company and when it comes to taking time off for your children they are very understanding. They treat there employees well and take your work experience into consideration. The only negative thing I would say is that depending on where you work if you are an educational assistant sometimes you are made to feel like the help instead of an equal. You have to have a strong work ethic and be willing to fight do what you believe in and advocate for yourself and the children .

I've only just had my first contract with the OCSB but I LOVED it. The Kinder teachers very clearly care about the kiddos and take their job very seriously. As an EA I felt supported, appreciated and for the first time in my life I felt my skills and opinions respected. I'd have to say that I feel the bar is a little low in regards to education and skills required to be an EA however as the school board cannot afford an adequate amount of EAs as it is I understand why- they can't pay people to have a greater amount of education. The great thing is however, they provide supplementary education for free.

My typicial day at work everyday is awsome and great I got to meet nice people and friendly workers. This is what i learned i learned how to clean sweep and do all the stuff custodian has to learn to be Abble to do it indepentely. Their Management Is pretty great they are really responsible in what they do and really Accurate with other workers in the buliding. My hardest part of the job is that i dont know to use the automatic floor cleaning machine. I never had an enjoyable time in parts of the cleaning job its just fine and ok to work with them again. I dont know any thing about my co- workers.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The children and the pay was very good as well

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Traveling to the job 
Children not listening 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very positive and very  helpful 
Really nice group

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Went in early prepped for the lesson
Set up classs… greeted children 
Always started with list of words or phrases for day.
Did exercises and print outs using the words, played a game… made a craft

The Ottawa Catholic School Board was a great place to work. I worked 35 hours a week during the summer months of July and August. A typical day for me was cleaning classrooms and moving furniture in order to wax the floors to get it ready for the new school year. The hardest part of the job was moving some of the bigger furniture. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with the other custodians. My Supervisor took me under his wing and taught me a lot. I gained a lot of experience from this custodian position that I can put towards the next place I work.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Love the team environment, management and the kids we support. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Trying to find coverage for open positions or when a staff member is sick

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very supportive. Environment is positive and professional. Can be challenging at times when dealing with stressful situations.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Executive assistant 531 salaries reported	$29.33 per hour
Signaller 450 salaries reported	$85,589 per year
Professeur en soutien scolaire 572 salaries reported	$85,589 per year
Assistant d'éducation 138 salaries reported	$48,782 per year
Teacher 114 salaries reported	$85,923 per year

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