K-12 support staff recognized through Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education

 

Finalists in the Premier’s Award of Excellence in Education Awards photographed with the Premier, Minister of Education, and Lieutenant Governor. CUPE members are Outstanding Support award winner Jeannine Lindsay (second row, far right) and finalists Jackie Grypink (second row, second from right) and Richard Morgan (back row, far right).

“When they called my name, I couldn’t believe it. I was actually shaking, holding the award,” said Jeannine Lindsay, winner of the Outstanding Support category. “To go from being in high school and not really learning about indigenous education, to receive an award for helping implement it, was amazing.”

Lindsay (see video here), a CUPE 439 member, works as an Indigenous Support Worker at Lake Trail Middle School in Courtenay. She was nominated for the award by CUPE member Deborah Storey, a library clerk at the school.

As well as the actual award, Lindsay received a cash award of $3,000 for professional development that she is using to attend an indigenous education conference in Edmonton in November. Her school also receives a $2,000 contribution to their school community for professional learning.

One-third of the school population is indigenous at Lake Trail Middle School. Coming out of high school, Jeannine became a cultural resource worker helping to integrate culture into the classroom. She talked to students and demonstrated jingle dancing, her traditional dance, and taught students how to make dreamcatchers and what they meant to her Anishinaabe culture. Lindsay took First Nations Studies at Vancouver Island University to learn more about West Coast indigenous culture.

“Education Assistants and support staff are really the glue that holds everything together.” said Lindsay. “Being a support worker is one of the most rewarding jobs.”

This year is the first time ever that a category for support staff was included in the Premier’s Award of Excellence in Education Awards. Awards were announced at the ceremony on October 5 where the Ministry of Education showed videos of the three finalists in each category.

Other support staff finalists were Richard Morgan, a Custodian at Penticton Secondary School (Pen-High) and Jackie Grypink, an Educational Assistant at Hillview Elementary School in Vernon.

CUPE 523 member Richard Morgan (see video here), a Custodian at Penticton Secondary School, was surprised and pleased that a custodian was a finalist. Morgan has worked as a custodian for 25 years. In Penticton he has been involved in a lot of activities including coaching at KVR Middle School, helping coach girls’ soccer at Pen-High, and refereeing soccer on weekends.

Morgan’s philosophy is to empower students so that they feel that the school is their school. He cares about students and finds ways to make a difference for them. He worked with one special needs student by taking him to the grad lounge to play ping pong for ten minutes at a time. Not only did that give the student a break when he needed one, it helped the grade 12 students see how to interact with a person who has special needs.

“CUPE support staff here at Pen-High are very good at going the extra mile and making themselves available to students,” said Morgan. “Rather than just walking down the hall and saying hello, we try to interact and have a bit of a conversation with students. School’s not just about academics.”

Morgan got to know most of the kids currently in Pen-High from KVR Middle School where he worked until he was laid off when daytime custodians were cut. He believes that middle school is the most challenging because of the high energy and the maturity level of the kids.

“When I first applied for the job at KVR, all the windows were smashed, hallways were noisy and there was litter and garbage everywhere,” said Morgan. Staff, including teachers, administrators and support staff really worked together to change that school.

Now he’s seeing a trend when a lot of kids in middle schools no longer have boundaries. “You can’t do it on your own,” said Morgan. “It has to be a group effort.”

That’s why Morgan would like to see day custodians put back into middle schools. “I think it would really help. It’s a start anyway – more visibility and a presence in the hallway,” He believes that kids should be allowed to do their homework, sit around, and socialize after school. “It gets paid back in spades and it’s better for the community.”

Morgan is an active CUPE 523 member and credits CUPE courses and education as still helping him today. “When I worked in North Vancouver at SD #44 I was able to take advantage of CUPE schooling in Shop Stewarding and conflict resolution. I still apply that training in my workplace today,” said Morgan.

CUPE 5523 member Jackie Grypink (see video here) has been an Education Assistant for 24 years and thinks it’s great that support staff were included in this years Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education.

“I think that support workers should be included because we are a huge part of our education system,” said Grypink. She enjoys working with kids at a K-7 grade school with “a wonderful staff and administration.” Grypink enjoys seeing students succeed – making goals and accomplishing them.

“Most of the kids appreciate what you do for them and are willing to learn from you.” Grypink has a love of art and enjoys sharing that with the kids. “In art, everyone is successful.”

Grypink thinks that one of the challenges in education is that there are not enough EAs or Indigenous Support Workers in school districts and that more need to be hired. “We have so many kids out there with needs of varying degrees and levels that we definitely can use more support workers for the kids,” said Grypink.

“I know that everything boils down to dollars and cents, but I think that the value that you get from support workers is just so huge,” she said. “There should be more. We are valuable and under-appreciated.”

Grypink hopes that they add in one or two more categories for support workers. “I was just honoured to be nominated,” she said.

“The ceremonies themselves were absolutely beautiful — very well run and organized,” said Grypink. “The meal and the whole event was beautiful and so well done.”

CUPE BC Secretary Treasurer Trevor Davies attended the Awards Ceremony.

“I’d like to thank Premier John Horgan, Minister of Education Rob Fleming, and this NDP government for honouring the important work CUPE members do in schools,” said Davies. “It’s good to see education support workers finally being recognized for their dedication and service to students across B.C.”

CUPE BC and education partners stand up for students

CUPE joins Minister of Education Rob Fleming and other education partners to stand up for learning environments where all students are free of discrimination. The joint statement, issued on Saturday, commits to ensuring that all schools in B.C. provide an environment “where all students feel safe, accepted, respected and welcome regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion or background.”

Read the complete statement.

“The K-12 Presidents Council strongly supports this statement as our members work every day to ensure that students learn in safe and inclusive school environments,” said CUPE K-12 Presidents Council President Warren Williams. “Any form of discrimination should not be tolerated in B.C. schools.”

K-12 Presidents Council approves provincial framework agreement

RICHMOND — The K-12 Presidents Council voted this week to recommend the provincial framework agreement negotiated with the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) in mid-July. CUPE locals will table the provincial framework agreement with their proposals in bargaining with their respective school districts.

“I’d like to thank the provincial bargaining committee for their hard work and dedication that helped us reach this agreement,” said K-12 Presidents Council President Warren Williams. “Support workers in K-12 provide services that students in B.C. schools rely on every day.”

The agreement includes benefit increases and language that helps address workplace issues and includes support for local bargaining.

The current K-12 agreement expires on June 30, 2019. When ratified by CUPE locals and school districts, the provincial agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

K-12 PBC and BCPSEA reach tentative agreement

BURNABY — A tentative agreement was reached between the K-12 Provincial Bargaining Council (PBC) and the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) late Wednesday evening on a provincial framework agreement for K-12 support staff.

I would like to thank all the members of PBC for their hard work and perseverance,” said K-12 Presidents Council President Warren Williams. “Their professionalism, willingness to work together, and dedication to members in K-12 led to reaching this tentative agreement.”

Details on the tentative agreement will not be made public until the K-12 Presidents Council has the opportunity to meet and review them. If recommended and passed by the K-12 Presidents Council, the tentative agreement will form part of local bargaining proposals when locals begin bargaining with their respective districts.

CUPE represents more than 27,000 education workers including: Education Assistants, School Secretaries, Caretakers, First Nations Support Workers, IT Workers, Strong Start Facilitators, Trades and Maintenances Workers, and Bus Drivers.

CUPE, school and community: growing together

When Princeton teacher, Shirley Low, developed a project for her Grade 3 social studies class on mapping ten years ago, no one had any idea what it would grow into. The class embraced the project to create a plan for a community garden and then wanted to actually build it.

Gardening angels like CUPE member Marie Anne Roche, school secretary at John Allison Elementary, also helps out by doing financial accounting for the garden.

“We couldn’t do this without the help of CUPE members,” said recently-retired teacher, Shirley Low, who is still active in the garden. “They’re half the hands in the garden.”

Right from the beginning, CUPE members were involved and active in making the project a success, volunteering their time and making donations. CUPE member and school secretary, Marie Ann Roche, does the garden’s financial books. Education assistant, Leslie Kemp, collects organic waste from classrooms and takes interested students out to the garden during her lunch break. They add the collected organics to the garden compost and spend time watering and weeding. CUPE 847 President, Lynda Hodgson, head custodian at the school, donates compost from her ranch.

CUPE maintenance worker, Mark Howarth, is also integral to the garden. He takes care of the irrigation and blows out the lines in the fall so they don’t freeze, clears the snow from the garden entrance to keep it accessible in the winter, and helps clean up and maintain things throughout the year.

“Without the community and all the help from volunteers who work at our school, this wouldn’t have come together,” said Low.

Members of the community were part of the garden from the early planning stage. The community, CUPE members, and parents got involved to help the kids raise money, donate goods and services, and then build the garden.

Healthy Living

“We’re really interested in healthy living. With the garden, we teach children how to plant, grow, and eat healthy,” said Low. “It’s all part of healthy living.”

Focusing on healthy living developed into “Kitchen Kids”, a program for students to learn how to cook the food they harvest. Low has produced and sold four cookbooks to help fund the garden.

The John Allison Community/School Garden, situated beside the K-3 school in Princeton, has flourished to include individual plots for each class and Strong Start, plus an outdoor classroom area where Mason bees thrive and children learn about the bees’ role in food production.

Garden Angels

The school recruits “gardening angels” from the community, including CUPE members, who come in during the summer and take care of one of the plots – pulling weeds and watering, as well as harvesting what’s ready. Each gardening angel takes one class during the school year and teaches students how to garden, from preparing the soil and planting, right up to the harvest.

As part of the school’s gardening club activities, kids come in and Low or one of the gardening angels tours them around the garden, where they taste all the food. Low notes that kindergarteners really like the chives and strawberries.

Each fall the school hosts a Harvest Celebration. Garden produce is harvested and Kitchen Kids cook up a big batch of butternut squash soup for the school and the community to enjoy.

CUPE 847 President Lynda Hodgson commenting on the garden’s impact on children like her grandson, who attended John Allison Elementary, said, “It’s amazing how aware of food the children become. It’s exciting to them that they grew the food, cooked it, and then got to eat it.”

View the photo gallery here.