ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME WE FIX OUR SCHOOLS? By Krista Wylie

ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME WEFIXOUR SCHOOLS?

By Krista Wylie

Our schools are where our children learn, play, grow, and build years’ worth of memories. They are the hubs of our communities and the work environment for teachers, support staff, and many others. It is unacceptable when they are not safe, healthy, well-maintained spaces.

My son, his classmates, and their teacher wore winter coats at school for more than a week because their classroom was only 12 degrees Celsius. Every spring and fall, Fix Our Schools hears about hot classrooms where temperatures soar beyond 35 degrees. Lead in drinking water, asbestos, mold, and rodents. These are just a few examples of unacceptable conditions in many of Ontario’s publicly funded schools.

As teachers, I am sure you are well aware of many other issues in your schools. You also know the impact these conditions can have on student learning and on your working environment.

The Fix Our Schools campaign Founded in spring 2014 by a handful of west-end Toronto parents, Fix Our Schools evolved quickly to become an Ontario-wide campaign focused on ensuring that:

• Every publicly funded school in Ontario is a safe, well

maintained, healthy building that provides an environment conducive to learning and working.

• The $16.3-billion of disrepair across all 72 Ontario school boards is eliminated, which depends upon adequate and stable provincial funding.

• Publicly funded schools are considered and funded as critical public infrastructure.

The Fix Our Schools campaign has always been non-partisan, parent-led, and solution-oriented, as we have worked to build a

meaningful base of support across the province and as we have built relationships with all political parties and many levels of government to effect change.

We write letters, run social media campaigns, and meet regularly with politicians and policy advisors of all political stripes. We continue to work on expanding our network through community outreach and by building relationships with large, organized groups of people whose interests align with those of Fix Our Schools, such as teachers.

Notable successes The Fix Our Schools campaign is proud of the following notable successes that we have been instrumental in achieving:

• Increased provincial funding for school repairs from $150 million per year in 2014 to $1.4 billion per year since June 2016.

• Obtained transparency into school disrepair data, with

FCI/disrepair data first being published by the Ministry of Education in September 2016 and updated in October 2017.

• Secured the commitment of 58 elected MPPs to develop a standard of good repair for Ontario schools and to provide the adequate, stable funding needed to achieve those standards and eliminate the $16.3 billion of disrepair in Ontario’s schools.

Our provincial government must take responsibility for the unacceptable level of disrepair that has accumulated in Ontario’s schools, and take the lead in finding funding solutions to address the $16.3 billion of disrepair that has been allowed to accumulate in Ontario’s schools in the last two decades.

As you well know, there is great power in collective action. With this in mind, we encourage each of you to please: How you can help

• Subscribe to Fix Our Schools to receive periodic emails with information and ideas for action: fixourschools.ca/joinus/

• Engage actively with us on social media: - Fix Our Schools on Facebook - @Fix_Our_Schools on Twitter

• Tell your colleagues about Fix Our Schools and encourage them to engage with the campaign.

• Send us photos of disrepair and unacceptable conditions in your school at info@fixourschools.ca.

• Contact your local MPP, the Premier, and the Education Minister to let them know you expect all publicly funded schools in Ontario to be safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working.

A lot of change is being discussed in the realm of publicly funded education. School conditions are only one aspect of our education system, but represent a key opportunity for citizen pressure to yield results from our provincial government. The state of Ontario’s publicly funded school buildings is truly a non-partisan issue and must be addressed.

Thanks for helping Fix Our Schools.

Krista Wylie is Co-Founder of the Fix Our Schools Campaign Fixourschools.ca / info@fixourschools.ca.

OECTA’S STATUS OF WOMEN COMMITTEE,

TOGETHER WITH

Presents:

THE PERIOD PROJECT 2020 LET’S END PERIOD POVERTY

Our Northern Ontario Indigenous communities are struggling with the prohibitive costs of menstrual products. Women and girls are in serious need. Please help restore their dignity by donating feminine hygiene products.

A donation box will be available at the Status of Women Committee booth at AGM, or send your donations to the Provincial Office at 65 St. Clair Ave. East, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M4T 2Y8 c/o Status of Women Committee.

Let’s talk about it. PERIOD.

Accepted Donations include: Pads / Liners (preferred) Cloth Pads Menstrual Cups Tampons

Monetary donations can be made at truenorthaid.ca/moon-time-sisters/