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Making Connections

Many routes to become an EA

Full time, part-time, online or even as an apprentice, the study options to become an Educational Assistant have never been more varied nor has the number of colleges offering EA programs been greater.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2006-09-13 ]

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PATRICIA MACDONALD
Mohawk College

In the GTA, Centennial, George Brown and Sheridan all offer EA training. Further afield, Mohawk College in Hamilton, Fanshawe College in London and Niagara College's Welland campus all offer anyone with a high school diploma or more the chance to work in a classroom with special needs children.

Although the curriculum in each of the colleges is similar, there's a difference in admission criteria: some colleges accept high school graduates straight from Grade 12 and others require applicants to have either a diploma or a degree.

At George Brown, for example, the college's Continuing Education department lets students with Grade 12 study part-time for about 30 weeks -- 435 hours of classroom instruction -- through an apprenticeship scheme with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Students attend school one night a week, an occasional Saturday and must be employed either in a primary or secondary school.

At Mohawk College, this year is the first time the school will offer a full-time EA program in addition to its already established part-time, online and apprenticeship instruction models.

Patricia MacDonald, associate dean, School of Continuing Education, Business and Human Services, says Mohawk planned for 35 or so students for the program, but the demand was so great that the inaugural enrolment was doubled to 70.

"We've been running (EA) programs at Mohawk for about 20 years," MacDonald says. "The (student) demographic has been the 35 to 50-year old mother who has been primarily the largest percentage of our population. That has changed a little bit. This fall, we'll have our first intake of full-time students who'll become the typical daytime student. Because of the delivery method now, we have seen a larger influx of applicants straight from high school."

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

The full-time program at Mohawk falls in the pre-grad camp: that is applicants don't need a diploma or degree to enrol, but they must have a high school diploma with Grade 12 credits in English and Math and need to show volunteer experience in a school setting, MacDonald says. Most EA students are women, she says, although men do enrol in modest numbers.

At Sheridan, the EA program is post-grad. Applicants need a college diploma or university degree for admission whether they take the full-time or part-time route. Mature students without a diploma or a degree but with exceptional relevant experience may be considered for the programs too.

Centennial delivers its EA program online in close association with Mohawk in a way not dissimilar to a franchise. Applicants need Grade 12, good interpersonal skills, basic computer knowledge and a CPR-First Aid Certificate. All applicants at all college will be required to undergo a police security check. Full-time tuition for EAs is about $1,900 a year.

Angela Gauthier, superintendent of education responsible for Human Resources at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, says she employs 1,079 EAs.

Certification isn't required to work as an EA for the Catholic board, Gauthier says, but it's definitely looked on favourably. The board makes no distinction between the two kinds of training colleges offer, she csays, although job applicants must be Catholic. Hiring is done the usual way -- job fairs and the like -- and "of course we'll look at internal referrals," Gauthier says.

As for pay -- which is similar across the GTA because schools are unionized -- she says her board's educational assistants start at $1,190 every two weeks for a full school day 10 months a year.

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