Memo From ETT President Jennifer Brown: Redeployment of Guidance Counsellors

In September 2020, ETT requested that the TDSB ensure that Guidance Counsellors remain in position. The Board has refused this request, demonstrating contempt for the work of our members, while continuing to only pay lip-service to its self-proclaimed commitment to student mental health and well-being.
We have now learned that the Board is asking ETT Members in the classroom to volunteer to perform tasks that our EIC Members were paid to do prior to redeployment.
Roles for which ETT Members are specifically hired and paid to fulfill should not become volunteer work for other members within our bargaining unit.
We are asking all ETT Members to consider whether it is in their interests, or the interests of their colleagues and students, to volunteer for this work.
The work of our Guidance Counsellors is not an extracurricular activity. Their work is critical as we support our vulnerable students and their families at this difficult time.
The sooner the TDSB recognizes this, the better.
Stay healthy and strong,
Jennifer Brown
ETT President