Early Childhood Educators in Thunder Bay say salaries too low to staff Ontario’s classrooms

Lakehead Public School board is in dire need of more Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), but the president of the local ECE bargaining unit says low wages are making the career a difficult sell. 

Shelley Crupi, who is also an ECE at the Lakehead Public School Board, said the average new grad will make around $20/hour or $40,000 per year, while the most experienced ECEs could earn up to about $29/hour. Those salaries are too low for a challenging job that requires a two-year college diploma and maintaining registration with a professional regulatory body, said Crupi.

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario has called for a minimum of $30 an hour for ECEs, which would be $62,400 before taxes if working a 40-hour week. 

“Having a salary grid that is comparable to what your education is and and what your qualifications are would really attract people to to the job,” Crupi said, “Right now it’s it’s not attracting many people because of the low wages and they have different prospects that have better wages, better salary.”

Crupi said that school boards also have to compete with daycares, child care centres and other businesses that hire ECEs. 

“I don’t think that early childhood educators are recognized for the qualifications that they do have in educating young children,” said Crupi.

ECEs work in Ontario kindergarten classrooms with with more than 16 students. The teacher and ECE work as a team, with the ECE providing knowledge of early childhood development while teachers bring expertise in curriculum, learning evaulation and assessment.

WATCH | Cheri Mayes explains what goes into her job as an ECE: Early childhood educators have more complex jobs than many realizeFeatured VideoCheri Mayes is an early childhood educator in Thunder Bay, Ont., she says the job requires specialized in-demand skills and a college diploma, showing how demanding the job can be.

Many people misunderstand the depth of work ECEs preform in schools, said Cheri Mayes, an ECE at Lakehead Public School Board. “I’m not an assistant, I actually with work together with the teacher,” she said. Mayes has been working as an ECE for a decade, and said it can be challenging. 

“On the outside it looks like I take kids to the bathroom and mix paint, and I don’t,” Mayes said. “Socially, emotionally, we make sure that each child is met at their developmental milestones.”

This involves working toward goals like learning the alphabet and spelling their names, as well as learning how to socialize and manage emotions. She plans how to meet each child’s goals in accordance with Ontario kindergarten curriculum alongside the teacher, Mayes said,which often dips into unpaid time on evenings and weekends. 

“It’s for the kids, right? I want to see them succeed, so I’ll do whatever I need to do so that they can be successful,” she said. 

Province says they’ll give ECEs $1 raises each year

Last year, the Ministry of Education raised the wage floor for registered ECEs to $18/hour. This would be equivalent for $37,440 on a 40-hour workweek.  

“We increased wages by one dollar per hour this year and will do so every year going forward in the agreement,” said Isha Chaudhuri, a ministry spokesperson said in an an emailed statement to CBC News. This maxes out at $25/hour, which would be $52,000 yearly. 

As the national $10-a-day child-care program rolls out, demand for ECEs will continue to increase. If staff shortages are not rectified, the program could be significantly hampered. 

The provincial government has drafted — but not yet released — a child-care workforce strategy based on consultations held earlier this year with dozens of groups, including advocates, experts, operators, municipalities and colleges.

The Canadian Press obtained Ministry of Education summaries on those consultation sessions through a Freedom of Information request and they show that the government was overwhelmingly told variations of “pay ECEs more.”

Ministry documents from the start of the consultations show that officials estimate the province could be 8,500 ECEs short by 2026.

ECE work is rewarding, but tough

Riley Dolcetti-Hansen said that many people don’t understand what exactly it is ECEs do in kindergarten, and don’t get to see the differences they make in student’s lives. 

“Seeing your students five years down the road, and how much they’ve grown and the role that you’ve played in that is just the most rewarding, amazing thing,” said Dolcetti-Hansen, a kindergarden ECE at the Lakehead Public School Board. 

Meeting all the different needs of the students is never easy, Dolcetti-Hansen said ECEs aren’t always recognized for their efforts. 

Despite all the challenges that come with working as a kindergarten ECE, said she thinks it’s worthwhile work. 

“It’s honestly the best job,” she said.