The president of a union representing high school teachers in Windsor has spoken out about the need for funding for anti-violence training programs and the hiring of mental health support staff to address violence in and around schools.
This comes after teachers in Toronto were calling on the province to fund training, and hire staff to address school violence after numerous incidents across Ontario.
Schools province-wide have seen an increase in violence in recent months including a fatal shooting outside a Toronto school in October, a stabbing at a London high school in November and another stabbing at a high school in Oakville last month.
Tyler Campbell, President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation Educational Support Staff Bargaining Unit, says staffing shortages creates more behaviours and animosity with students.
"Staffing shortages have left us in a big bind right now because less staff in schools right now creates more behaviours and animosity within our children. Lesser services in schools, frustrations come out of students, less people to talk to, everything along those lines so then violence starts happening in schools."
He says the trustees and unions are pushing hard for more supports from the government.
"I know our trustees have sent letters to the government pleading for more funds in special education, and more help in our schools, more training for staff around workplace violence, how to deal with trauma with children, how to deal with children that are behavioural that may act out right now, there's been countless letters, the unions are pushing hard."
Campbell adds that there is a risk of the violence locally because of Windsor's location.
"We're sandwiched between the States and Toronto, we're only just off the 401, so there's absolutely every day that staff goes into school now, there is a risk of that violence. We're one fatal error away from a catastrophe to happen in our area."
He says following the pandemic, student were happy to see one another but are now struggling to cope.
"We came out of COVID very willing to get back to see each other, but now that we're with each other our children are having a hard time coping with each other. They're having a hard time dealing with stress, and when they have a hard time dealing with stress and anxiety, they lash out and they become aggressive or behavioural. Coming out of COVID we focused on education, and really we need to be focusing on helping children get back into society."
Campbell says as of right now, the union is in collective bargaining with the government to try to get more services, however he says he believes the government doesn't seem to think these incidents are an issue.