I’m listing all of the incidents that I’ve experienced (that I can remember )since the start of my EA journey in late 2017.

On a regular basis I am subjected to: slapping, kicking, punching, pinching, spitting, sworn & screamed at, pushing, foot stomping & head butting.
Occasionally I am subjected to: body slamming, biting, hair pulling & threats
Once I was slapped hard across the face, whipped with a gait belt across the face just below the eye and knocked in the head by a students head

Sadly I’ve witnessed several violent incidents against coworkers & students.
This is physically and mentally exhausting.

Thanks you for collecting our stories and hopefully shedding light on this crisis!

I’m Lori, and I’m a retired Educational Assistant.
I worked with the Durham Catholic District School Board for nearly 25 years. I loved my job. I loved the students, and I loved the staff I worked with. I never imagined I’d retire early—but I did. And it wasn’t because I wanted to. It was because I didn’t feel safe, respected, or supported anymore. I had to chose a school for this story but this school doesn't necessary represent the good or bad experiences I am about to share.
Over the years, I’ve been hit, bruised, and bloodied—black eyes, busted lips, and more. At one point, strangers and even my own family thought I was being abused at home. But the truth is, these injuries came from students who were in crisis—students who needed help, but didn’t get the support they deserved.
We talk a lot about how the government is failing schools. That’s true. We absolutely need more funding and better resources. But that’s only part of the story. Leadership in our schools matters just as much. I worked in some schools where I felt appreciated and safe—where leadership made a real difference. And I worked in others, with the same funding, where I felt dismissed and afraid to speak up.
The Board has policies around harassment and bullying. But policies don’t mean much if they’re not enforced— staff are being harassed and ignored, even by those in charge.
That’s why I’m sharing this. Because I know these conversations are happening behind the scenes, and they need to be brought into the light. If you’re a leader and this message hits close to home—reflect. Change starts there. If you’re working in a school and feeling like I did—you’re not alone.
To every EA still showing up, doing the hard work, I see you. I know your battle. You deserve respect. You deserve safety. And you deserve to be heard.
It’s time we all listen.

My child had a confidentiality breach from an EA at this school. My child's location and attendance to this trip was released by an EA to a family member that had zero contact for the last 4 years. He was then left unattended on the trip where the family member approached my special needs child and then was taken away from the group. I had shown up at that point for the field trip and found my child left unattended with this individual. At that point no one would own up to why my child was released to this person. *** the principal who is out of tenants at this field trip showed very little care about the incident and even after the fact that this was brought to the board still showed very little care. This isn't the first time I've experienced this with *** when in regards to my child's safety (As my child had been attacked by another child in the school prior). *** then protected this EA and refused to have any disciplinary actions happen other than re-educating on confidentiality. My child's information continued to be leaked by the EA after the fact and still nothing was done about it. It came to the point where I had to remove my child from the school due to ***'s negligence.

My son has been spit on twice by a student that is not in his class or grade. Both times no one from the school contacted me and I had to hear about it from my 11 year old. Unacceptable.

Supply here often. Staff is welcoming and supportive. I accept ea positions often. Highly recommend.

it was good my teacher is nice to me I am in grade 7th and I kindly love this school but I going to high school so I am going to miss this 🙂