In our district, EA’s typically have the title CEA’s (Certified Education Assistant) and they work under the guidance of the school administrator and resource teacher. The number of CEA’s we have in our school is determined by the number of designated students in the school (by Sept 31), however the positions in the school are usually defined more by classroom need. If a class (that has no or single designated students) needs more support than another with designated students, CEA’s may be pulled to support the other class. For example, our class has 1 ASD (G), 1 diabetic (D), and 1 behaviour (H). Our CEA has been pulled to support another class for 2 hours a day for a new student who has no designation at all. This can put added stress on the teacher in the class (however we have been okay so far).

I feel that the role of the CEA in schools has changed in the past years from primarily focusing on the designated students to being expected to support the class as a whole. When we do have our CEA in the class, their first priority are the students that need their support the most. This is typically the students with a designation, however in the classroom, it is up to the teacher to collaborate and provide direction for the CEA. CEA’s are expected to help with programs needed to support the students, however, I would not expect or ask them to create lessons or materials themselves. Overall I have had mostly positive experiences with CEA’s in the classroom and value the knowledge and experience that they bring to the classroom.