At the BPS Conference, divisions and sectors elect from their delegates a sector executive. These delegates come from across the province, but are grouped in common threads according to workplaces or careers. Our place within the divisions is Sector 3 - Boards of Education. At the previous BPS conference Kathy Whipple and Lorie St.Amand both were acclaimed to positions on the sector executive. For the upcoming term Kathy Whipple will hold the position as Sector secretary, and Lorie St.Amand and sector vice-chair. We meet four times a year with the other members of the executive - silvanna Peterson (simcoe board), Lesley Chisholm (simcoe board) and Sandy Barker (simcoe board).
We currently have five units in the sector, consisting of Educational Assistants, Instructors of English as a Second Language, Office/Clerical Staff, and Technicians. We share a common commitment of supporting students with special needs, in Life Skills/Developmental Skills classes, Career/Learning Centres, Adult Education, ESL and mainstream classroom settings. As workers within school board settings we know the value of working as a team, sharing resources and areas of expertise in meeting the needs of the students we serve.
As a Sector Executive, we have made a commitment to working with all units, to have our voices heard and to be recognized and valued for the important work we do. We see like ourselves as a team within OPSEU that has valuable information to share when it comes to negotiating fair contracts and addressing issues that are common in our daily working lives.
Please make the commitment to get involved in your sector! Contact any of the Executive Members listed on the website with your ideas, questions, concerns and stories. Collective ideas and active voices benefit us all. We look forward tolobbying the Ministry of Education so that they will recognize the value that members of this sector contribute towards student success in this province