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STEPHEN JEFFERY stephen.jeffery@eap.on.ca NEW TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT READY FOR CHALLENGE ensuring teachers and students were pro- tected and listened to, both during and after the pandemic.
The new president of the union repre- senting Ontario’s English Catholic teach- ers was inspired to help advocate for her colleagues while working at elementary schools in eastern Ontario. Barb Dobrowolski was elected president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) at the 2021 annual general meeting. She is due to begin her two-year appointment on July 1, after holding other roles at the association such as vice- president on the provincial executive and president of the Eastern Ontario local unit. Dobrowolski began her career in 1992 at .PUIFS5FSFTB&MFNFOUBSZ4DIPPMJO3VTTFMM Her time working at that school, as well as St 1BUSJDL$BUIPMJD4DIPPMJO3PDLMBOE JOTQJSFE her to advocate for colleagues. “I really enjoyed the community, and I loved my colleagues,” she said. “I looked around me and saw incredibly dedicated, hard-working teachers who often didn’t think of their own needs and put everyone else needs first. I felt that they needed good advocacy.” Dobrowolski acknowledged her term as president would be challenging, as COVID-19 continued to affect students, teachers and parents. She said her priorities included
“We’re going to have a lot of students who are struggling, because they’ve missed a lot of school,” she said. “When they get back, they’re going to be way behind, they’re going to be uncomfortable, and we’re going to have to support them. When things do get back to normal, we’re going to have to focus on everyone’s mental health, and ensure school is a place where students feel safe.” The welfare of teachers during the pan- demic remained a concern. Dobrowolski said teachers had been asked to do “the impossible” by simultaneously educating students in-person and remotely. She said the association would push for educators to be prioritized in the vaccine rollout. “Teachers are at a breaking point,” she said. “When I talk to some of my colleagues, they talk about teachers regularly breaking down, coming in and confiding that they’re really at rope’s end right now.” Dobrowolski asked the wider community for support over the next two years, and said she hoped to effectively advocate for a strong public education system. “It’s world class now, and we want to keep it that way,” she said. “I also know I have my work cut out for me over the next couple of years.”
Incoming Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association president Barb Dobrowolski, who began her teaching career in eastern Ontario, will push for student and educator safety and resources during and after the pandemic. — photo supplied
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La population de dindons sauvages de Prescott-Russell ne cesse de croitre. Le succès des efforts déployés par le ministère des Ressources naturelles de l’Ontario pour rétablir la population indigène de dindons sauvages de la province est visible chaque printemps lorsque les dindons sauvages affichent leur plumage pour tenter d’attirer l’attention des femelles. —photo Gregg Chamberlain
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