Educational Assistants (EAs) are familiar faces in schools, but families might not realize just how many different ways they support student success.

At Prince Philip School, Educational Assistant Prezton Vaye and Vice Principal Kylie Gervais took a moment to share about this essential profession.

For Prezton, a successful day starts even before students get to the school doors.

“First, run to the bus, pick up the kids, come in with them, and make sure they are all regulated. Our goal is to keep the kids regulated, because with that, they’re able to learn.”

Regulation can include helping students identify what they’re feeling, and what actions they can take to get ready to learn. For some kids, transitions between different places and activities are challenging moments. Educational Assistants support those transitions so that students are prepared for the lessons ahead.

“I’m either assigned to a student or an entire classroom. After they’re calm, we begin with the academic activities.”

Prezton describes how EAs work to put Individual Programming Plans (IPPs) into action. Adjustments are made throughout the day for students who need additional supports. EAs play a key role in giving the school day that extra flexibility to meet students where they're at.

Kylie Gervais, the vice principal at Prince Philip School, emphasizes the wide variety of roles EAs take on:

“EAs are vital to our school. They bring so much knowledge and experience (…) in a way that provides access to learning for all of our students here.”

She says it’s not just academics – EAs also work with kids to build social, emotional, and behavioural skills. Students are coached on these skills while navigating the school day; EAs support students during meals and recess in addition to class time. They even accommodate medical needs such as assisting children with blood-sugar monitoring.

Kylie says she can’t pick out just one moment an EA made a difference, because their impact is constant. She sees their positive influence every day, multiple times a day.

The contributions of Educational Assistants aren’t only for student wellbeing. Prezton and Kylie both talk about the positive impact on teachers and other school staff as well. Being an EA is collaborative work, and Kylie described the way that she sees Prezton leading, mentoring, and sharing knowledge in the school community.

Education Assistants meet a lot of practical needs, but building positive relationships is at the core of their work. To Prezton, being an EA is fundamentally about bringing love and caring into the school environment. In his words: “It’s active – it’s busy! But I love it.”

Watch Kylie and Prezton's full interview on Global Saskatoon here.