Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1512808
12 SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2023 EDUCATION GUIDE BY JENNIFER MCFEE A brand-new certificate program at Université de Saint-Boniface will offer its students a chance to bolster the Francophone community of the future. The vehicle for that will be an Education- al Assistant (EA) Certificate Program that will be offered for the first time in 2024. The mission of École technique et profes- sionnelle — the professional and technical school — is to work with the community to train people to work in areas where there is a need. Mélanie Cwikla, director for École tech- nique et professionnelle, is well attuned to those needs in the community. Before she started working for Universi- té de Saint-Boniface, Cwikla noticed many EAs working at her children's school. "As a curious person, I asked about the training required for such a position," she said. "I was surprised to learn that there was no training for francophone educational assistants but that most educational assis- tants working in English required a certif- icate." When she embarked on her current di- rector role, Cwikla began working with her colleagues to develop an academic development plan based on Université de Saint-Boniface's strengths, and on market needs. Since the Université de Saint-Boniface of- fers both a bachelor's degree in education and a diploma in early childhood educa- tion, the educational assistant certificate fits well within the institution's area of ex- pertise. In 2018-19, Université de Saint-Boniface conducted a feasibility study that con- firmed this type of training was needed both within the French and the French im- mersion programs. "The feasibility study confirmed that only 10 per cent of the EA's working in French have received formal training, whereas training is an employment criterion in the English school system," noted Cwikla. It goes without saying that school divi- sions need access to trained individuals to achieve their mandates. However, with a lack of trained EAs who can work in French, they've often needed to provide that training internally. Trained EA's will help support quality education in UNIVERSITY OF ST. BONIFACE SUPPLIED PHOTO Mélanie Cwikla, Director, École technique et professionnelle with David Larocque, Coordinator, Educational Assistant Certificate. USB To Offer New Educational Assistant Certificate Program SUBHEAD WOULD GO IN THIS POSITION. SUBHEAD WOULD GO IN THIS POSITION. Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/education-quotes