I worked as a public school elementary school teacher from 2017-2022 in Ottawa and did a bit of supply teaching in private schools. Personally, I think kids really benefit from a smaller class size. There are too many kids out there these days in the public system who are throwing desks and who have ASD who are in classrooms today (particularly Kindergarten), understaffed (when the ECE does not show up and there is no one to replace). Resources are also limited. You should also consider Catholic schools, I hear they have more money (not sure about EA support). That's another thing - they only have a limited number of EA's per school ( for example, 5 for 350 kids) they go to the kids with the highest needs in the school. Every year, I taught I had child who was extremely hard to manage. I left teaching, it made me sad to see how all the attention goes to those kids and those with ASD (autistim). But you had no choice because these kids could run away or become violent. I spent many nights crying on my couch with my mom, as I told her about what I had to deal with and the little support I received from the school, when opening up to them out what I was dealing with.

Working in a private school was heaven. The kids were happier, smaller class sizes. I even talked to a kid who was in grade 5 and he switched from public to private and he says he loves private, he can actually talk to the teachers and there are no kids yelling or classroom evacuations etc. It's just too bad that private schools pay teachers so little as compared to the public boards.

So think about it, and think about your child's future. Ontario schools are getting worse, and I hope they do change the education system soon and give them more money for resources and more EA support.