The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario
(AECEO) is your professional association.


Click here to become a member.          Click here to donate.


Purpose

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario has been the professional association for ECEs in Ontario for 71 years. We advocate for respect, recognition, and appropriate wages & working conditions for all ECEs. 


Mission

Our mission is to build and support a strong collective voice for early childhood educators (ECEs) so they can participate in and influence positive change that benefits ECEs, children, families, and communities. The AECEO serves our members and the ECE community by:

  • Building the capacity and leadership of ECEs to advocate for their profession and the children and families they care for.
  • Participation in advocacy and advisory towards the provincial government and other decision makers to promote the quality of programs through increased recognition and compensation for ECEs.
  • Raising and disseminating ECEs’ questions and concerns arising from new policies and programs and changes to current systems.
  • Collecting, analyzing and circulating relevant policy and research with a particular focus on implications and opportunities for the ECE workforce.
  • Supporting ECEs to connect with each other and to become more knowledgeable about the policies and systems that impact their daily work.
  • Working with partners to advocate for a high quality, publicly funded early childhood education and child care system that serves children from 0 – 12 years old, one that provides professional wages and working conditions for the ECE workforce.

Values

We are dedicated to ensuring First Nation, Inuit, Métis and Afro-Indigenous educators are positioned to lead the resurgence of Indigenous communities. 

Our work explicitly aims to be anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and inclusive to honour and acknowledge the diverse perspectives and gifts of our community members.

We intentionally acknowledge the unique barriers unrecognized and underserved communities face. Supporting these communities to be architects of the sector is critical to developing a truly inclusive child care system.


 

College of ECE & AECEO


  • Latest from the blog

    AECEO and OCBCC Respond to Increased Wage Floor

    Ontario’s child care wage floor increase brings financial relief for some eductors, but leaves too many behind After consistent advocacy from the Ontario child care community, since the announcement of an $18 per hour wage floor in 2022, the Provincial government has now been forced to increase the wage floor for RECEs in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system to $23.86 per hour. “This change is a direct result of the advocacy and care of thousands of ECEs and it shows what we can do together. This change is only one step, and there is much more to do to build a sector that serves our values; but we know that when ECEs and their allies raise their voices and care out loud, we win.” said Alana Powell of the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario.  “This announcement of wage improvements – midway through Ontario’s CWELCC action plan – is an admission by the government that wages in the child care sector are far too low, and that boosting wages is key to solving the workforce crisis. These have been key demands of our Worth More campaign.” said Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.  But the Ontario government's announcement does not go nearly far enough and does not provide transformational change. The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario have demanded a salary scale and a proper funding formula; this announcement only sharpens our focus on the changes that the sector needs. To read the full response, click here. 
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    November 30th, 2023 will be a Canada-wide Day of Action for ELCC

    Across Canada, child care centres are closing rooms and limiting enrolment because they cannot retain staff in their programs. Passionate and skilled educators are leaving child care jobs because of low wages and poor working conditions.  On November 30th, ECEs, child care workers, children and families, ECE students and faculty, operators, advocates and communities across the country are coming together for a National Day of Action in support of the early learning and child care workforce and calling immediate action on the ongoing early years and child care workforce crisis. Stay tuned! We'll share plans for the Day of Action in Ontario in the coming weeks, along with resources to help you plan local actions with your community, including an updated version of the Day of Action toolkit . Keep an eye out for email updates and make sure to check the AECEO's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.  Can't make it to a rally in person? We've got you covered. Click here to register for our Virtual Rally!
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