Welland teacher re-elected to key position

OTTAWA, March 16 /CNW Telbec/ - Benoit Mercier, a teacher from Welland, has been given a second two-year mandate President of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO).

Mr. Mercier was elected to this position by the 200 delegates attending the Franco-Ontarian teachers' 2010 Policy Convention being held in Ottawa. He will also represent AEFO on the Executive Committee of the Ontario Teachers' Federation.

"We will face many challenges in the coming months, says Mr. Mercier. One of those will be to safeguard the quality of the full-time early childhood programs which have existed in French-language schools for almost 15 years. AEFO will namely be working to maintain the smaller class sizes which greatly help children who attend French-language schools in a minority setting acquire the linguistic proficiency they need to succeed."

A teacher with 24 years of experience in the profession, Mr. Mercier has been actively involved in his professional association for most of his professional career. At the local level, he was the full-time president of AEFO's Catholic South-Central Branch Affiliate during six years. He has been a member of AEFO's Provincial Council since 1998 and a member of the Provincial Executive Committee for the last 8 years.

AEFO represents 9,500 teachers and other educational workers who work in Ontario's French-language elementary and secondary schools as well as workers in other French-language establishments in Ontario.

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For further information: Marie-Élisabeth Brunet, Communications Officer, [phone], [phone] (cellular), [email protected]