Building Blocks for Better Schools

Elementary school is a place where kids have many firsts – first best friend, first books read, first class presentation. In the classroom, educators are laying the foundation for a lot of first memories and first experiences. Ensuring that these memories are fond ones for every student is a must.

It all begins with creating the support needed for the variety of early childhood experiences that kids face – whether it is being from a family where English is not the first (or even third) language or coming to school for their first meal of the day. It is important to recognize the diversity and range of needs we must prioritize when pursuing early childhood development.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the deep-rooted socio-economic disparities that exist in communities across the province, the country, and the world. The negative impacts of the pandemic have been disproportionately felt by already marginalized communities. Intersections of gender, race, sexuality, disability, status, language, and employment precarity have had a tremendous impact on how students and their families have experienced the pandemic. Our public education system needs to account for these disparities and address widening equity gaps.

Supporting English Language Learners

Children who enter Ontario schools without language proficiency in either English or French require more support to ensure they progress academically, socially, and emotionally. The number of children who speak neither English nor French when they register for school has increased significantly. The 2017 People for Education annual survey of public schools reports that 63 per cent of English elementary schools have English language learners (ELL) compared to 43 per cent in 2002-03. These students face significant challenges in catching up to their peers and schools do not have adequate resources to support them.

There is no direct accountability for school boards to spend their second language grants on the intended programs. All too often, overall shortfalls in the funding formula have led to school boards using their second language grants for other purposes and shortchanging ELL students.

ELL students who enter English schools should also have the opportunity to benefit from French immersion programs. These students often need additional support to be successful in the immersion program; additional support should be provided to ELL students enrolled in these classes.

To promote engaged and active learning among all students, classrooms and school libraries need textbooks and other resources that reflect the rich cultural, racial, and gender identities of students and their families. Ontario has adopted an Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. This policy provides an important framework for equity, but more needs to be done to ensure that the vision for equity is realized. Educators need classroom materials that reflect the diversity of their classrooms and school communities. Teachers and other education workers also need professional learning that improves their ability to address racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and classism. These forms of discrimination affect our schools and permeate our society.

In the past, when school boards had taxation powers, some of them funded community workers who interacted with parents, in particular, those who were immigrants and refugees. These workers served as an important link between schools and those parents who were not able or inclined to be active in their child’s school. Their work helped to address language and class barriers and broaden the school’s connection with marginalized communities. Currently, the Ministry of Education, through the Parent Engagement Office, supports important initiatives to promote parent engagement but the initiatives cannot fill the gap of work formerly done by community workers. The Ministry should support school board community workers through Grants for Student Needs.

Addressing Anti-Black Racism

Anti-Black racism in education is longstanding and harms Black students, their families, and Black educators. In the past several years alone, several school boards in Ontario have come under intense public scrutiny following the exposure of anti-Black racism in their practices. 

While no one policy or practice can eliminate systemic anti-Black racism, there are some immediate steps the government could take to improve the experiences of Black students and Black educators in Ontario’s public education system.

The government’s current plan requires school boards to begin collection of student race-based data by January 1, 2023. Greater efforts must be made to ensure all public-school boards in the province comply. Assessing the experiences of Black students and educators in the public education system must be a priority. In addition to prioritizing the collection of race-based data, the government should standardize the collection of this data to maximize its use and impact on future public policy.

A necessary step in combatting anti-Black racism in the public education system is the elimination of barriers in the recruitment, hiring, and retention of Black educators. School board hiring practices that foster an environment that attracts, retains, and nurtures diverse talent in the teaching profession must be a priority.  

Children Living in Poverty

Socio-economic status is perhaps the most significant factor contributing to differences in student achievement. Reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conclude that countries with smaller gaps in income inequality have higher student achievement levels. Its reports have attributed Canadian students’ high achievement scores on international assessments, in part, to the narrow income gap and social programs that support lower-income Canadians. However, Canada is poised to lose this advantage as we witness a widening income gap. Lower family incomes result in many students arriving at school hungry and unable to fully engage in learning. Ad-hoc school nutrition programs only partially meet the need and can be stigmatizing and short-term.

Schools can address poverty-related issues. For example, with past support from the Ministry of Education, ETFO has developed several programs to increase teacher and community awareness about poverty issues and has promoted school nutrition programs. However, the root causes of poverty must be addressed at the macro level. The education funding formula must be revised to more effectively provide marginalized students with access to resources and experiences that more affluent students take for granted. Additional funding is required to expand library resources and access to computers and other technology devices, as well as increasing the number of field trips and in-school arts performances. These additional resources would increase student engagement and student success. ETFO’s efforts to mitigate the effects of poverty at the school level also point to the importance of school boards employing community workers to make connections with parents and guardians, and foster greater engagement in their child’s school and education.

Beyond the school level, Ontario must also live up to the commitment of its poverty reduction strategy and address income levels, social housing needs, and access to early intervention programs. The federal government has a key role to play in addressing poverty, but Ontario can do its part by investing more in anti-poverty strategies. Increasing the hourly minimum wage and providing all Ontario workers with paid sick days are important measures that can help address income inequality. Other measures include more generous income support programs and tax reform to distribute economic prosperity more evenly in the province.

The Government of Canada has recently taken steps to implement a National School Food Program. Ontario must do its part and work with the federal government to sign an agreement to implement a school nutrition program across the province.

Expansion and Integration of Children’s Services

In 2019, the Ontario government announced a commitment to create an additional 30,000 childcare spaces over five years. However, the objective of expanding access to spaces cannot be reached without addressing how childcare is funded. The demand for childcare is high and the government has rightly identified additional childcare spaces as a priority. However, Ontario is falling behind both in the implementation of the provincial government’s own targets and in the commitments made under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

To achieve its stated goal of increasing childcare spaces and fulfill its commitments under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare Agreement, the province must increase the funding allocated to capital projects, childcare subsidies, and wage enhancement grants for childcare workers, with a focus on expanding access to public and not-profit programs.

Schools can build partnerships with the community if they function as hubs for children’s services. There are models where schools are the sites for community recreation programs or public libraries, but such examples are rare. More can be done to integrate services, especially in communities with declining enrolment where schools have available space. Better integration at the community level should result in cost efficiencies through reduced program overhead costs.