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Building Blocks for Better Schools

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Eight Building Blocks for Better Schools

Ontario has a world-renowned public education system. We are committed to improving our schools, to fighting for equity for all, and to creating a safe and supportive learning environment.

As the heartbeat of public education, teachers and other education workers play a critical role in helping to shape the system and develop our students to be the very best they can be. Ontario students depend on all of us to protect and build better schools.

  1. Smaller Classes for Elementary Students – Reduce class sizes in grades 4 to 8 and Kindergarten to enhance activity-based learning, positive social interaction among students, and individual attention from teachers.
  2. Safer and Healthier Schools Implement a province-wide strategy to address violence in schools. Review the current education funding formula to ensure it meets the diverse needs of students. Address the school repair and maintenance backlog.
  3. More Resources for Students with Special Needs – Expand opportunities for all students to reach their learning and development potential by providing greater support for students with special needs and for students who are English Language Learners.
  4. More Meaningful Student Assessment and Learning – Cancel EQAO testing and focus instead on teachers’ classroom assessments of students.
  5. Enriching Student Learning – Ensure access to teacher-librarians and specialist teachers in the Arts, Health and Physical Education, and guidance to provide an enriched and engaging program for all elementary students.
  6. Building More Inclusive Classrooms – Ontario’s economic and cultural diversity is reflected in its public schools. Ontario can build more inclusive classrooms by addressing widening equity gaps and providing the necessary supports for marginalized communities.
  7. A Strong Voice for Educators and their Union – Maintain the ability of unionized teachers and other education workers to speak out on behalf of safe and healthy schools and policies that contribute to student engagement, academic success and personal growth.
  8. One Secular School System – Establish one publicly funded education system in Ontario for each of Canada’s official languages.
Recommendations

More Meaningful Student Assessment and Learning

ETFO has consistently raised concerns about how Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) tests, first administered in 1997, have negatively affected elementary classrooms. These tests promote an overly narrow focus on literacy and numeracy to the detriment of a more holistic program. They create a test-driven school culture through the large number of diagnostic assessments that the Ministry of Education and school boards have imposed as part of the drive to improve provincial test results.

EQAO tests, and preparation for them, consume considerable classroom time and create stress for students and their teachers. They also fail to measure more complex skills required for problem solving and innovation, lead to “teaching to the test” and demotivate students.

EQAO test results are also being misused by real estate agents and organizations like the Fraser Institute to rank schools and neighbourhoods, and by the government’s online School Information Finder to compare schools. This is socially divisive and a misuse of the results. ETFO believes the EQAO’s $30 million budget would be better spent if the funds were allocated to frontline education programs.

The narrow focus on literacy, numeracy, and student performance in EQAO assessments over two decades has led to system fatigue. Educators – from classroom teachers to superintendents – are stressed. And so are students. It is not only staff who are calling for fundamental changes. Ontario-based education experts advocate for a new vision for education, one that is not focused on standardized test results. Their vision is based on creating supportive and collaborative school cultures where educators can exercise their professional judgement regarding their classroom practice, curriculum, and assessment strategies.

There are alternatives to Ontario’s testing regime. Finland, a top-performing nation on international assessments, uses random sample tests to occasionally check if its curriculum and teaching approaches are appropriate. The international tests that Ontario students participate in, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), are random sample tests.

In the end, the most effective assessment of student progress is the assessment that teachers do every day in the classroom.

Teachers strive to balance their instruction with assessment that provides students immediate feedback about their own progress and helps them work more productively on their own and with other students. Teachers use ongoing assessment to reflect on their teaching, improve their teaching strategies, and respond to individual student needs. 

If the government is truly interested in improving the levels of student success, it should put its focus on supporting teachers’ professional judgement and ongoing classroom assessment skills rather than on the EQAO tests. This view is supported by a majority of Ontarians, with over two-thirds (68 per cent) agreeing that EQAO testing does not accurately measure student success and that teachers’ classroom assessment should take higher priority. 

Recommendations
  • Cancel EQAO grades 3 and 6 tests.

  • Respect teachers’ professional judgement and place more emphasis on the role of ongoing teacher assessment of student progress.

  • Revise the Ontario elementary curriculum by reducing the number of prescribed student outcomes and identifying, instead, a set of core learning goals.

  • Provide all elementary classrooms with resources that support hands-on, experiential learning.

Smaller Classes for Elementary Students

Educators identify small classes as the most important factor in their ability to work individually with students and meet their diverse needs.

Smaller classes improve student behaviour and peer relationships and increase student engagement in the early grades. Investing in smaller classes contributes to alleviating the antisocial, aggressive behaviour that causes incidents of classroom violence.

Class size has been extensively studied. A 2014, US-based review of the research concludes: “The academic literature strongly supports the common-sense notion that class size is an important determinant of student outcomes.” A 2018 study of the California class size reduction program – the largest in US history dating back to the late 1990s – found smaller classes in public schools reduced private school attendance and improved the quality of education through the enrolment of former private school students and the additional funding that followed them.

Ontario’s previous investments in smaller classes in primary grades has had a positive impact on our classrooms. Ontario-based research demonstrates that smaller primary classes have enabled teachers to provide more individual attention to students and use a greater variety of instructional strategies. 

The benefits of the smaller classes we have seen in primary grades need to be extended to grades 4 to 8. Currently, primary grades are funded for an average class size of 20 and secondary grades for an average class size of 23. By comparison, funding for grades 4 to 8 supports a class size average of 24.5.

Establishing limits on class size averages alone without hard caps means that individual classes can vary a great deal. Unlike in the primary grades, there are currently no caps on class size for grades 4 to 8, this has resulted in the largest class sizes in the system, often more than 30 students in a class.

Class size is also an issue in Ontario’s Full-Day Kindergarten program. This program has proven to be very successful and has become a model for other jurisdictions and a fundamental part of our world-class education system. However, there are issues that must be addressed.

The Kindergarten program is funded to have an average class size of 26 and an average staff-child ratio of 1:13. There are still, however, many classes with over 30 students and an even greater number of Kindergarten/Grade 1 split-grade classes, which are not supported by a designated early childhood educator.

ETFO members consistently raise concerns about the challenges of setting up activity-based programs for that many young children and managing classroom behaviour when many of the students are experiencing formalized learning environments for the first time. Overcrowded and often noisy classrooms or open “pods” limit teachers’ and early childhood educators’ ability to take full advantage of the play-based program and create stressful work and learning environments.

As Ontario seeks to address existing learning gaps, reducing class sizes is a necessary first step. 

Recommendations
  • Cap grades 4 to 8 class size at 24 students.

  • Cap Kindergarten class size at 26 students.

  • Provide adequate funding to ensure that every classroom has the necessary supports and resources for all students to be successful.

Safer and Healthier Schools

Students need a safe learning environment where they do not have to experience or witness violence or harassment.

Addressing Violence in Elementary Schools

In 2023, ETFO commissioned a survey of its members to examine the rising concern of violence in schools. The results confirmed that violence in Ontario’s elementary public schools is a systemic and pervasive issue. It impacts the physical and psychological health of educators, disrupts learning, and threatens the well-being of students – both those who are struggling and those who are witnesses to violent incidents.

Four out of five members reported an increase in the number of incidents of violence in schools, and two-thirds say that violent incidents were becoming more severe. All students in Ontario’s public schools need to be safe and receive the supports they need. The provincial government and school boards have a responsibility to provide the necessary funding to ensure that adequate front-line staffing and supports are in place to meet the needs of students. The provincial government must review the current education funding formula to ensure it meets the diverse needs of students.

Educators understand that student behaviours that may present a risk of injury to others are symptoms of unmet needs and undeveloped skills. Students need understanding and support to help them thrive. Students in Ontario’s public elementary schools need:

  • A safe learning environment where they do not have to experience or witness violence or harassment
  • Timely access to assessments to identify exceptionalities and learning needs
  • Intervention to support student needs as soon as they are identified
  • The opportunity to learn alongside same-aged peers in inclusive settings, supported by the appropriate staffing, training, resources, and mental health supports
  • Timely access to programs that include educators and staff trained in meeting the particular needs of students when educators and families determine that those students’ needs are best met in specialized settings
  • Access to systems outside of school that are fully funded and meet the needs of children and families, including mental health supports

To address violence in schools, it is important that the data gathered be accurate and that school boards be transparent with other stakeholders so that a collaborative approach can be used. All workers must be encouraged to report all incidents of violence and all school boards must ensure that the reporting system is easy to use and gathers comprehensive information. The data must be shared with joint health and safety committees and school board trustees at the local level and gathered by the Ministry of Education to be shared and analyzed by stakeholders at the provincial level.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) already has protections for workers to keep them safe from violence and harassment. A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development’s health and safety compliance initiative on workplace violence in schools carried out in 2023 revealed that basic requirements of the OHSA are not in place. For example, the order most frequently issued was for violence risk assessments, which in some cases had not been updated in years, and in other cases, administrators were completely unfamiliar with the requirement to carry out such assessments. The government must ensure that school boards comply with their legal obligations under the OHSA.

The issue of violence in schools is pervasive and widespread, but it is not unsolvable. Addressing violence in schools requires the government to implement a province-wide strategy that provides adequate funding and supports, and engages school boards, educators, students, and their families.

Supporting Student and Educator Mental Health

One of the lessons learned following the COVID-19 pandemic, is that the mental health of teachers, education workers, and students requires the urgent attention of the provincial government.

In its 2022 Annual Ontario School Survey, People for Education reported that:

  • only 18% of elementary schools have guidance counsellors, with virtually all of those working part-time (98%)
  • only 30% of elementary schools have regular access to psychologists
  • only 49% of elementary schools have regular access to social workers
  • only 36% of elementary schools have regular access to child and youth workers

In its latest survey, based on responses from principals across the province, People for Education found:

  • increased behavioural issues, students having difficulties with self-regulation, and a range of unaddressed mental health challenges
  • 28% of elementary schools have no access to a psychologist – nearly double the number reported in 2011
  • 93% of schools reported a need for support staff such as educational assistants
  • 95% of schools report needing some or more support for students’ mental health and well-being

Additional funding must be provided to improve access to in-school supports, especially in underserved areas. Supporting students' emotional, developmental, and behavioural needs is critical so that ETFO members can focus on supporting students' learning needs.

The negative impact that chronic underfunding, and the accompanying loss of in-school supports, has on the mental health of educators is reflected in ongoing retention and recruitment challenges. Many school boards are experiencing staffing crises while at the same time many teachers have made the difficult choice to leave the profession. The government must focus on improving the working conditions of teachers and educators and provide the access to mental health supports.

Addressing the School Repairs and Maintenance Backlog

Ontario’s current education funding is based on a model introduced more than two decades ago that was designed to reduce overall expenditure in public schools. Under this model, funding for school operations and maintenance has consistently fallen short. This issue has received considerable attention and was the subject of a research report in 2017 that documented a backlog in maintenance and repairs of school facilities amounting to more than $16 billion – that backlog has only increased since then.

The consequences of this school repair and maintenance backlog are being experienced across the province. Every year students and educators are forced to deal with poor ventilation, lack of air conditioning during hot months, inadequate heating in the winter, leaky roofs, flooding, etc. Many schools are left with spaces that are simply not adequate for student learning, and in some cases are not safe to use.

The provincial government must address this school repair and maintenance backlog to ensure safe learning spaces for students and safe working environments for educators.

Recommendations
  • Implement a province-wide strategy to address violence in schools.

  • Review the current education funding formula to ensure it provides adequate funding to meet the diverse needs of students.

  • Ensure that school boards comply with their legal obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to provide a safe working environment.

  • Allocate funding for additional in-school and community supports necessary to ensure students’ developmental and behavioural needs are met.

  • Develop and deliver long-term, fully funded, comprehensive, culturally responsive mental health supports for students.

  • Allocate ongoing, sustainable funding for high-quality professional learning for educators in the area of student mental health, to take place within the instructional day.

  • Provide funding to school boards to ensure students and educators have access to mental health supports.

  • Address the school repair and maintenance backlog to ensure safe learning spaces for students and safe working environments for educators.

More Resources for Students with Special Needs

Many students with special education needs are not formally identified until mid-to-late elementary school years, which means that they might be at a school with little to no resources to support them. This is a serious issue for public education. Leaving even one student out, is one too many.

Students with special needs are currently not getting the front-line supports and services they need. Inadequate supports have a bigger impact on students who face additional barriers, such as Black, Indigenous, and racialized students, students from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students who enter Ontario schools without language proficiency in either English or French. 

Students need access to educational assistants, behavioural counsellors, child and youth workers, psychologists, and speech and language pathologists to help them learn and thrive.

Meeting the special needs of students is a constant challenge for any government. The Ministry of Education’s current funding model for special education is tied to general enrolment, not to the number of students accessing special education programs or supports nor does it account for the level of support students need to thrive. While the number of students requiring special education programs/supports has increased, funding levels have lagged behind.

Due to chronic underfunding, school boards are often left strapped for funds and are compelled to take money that has been allocated to other program areas to support special education, which leaves every kid at a loss. We need the province to increase special education funding to school boards to ensure they can adequately support all students.

As recommended by the government’s Declining Enrolment Working Group in 2009, special education grants should be revised to better reflect the actual needs of students. The impact of this change will be significant not only for the students whose needs are currently not being met, but for all students in our public schools. Adequately supporting students with special needs helps build more supportive and inclusive classrooms.

Over the past few years, educators have been reporting an increase in incidents of violence involving students who are facing mental health challenges or who display disruptive behaviour. To ensure students are getting the support they need, classrooms require more access to educational assistants, behavioural counsellors, child and youth workers, psychologists, and speech and language pathologists.

Recommendations
  • Base the special education grants on the educational needs of students.

  • Increase the funding allocation for educational assistants, behavioural counsellors, child and youth workers, psychologists, and speech and language pathologists.

  • Provide educators training to help them address student behavioural issues and adopt teaching strategies that support students with a wide spectrum of special needs.

Enriching Student Learning

Kids benefit from having counsellors, librarians, and teachers who provide instruction in the Arts, Health, and Physical Education.

Classes in the Arts and Physical Education drive our little ones to thrive and learn teamwork, collaboration, and creativity. Although the province knows the importance of these programs — mandating that elementary students must have access to the Arts and Physical Education classes — it does not allocate the funding teachers need to provide these classes. We need specialist teachers who share their love for music, physical education, visual and performing arts, and design and technology to guide our kids to follow their passions and choose careers that ensure Ontario is at the forefront of new technological and creative trends.

The Ontario education grants leave our kids short-changed when it comes to funding specialist teachers. The shortfall is magnified in smaller and more remote schools that have less access to specialist teachers and programs, because funding is based on per-pupil grants rather than grants per school.

Technology, the Arts, and global and environmental education all support experiential learning that ignites and sustains students’ interests and connects them to the world around them.

Elementary students would have a more enriched educational program and experience less frustration or violent behaviour if they had more opportunities to learn through the Arts and outdoor experiential learning, supported by teacher-librarians and teachers who are specialists in the Arts, Health and Physical Education, and guidance. However, the government does not provide sufficient funding for teacher-librarians or specialist teachers.

Research confirms that the knowledge and expertise of teacher-librarians and specialist teachers make an important contribution to the quality of elementary education. This is true of both academic success and students’ broader emotional, physical, cognitive, personal, and social development. An extensive literature review concluded that, “Overall, the literature surrounding specialist teachers in a range of content areas appears to support the claim that specialist teachers can positively impact student achievement and contribute to student success at the elementary level.”

The number of specialist teachers at the elementary level has dropped significantly since 1998 when the current funding model was introduced. The Ontario education grants leave elementary students significantly shortchanged in terms of their access to quality programs in the Arts and Health and Physical Education, and support from teacher-librarians.

In the context of the Ministry’s focus on student well-being, including addressing mental health issues, the lack of guidance counsellors in elementary schools is a barrier to meeting the needs of students. According to a recent report by the public advocacy organization People for Education, 82 per cent of all elementary schools report having no full- or part-time guidance counsellors. Only two per cent report having a full-time guidance counsellor. In the context of increased concerns related to classroom violence, it is short-sighted for the government not to ensure greater student access to guidance counsellors in elementary schools.

Teacher-librarians play a critical role in developing student literacy, supporting teachers’ classroom instruction, and making the library the technological hub of the school. Studies conducted by People for Education document the extent to which trained teacher-librarians have a positive effect on student literacy achievement and on children’s enjoyment of reading. It is ETFO policy that all elementary students have access to a teacher-librarian. In recent years, many school boards have replaced teacher-librarians with library-technicians who are not teachers and are not trained to support teachers’ classroom instruction. The per-pupil funding allocation for teacher-librarians that boards receive has not  kept up with rising costs and does not meet the current needs of students.

School libraries cannot fulfill their role of assisting teachers to meet the learning expectations of the provincial curriculum without up-to-date resources and technology. 

The education funding formula must be amended to provide dedicated resource funding to support school libraries. 

Recommendations
  • Establish more balance between the focus on literacy and numeracy and the importance of providing elementary students access to programs in other subjects including Science, Social Studies, the Arts, and Health and Physical Education.

  • Increase Core Education Funding to provide all elementary schools with a teacher-librarian and specialist teachers in the Arts, Health and Physical Education, and guidance.

  • Increase Core Education Funding to support school library learning resources and technology.

Building More Inclusive Classrooms

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.

Recommendations
  • Revise English as a Second Language (ESL) grants to more accurately reflect the number of students who do not speak English when they enrol at school.

  • Revise ESL grants to increase the capacity of schools to extend these programs to students who continue to need the support beyond four years.

  • Ensure school boards spend ESL grants on their intended purpose.

  • Provide classroom resources to support the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy.

  • Implement mandatory collection of student and staff race-based data by all public-school boards.

  • Implement mandatory training and professional development for all administrators, school board trustees, and teacher candidates on recognizing and addressing anti-Black racism.

  • Provide teachers with training that addresses discrimination and oppression of marginalized students.

  • Fund community workers at the school board level through Core Education Funding.

  • Provide specific compensatory grants for schools in marginalized communities to support additional learning materials, field trips, and in-school Arts programs.

  • Increase investments in anti-poverty measures such as income support, paid sick days for all workers, and tax reform.

  • Increase funding to expand access to public and not-for-profit early learning and care programs for children aged 0 to 3.8.

  • Increase the capacity of schools to act as hubs for community services.

  • Work with the federal government to implement a province-wide school nutrition program.

A Stronger Voice for Educators and their Unions

Ontario public education has benefited from having unions representing teachers and other education workers for more than one hundred years.

ETFO and other unions have worked to negotiate compensation and working conditions that attract and retain highly qualified, committed professionals to the school sector. Through our programs and training, ETFO members engage in professional learning that improves their capacity to be effective educators and keeps them current with new teaching strategies.

By advocating for safe and healthy workplaces, education unions ensure students are learning in safe and healthy classrooms. ETFO, through its health and safety representatives, identifies potential hazards such as poor air quality, unsafe equipment, and the potential threat of asbestos. Through their unions, classroom educators advocate for measures to address workplace violence that threatens the safety and well-being of the entire school community.

Educators and unions do not just fight for themselves. They are fighting for our schools, and your kids.

By promoting policies such as smaller classes, curriculum reforms, and more meaningful student assessment policies, unions not only promote improved working conditions for their members—they also address issues that affect student learning and success.

Education unions are committed to addressing broader social issues that affect their students’ ability to be successful learners and to become active and engaged citizens. With the support of their union’s training and classroom resources, ETFO members work in their classrooms, their schools, and their communities to fight against poverty, inequality, and discrimination.

It is important that the provincial government continue to recognize education unions as important partners in the discussion and implementation of education policies. It is equally important that the government not introduce initiatives that weaken the ability of education unions to represent their members and be strong advocates for public education. 

Recommendations
  • Engage education unions as full partners in the discussion and implementation of education reforms.

  • Support labour laws that enable unions to represent their members, organize unorganized workers, and advocate for democratic rights and equity.

One Secular School System

The increasing diversity of Ontario’s population makes it difficult to defend a school system devoted to one religion.

Ontario today is much different demographically than it was in 1867 when rights for Catholic and Protestant schools were established through the British North America Act, the precursor to the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982.

Given the diversity of Ontario’s population, our school system should be playing a key role in fostering mutual understanding and social cohesion. This goal is best achieved through an education system where students of all backgrounds learn together and see themselves in the faces of their teachers, and where curriculum is developed based on the whole population, not on the beliefs of one religion.

Due to recent declining student enrolment, many communities in rural and northern areas have an insufficient number of students to support schools delivered through four different school boards. This leads to school closures that leave some communities without an elementary English-language public school; it also forces school boards to bus young students long distances. To compete for students, Catholic boards are accepting non-Catholic students and both public and Catholic boards are waging expensive marketing campaigns. This is an example of wasteful spending that should be directed to the classroom.

ETFO believes the public and Catholic school systems should be merged to create one public school system for English language students and another for French language students. Public opinion polling consistently shows that a majority of Ontarians agree with this position.

The fact that Canada’s leaders in 1867 made a deal should not mean that deal can never change. Quebec and Newfoundland have both changed their school systems. Quebec has eliminated its Catholic and Protestant school boards, and Newfoundland has replaced seven denominational school boards with one public board. What is needed is the political will to make the change. 

Recommendations
  • Establish one publicly funded education system in Ontario for each of Canada’s official languages.