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Report of the Secretary-Treasurer to the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, August 25-26, 2015
INTRODUCTION
Welcome back to current and retiring Governors and a special welcome to Governors-elect. For incoming Governors, this report will detail the work of OTF over the past year. For current Governors, it may seem a bit redundant as we review the events of the past year. The report provides greater detail, however, on activities which have taken place since we last met in April of 2015 at the Spring Board of Governors.
Each year, OTF welcomes a new President and says good-bye to another. This year is very unusual as we bid farewell to Rian McLaughlin, the first person to serve two terms as OTF President and we welcome Francine LeBlanc-Lebel as incoming President – the second individual to serve twice in this capacity. Rian had the blessing or curse, depending on your perspective, of an interesting year here at OTF – a year of another pension filing, a year with lots of opportunities for OTF and ongoing challenges, such as OTF’s efforts to address mandate issues with the OCT. Rian ably represented Ontario’s teachers in all regards. Francine will be returning to the OTF office already familiar with the staff and day to day operations, ready to take on the challenges the next school year may bring.
We will be saying goodbye to other members of the OTF Executive and I wish to acknowledge the work of Terry Hamilton (OSSTF), Julie Pauletig (OECTA), and James Ryan (OECTA). They, along with Rian McLaughlin, are finishing their terms on the OTF Executive and their contributions are much appreciated.
As we say goodbye, we also welcome new members. At the time of writing, the ETFO Table Officer is yet to be decided but we know we are welcoming Chris Cowley (OECTA), Mike Foulds (OSSTF), and Ann Hawkins (OECTA).
We get an opportunity to welcome new Governors with OTF pins at this meeting; outgoing Governors, on the other hand, are treated to a celebration (aka “roast”) at the Retiring Governors dinner. Later in the school year, we will arrange a pension orientation, with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for new Executive and Governors. At the Spring Board of Governors' meeting, we had a fiduciary training session as well as one specific to the OTF pension role. There will be new Governors who were not present for that training so we will try to find an opportunity to provide that support to incoming Governors soon as well and to familiarize you with OTF structures and activities.
Aside from the orientation the Plan provides for us, however, we also provide orientation for Plan Directors. Last year, the two Partners (OTF and the Government of Ontario) were invited to meet with all the new Directors as part of their Plan orientation to help them better understand the Plan sponsors, our respective structures, roles and responsibilities. Aside from that formal meeting, we met with all the new Directors individually over the past year. Before long, the A - 3
Plan will once again welcome new Directors and begin an orientation for them and we hope to be a part of that as well.
Although they were not brand new in their roles by any stretch, Ron Mock and Jean Turmel, as CEO and Chair respectively, have had many opportunities to interact with OTF this past year and we really appreciate the excellent relations we enjoy with these two leaders, and with all Plan staff and Board members.
We are in the process of selecting two new directors for appointment to the OTPPB; we will be dealing with appointments / re-appointments tomorrow in Executive session. The selection subcommittee (Table Officers, General Secretaries and the OTF Secretary-Treasurer) has been assisted by Russell Reynolds in identifying viable candidates for two vacancies – one to replace Sharon Sallows who has completed the maximum number of terms allowed and one to fill the new position created by expanding the size of the Board from nine to eleven. Interviews were held yesterday and we will be bringing forward recommendations accordingly.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Sharon Sallows and acknowledge her work on the OTPP Board. Sharon stepped in mid-term to a vacancy due to a Director resignation. I recall that shortly after taking this position, I made a cold call to Sharon inviting her to join the Board. She was pleased to accept and she served us very well for just over eight years.
In the tradition of asking various Directors to report to the Board, Bill Chinery will be presenting on behalf of the Directors at this meeting. Bill is one of the newer Board members but brings tremendous talent and expertise with him. We appreciate all the OTPP Board members and staff able to join us at last night’s banquet and at today’s meeting. As this report shows, the past year was a good one for the Plan in many ways and we hope that pattern holds!
Those of you newer to OTF may not understand my great excitement at sharing the newly-revised, freshly-printed OTF Policy document, but rest-assured, it was a long time coming and reflects the work and input of many over time. I am very pleased that you have all received it and that it has been cleared from my desk. To summarize this long effort: Bylaws? Done. Policies? Done. Amendments to Acts and Regulations? Approved some years ago by the OTF Board, but still awaiting action by the Government. Perhaps 2015-2016 will be the year when these legislative and regulatory changes are enacted.
While the length of this report may lead you to believe that it spells out everything that everyone at OTF has done over the past year, it does not. There is much day to day activity, responding to inquiries, the running of an office and organizational finances and so on that happens without always acknowledging those who make it work. The OTF staff do a tremendous job of keeping things running effectively and efficiently – and pleasantly. I wish to thank them for that.
Aside from OTF’s senior staff (Directors of Pensions, Curriculum and Assessment and Professional Affairs), myself and support staff, we draw on the expertise and work of others on a temporary basis to assist us with particular projects or activities. Thanks are due to Ruby Day, Marnie Daly, Siria Szkurhan, Louise Murray-Leung and Wanda Wilcox for their work on various PD related activities. In both Lindy Amato’s projects (safe@school, TLLP etc.) and A - 4
Ian’s (Parent Engagement etc.), they work closely with other individuals and partner organizations to make the projects and events a success and we appreciate the help we get from all these individuals.
The staff at OTF works closely with their counterparts on staff at the Affiliates; OTF benefits from that shared expertise and consultation. At OTF we pride ourselves on doing things “by teachers for teachers” so there are many teacher leaders out there across the province who not only benefit from OTF’s projects and professional learning, but who make great contributions to it. We are grateful.
This past year, as this report shows, we did “the usual” work of OTF as the collective voice of the teaching profession on professional matters and with respect to the pension plan. As with all years, other opportunities presented themselves along the way as well that were not expected and of which OTF tried to take full advantage.
OTF has no role at the bargaining table for teachers; it does, however, have many policies which support the right of Affiliates to bargain and which support teachers across the province enjoying the working conditions and status which are appropriate to the profession and conducive to a quality, universally provided public education for Ontario’s children. All Affiliates have faced challenges over this past year; OTF stands in solidarity with the four Affiliates in their efforts to achieve fair contracts for their members through collective bargaining.
Later in this meeting, we will be hearing from Chris Turner, author of The War on Science. We are looking forward to hearing him speak about the premise of his book; with a federal election looming, it is all the more timely and I appreciate the OTF President drawing our attention to Chris Turner’s book and pleased he can be with us later today. We’ve invited some extra guests to join us for his remarks this afternoon.
Although further comment is provided in the report which follows, we will hear reports from a number of organizations and partners today – from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, from The Retired Teachers of Ontario and Canadian Teachers' Federation. We will also be presented an award, alongside former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman who is being recognized by Frontier College. We are both grateful and honoured.
We will also deal with the annual operational matters such as approving our financial statements and hearing from our auditors at Grant Thornton. We have finished another year on strong financial footing with a modest surplus and have approved, at our Spring Board, a balanced budget for the coming year. Thanks to the OTF Budget and Finance Committee for their work in this regard.
Tonight’s banquet is an opportunity to both celebrate and network. Guests will be joining us from many organizations. We also award the OTF Fellowships tonight and that is always a special event for us and a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge individuals who have offered so much to OTF, Affiliates, teachers and public education over their careers.
And, now for the details under OTF’s chief areas of operations and responsibility. A - 5
ADVOCACY
Word on the Street (WOTS)
As reported in earlier reports to the Board, OTF participated with a booth in another successful Word on the Street event on September 21, 2014. The morning was marked by bad weather but the afternoon saw a big crowd and OTF’s booth and giveaways for children, parents and teachers were much appreciated.
World Teachers’ Day
As has become practice, and as previously reported, OTF celebrated World Teachers Day in October 2014 by issuing a press release related to the theme (It all starts with a Qualified Teacher) and with the OTIP teaching awards celebrating the excellent teaching in Ontario’s schools.
OTF Website / Interaction / Communications
As regularly reported throughout the year, OTF has made improvements over the past year in our communication efforts. Our revamped website continues to serve us well, our social media presence has increased, and we published four Interactions over the last school year. We supplement these efforts with press releases as needed and with email blasts to various lists, using an improved format and one which complies with the newer requirements of Canada’s anti-spam legislation.
Although not an absolute indication of the success of these efforts, we have received many compliments on our website; our Facebook likes are up to 850 and our regular Twitter followers up to 1575. OTF’s PD twitter followers number 2225.
OTF’s Who Does What? video vignette series remains topical in light of ongoing mandate challenges with the OCT; we encourage Governors to promote these useful animations. We took full advantage of them in our faculty presentations last year and will continue to do so.
Support and Coalitions / Political Parties
Over the past year, OTF hosted suites at two political conventions – the NDP convention held in October 2014 and the Progressive Conservative convention held in February 2015. Due to a number of factors, a joint Affiliate/OTF suite was not taken for the Liberal or Green Party conventions/meetings.
We meet regularly with Ministry staff from various departments throughout the year. There are meetings with the Minister and her political staff from time to time each year; this year the OTF President and Secretary-Treasurer also met with the Education Critics from the NDP and the PCs. Typically, some political fundraising events are attended. These were very few this year but we were pleased to attend an evening celebrating Rosario Marchese’s political career. A - 6
Of course, much of the political action and public relations in which OTF engages come in the form of relationships with other partners and stakeholders. Although this list is not exhaustive, we have been pleased to offer some modest support this past year to Indspire, the Broadbent Institute, CIVIX, the Coalition for Better Childcare, Canada without Poverty, World Festival of Children, Keep the Promise, Because I’m a Girl, Heartspeak, and the BCTF among others.
We engage with other organizations and partners formally and informally. We attend events such as the LEAF Breakfast, the P4E Conference, the Learning for a Sustainable Future Conference, various Ontario College of Teachers meetings, meetings of the Deans of Education, the Retired Teachers of Ontario and many others. The Secretary-Treasurer was invited to be on a panel at the QUEST conference in October. Also that month, OTF hosted a Joint Liaison meeting where we discussed agenda items of significant importance to OTF and other parties to the meeting. Of course, OTF held its annual Festive Christmas reception this past year as well.
OTF is engaged with CTF as “the affiliate member” on the CTF Board but we actively participated in other ways as well including through Camp VOX and the national staff meeting. The OTF President and Secretary-Treasurer attended the National Presidents’ and Secretaries’ meetings respectively. As host of this year’s National Secretaries’ meeting, held in Kingston May 31 – June 2, 2015, OTF was more involved than usual this year. The OTF President and OTF Secretary also served on the CTF budget and CTF retirement committees respectively. We supported CTF, along with other Ontario affiliates, with hosting a suite during EI and we participated fully in the International Summit on the Teaching Profession last March as well. In March, the OTF President also attended the 59th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women through the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. Of course, OTF’s relationships extend to many organizations and partners as you will see from the content of this report.
OTIP Teaching Awards
Governors will find the full report of the awards committee under separate cover. For the past ten years OTF has been able to administer the Teaching Awards with the generous support of the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan, Vic Medland (OTIP CEO) and his colleagues. We also appreciate the hard work of the members of the Awards Committee and the Awards Jury, and Amy Mailhot and Ruby Day for OTF.
The eleventh annual OTIP Teaching Awards were presented in Toronto on September 29, 2014 to recognize three outstanding teachers. They were: Nancy Rawlinson (Elementary – Davisville Public School); Donna Foulkes (Secondary – West Credit Secondary School); and, Joshua Tellier (Beginning – Holy Family Catholic French Immersion). At the same awards ceremony, the Prix TFO Multimédia was presented to Sylvie Lefebvre and Brigitte Béland-Parent, École élémentaire catholique Saint-Joseph d'Orléans, in Ottawa. Short videos of the 2014 winners in action may be found at www.teachingawards.ca.
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This year’s honourees will be announced on September 29, 2015, the day of the 2015 awards ceremony, in conjunction with the OTIP/RAEO Benefits Workshop. Nominations for the 2016 OTIP Teaching Awards will open on January 1, 2016.
OTF Recognition
OTF is both proud and grateful to be recognized (at this meeting) by Frontier College for our contribution to the Lieutenant Governor’s Aboriginal Summer Literacy Camps. When Sherry Campbell from Frontier College called to share this wonderful news, she cited the immediate support offered to the camps by OTF and the Affiliates as the reason for OTF being given this organization award. Frontier College offers OTF this award as a way to recognize that collective foundational support from Ontario’s teachers. We are also pleased that Frontier College is recognizing former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman with their individual contribution award and that we will be receiving this honour with his Honour. His leadership and perseverance made this dream a reality. We join Frontier College in offering him our congratulations and our appreciation.
Frontier College has done an outstanding job of administering this program; later in this report, you will find information about the Literacy Camps and earlier this year, Governors heard first-hand from a camp counselor at the OTF-sponsored literacy camp last summer in Fort Hope.
In receiving this award, it would be a real oversight not to acknowledge Emily Noble. As President of ETFO at the time, Emily Noble was the first to champion this cause and to bring it to the attention of OTF and her sister Affiliates. She arranged a meeting of the OTF and Affiliate Presidents of the day with James Bartleman; between her persuasion and his, and the importance of this effort, it took little to earn the ongoing support of OTF and the Affiliates. We proudly support the Literacy Camps and very much appreciate this acknowledgement.
Greer Award
The Greer Award was presented at the Spring Meeting of the Board of Governors to Groupe Média TFO, nominated by AEFO. The Greer Award was established in 1947 in memory of Dr. V.K. Greer, a distinguished Ontario educator. Groupe Média TFO joins a prestigious group of recipients of the award.
International Visitors
Over the course of the school year, OTF hosted delegations from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Holland. The Governors may recall that our Australian guest last fall was Sue Ellery, Labour Party Opposition Minister for Education in the state parliament of Western Australia, which is the largest state in that country. The Secretary-Treasurer was invited to be part of an Ontario delegation meeting with education leaders from Kentucky in a roundtable about Ontario’s education system. We met with representatives from the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) when they were in Toronto for the OCT conference last fall to get their perspective on how teacher regulation can and should be A - 8
handled. Our UK visitors in the spring were from an organization called UTeach, an organization that recruits qualified teachers in Canada and Ireland to teach in England. Their interest in meeting with us was to explore ways to better support teachers returning to Canada after teaching for two years in England. Also in the spring, we hosted a group of professors from the University of Applied Sciences in Windesheim, the Netherlands, and had a rich exchange with them about pre-service and in-service professional learning and supports for teachers.
The EI meeting brought more opportunities for international exchange. The OTF President participated, with representatives from OECTA and ETFO, in a meeting with the Danish teachers’ union intent on learning more about teacher professional learning in Ontario. The OTF Secretary-Treasurer and President also attended a meeting convened at EI to talk about responsible pension investing; this meeting was attended by union representatives from Canada, Australia, the UK, the US and several Nordic countries as well. Lindy Amato was also able to meet with the ATA and Norway teacher representatives about the Norcan project at EI.
Spirit of Mandela Freedom Walk
In late December, OTF was invited by the Mandela Legacy Committee of Canada to participate in the planning of the first of what is hoped will be an annual event, the Spirit of Mandela Freedom Walk. The Freedom Walk was held on June 20, 2015. It commemorated the 25th anniversary of Mandela’s first visit to Canada, and celebrated the vision of Nelson Mandela to create a democratic society, free of prejudice and discrimination. Although not as well attended as the organizers had originally hoped, the Freedom Walk enjoyed the presence of many dignitaries, including Premier Kathleen Wynne, Mayor John Tory, the High Commissioner for South Africa, Membathisi Mdladlana, and the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley. Also present were children and staff from Nelson Mandela Park Public School, who led the Freedom Walk.
People for Education – Measuring What Matters indicators project
For the second year in a row, OTF continued to have a representative, Lindy Amato, on the Advisory Committee of People for Education’s Measuring What Matters indicator initiative. The initiative seeks to broaden the definition of school success and to establish better mechanisms for measuring education progress in five key domain areas; namely, citizenship, health, creativity, social-emotional development and the learning environment. Now in its second phase, Measuring What Matters has developed a list of draft skills and competencies for student success that have emerged through research and consultation. The intent is to further test and refine the identified competencies over the coming year.
TVOntario – Supports for Ontario’s Teachers
As reported at last years’ Annual Board of Governors, OTF collaborated closely with TVO as the broadcaster has worked to develop an online platform to support sharing, collaboration and knowledge exchange amongst educators across Ontario. Over the fall, the TeachOntario beta site continued to be refined and the online community grew from 187 teachers in September to 1,250 by the end of 2014. Participation on the site is swiftly on the rise, with several new areas A - 9
and features having been introduced since then. These include TeachOntario Talks, a feature that will highlight one TLLP project each month via a multimedia blog, and the creation of e-books by teachers to enable greater sharing of their work.
Ontario Education Research Panel (OERP)
We are fortunate that OTF’s Director of Professional Affairs, Lindy Amato, continued her participation last fall and winter at OERP meetings and attended the February OERP Symposium on OTF’s behalf.
Summit on Children and Youth Mental Health
OTF President Rian McLaughlin continued as a member of the coalition for Children and Youth Mental Health. This Summit is organized by a coalition of stakeholders, coordinated by OPSBA. Plans are already underway for the Summit next year. The Summit, “Moving From Policy to Practice through Collaboration" will be held on April 7/8, 2016 at the Allstream Centre in Toronto.
Workers’ Health and Safety Centre (WHSC)
The OTF Secretary-Treasurer is a member of the Board of the Workers’ Health and Safety Centre. The WHCS offers training to employees and employers on workplace health and safety. OTF has played a key role over many years in supporting programs like the Young Workers’ Awareness Program (YWAP). We did this initially by offering advice about program content and delivery and in recent years, by assisting in finding retired teachers to be trained to deliver the program around the province and by promoting awareness of the program. The YWAP has been funded by a grant but for the first time in many years, funding was denied for this program.
We have written to the Minister of Labour on behalf of Ontario’s teachers asking for reconsideration of funding. This program has a long history of success and is used by teachers all across the province.
Aboriginal Education
On June 2, 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released its final report on the Indian Residential System. Based on six years of work, the Commission’s report concluded that the placement of 150,000 Aboriginal children in residential schools amounted to nothing short of “cultural genocide”. The report outlines 94 recommendations for redressing the legacy of residential schools and for advancing the process of Canadian reconciliation. Of these, there are seven recommendations that relate directly to education and a further five that relate to education for reconciliation. Additionally, recommendation 57 calls explicitly and specifically for professional development and training for public servants, including “skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.”
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In the days following the release of the TRC report, education was consistently and repeatedly identified as a crucial step to reconciliation. In addition to numerous media articles addressing the need for improved sensitization and education programs, People for Education’s annual report on Ontario’s publicly-funded schools drew particular attention to the need to provide FNMI curriculum and cultural support programs as well as to address “an identified gap in teachers’ knowledge and confidence teaching FNMI subject matter.”
Through our representation on the Minister’s Advisory Council (MAC) on First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Education, OTF has seen details of school board Action Plans, showing the boards’ implementation of FNMI Education activities to date. Through these Action Plans, it is apparent that a great deal of effort is being exerted at the board and school levels to support higher achievement outcomes for FNMI students and to improve the understanding of non-Aboriginal students of the history and culture of Canada’s first peoples. That said, we have been struck by the choice in several instances of top-down solutions and the use of outside resources from Nelson, Pearson and other outside groups in this work. In some cases, teachers have been depicted as essential partners in the work that must occur in implementing the initiatives, while in others, they have been labeled as “obstacles” to progress.
Given the heightened focus on teacher education and sensitization as being critical to the educational outcomes for FNMI students and to the socio-political understandings of non- Aboriginal students, we have begun to explore how we might best support our members in these areas. Over the coming months, we hope to work with the Affiliates to develop teacher-directed professional learning opportunities.
Teach for Canada (TFC)
Governors will recall from the Spring Board meeting that OTF confirmed that Ontario’s support for the initiative took the form of a $70,000 investment from the Rural Economic Development Program, an initiative of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The OTF President and OTF Secretary-Treasurer met with Kyle Hill after the Spring Board to learn more about the program and to candidly express OTF’s concerns with it. At that meeting, we confirmed that Ontario is the first and so far the only provincial government to support Teach for Canada (TFC). While the teachers recruited by TFC will be drawn from across Canada, they will all be placed in schools in northern Ontario beginning in September 2015.
Although TFC is a non-profit organization, it is heavily supported by funds from private and corporate donors. Unlike its US counterpart, Teach for America, TFC is currently focusing its recruitment efforts solely on B.Ed. graduates. The group of young leaders who are trying to establish this program here in Ontario certainly seemed well intentioned based on our meeting; however, the approach being used is in our view, both a naïve and simplistic approach to a complex and deep issue underlying teacher recruitment and retention.
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The President subsequently wrote to the Premier of Ontario and the Education Minister to communicate the concerns of the Federation regarding Teach for Canada, and to object to the recent funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for the initiative. OTF has also made the Faculties of Education aware of OTF’s concerns with Teach for Canada.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP)
In January, I reported on the highly successful TLLP Sharing the Learning Summit we held in early November 2014, the eighth such event OTF has organized. More recently, on May 6 – 8, 2015, OTF hosted the TLLP Leadership Skills for Classroom Teachers training session for the ninth cohort of TLLP participants. The training session is the beginning point of every approved TLLP project, as it provides the teachers whose proposals have been selected for TLLP funding with the specific skills they will need to effectively manage their learning projects and to share their learning with others.
This year, 221 teachers attended the training session, including 21 Francophone participants and 200 Anglophones. We were also joined by 35 presenters and guests, bringing the total participation to 256. We were grateful to have the involvement of several Affiliate staff officers in delivering this highly valued program to our members. Dr. Ann Lieberman of Stanford University and Dr. Carol Campbell of OISE provided the participants with a summary of the research findings on the TLLP to date, which reveal the truly remarkable impact the program is having on teacher professional learning, the development of teacher leadership and the opportunities for knowledge exchange and shared learning.
It is worth noting that local, national and international recognition of the TLLP has grown exponentially over this past year. Countries as diverse as Finland, Singapore, China, Australia, Holland, New Zealand and Israel have indicated strong interest in learning more about the program and emulating it. As I reported to the Governors in the spring, we have been invited by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) to pursue a partnership with the Union of Education Norway, connecting two TLLP teams in Ontario with schools in Alberta and Norway. The overall focus of the NORCAN project, as it is called, is to promote equity in Mathematics teaching and learning. In addition to being written up in countless academic journals and online periodicals, most recently the TLLP was showcased as an example of how teachers and teacher organizations can drive educational change “from the ground up” in the prominent Education International book entitled, Flip the System. The book was launched at the EI Congress in Ottawa on July 23, and the TLLP was awarded centre stage. I would be remiss if I did not congratulate Lindy Amato for the success of this program from inception to present.
Beyond and even more importantly than the attention lavished on the TLLP by academic and research communities, is the impact of the program on the practitioners themselves. Our members who have been engaged in the TLLP continue to attest to the tremendous value of the program to them. Many attribute their personal and professional growth, as well as the A - 12
recognition they have gained for being teacher leaders from their peers, system administrators and policy makers, as being a direct consequence of their TLLP involvement.
Professional Development Projects for Math and Technology-Enabled Teaching and Learning
Over the course of the 2014-15 school year, OTF and Affiliate staff worked tirelessly to deliver the multiple and multi-faceted professional learning components that form part of our Mathematics and Technology-Enabled Teaching and Learning PD project. The main activities this year included large-scale and regional conferences, online webinars and school-based learning communities.
Following the highly successful summer institutes of 2014 and our summer Board of Governors meeting, OTF held a two-and-a-half-day Teaching, Learning and Technology Conference on August 20 -22, 2014 at the Hilton Suites Conference Centre in Markham. In total, 107 teachers participated in this highly interactive learning event. The conference provided demonstrations and hands-on opportunities for participants to explore in depth a multitude of approaches to leverage technology in the classroom. Participants also got to interact with, and learn directly from, 13 Minds on Media expert facilitators throughout the course of the conference. The inspiring keynote address was delivered by Chris Lehman, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.
Also under the banner of the Math and Technology PD projects, OTF offered an opportunity to small teams of teachers to participate in our collaborative learning initiative, the Teacher Learning Co-op (TLC). The TLC enabled teams of 2-4 teachers to work together over the course of the 2014-15 school year on teacher-directed, problem-based collaborative learning projects. In total, we received an astounding 180 applications from teams of teachers who were interested in pursuing such self-directed professional learning projects. Ultimately, we were able to grant funding to 76 of these. The chosen teams were supported with release time to work together during the school year to problem solve and build on one another’s strengths, experience and knowledge, as well as on research. In this way, they were able to develop their own strategies and resources to meet their specific classroom needs. The final reports of these 76 teams are now being reviewed and we are well on track to post the incredible work they accomplished through the TLC on the OTF website by September 1.
In addition to these rich face-to-face opportunities for teacher collaboration, we were also able to offer a series of excellent webinars on Math and Technology, making use of our already well-established OTF Connects program. In total, we ran 34 interactive webinars on Technology and 22 on Math, with total registration for these 56 sessions reaching 2,650 participants.
Additional Qualifications (AQs) in Mathematics – Course Subsidies
As the Governors are aware, OTF also administered a subsidy program for Math AQs, ABQs and undergraduate prerequisite courses over the course of the 2014-15 school year. Our initial agreement with the Ministry of Education secured a subsidy amount of $450 per course, with sufficient funds to support access by 2,950 teachers. In December, we secured funding to A - 13
enable an additional 2,340 teachers to access the subsidy amount up to the end of August 2015. This brought the total number of teachers who could potentially benefit from the subsidy program to 5,290, not counting OECTA members, who had access to funding directly through their Affiliate. To date, OTF has approved a total of 4,499 Math AQ, ABQ and prerequisite course subsidies.
In response to strained relationships between OTF’s Affiliates and the Government in the course of collective bargaining, in late April, OTF halted all new PD activities funded under this initiative, as well as the AQ subsidy program. During this period, the Government opted to have school boards administer the AQ math subsidies to teachers.
Earlier in the spring, OTF and the Affiliates had submitted proposals for renewed funding for Math, Technology, Kindergarten and Student Wellbeing professional learning activities. OTF had also received funding for PD related to the release of new curriculum. Activities will resume, pending negotiations and with revised deliverable dates for a number of activities planned by OTF and the participating Affiliates.
Safe@School
As in previous years, we have continued to work with our project partner, le Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions (COPA), on bullying prevention and promoting accepting and inclusive school environments.This work has all been done under the umbrella of OTF’s Safe@school project. As reported to the winter and spring Board of Governors’ meetings, our main activities in 2014-15 centered on teacher training and mentorship in prevention education, as well as targeted outreach and training for at-risk students, parents, guardians and caregivers. An additional component of the Safe@School project this year entailed the creation of resources for teachers and school staff in the area of character development and leadership. In spring, we completed a printed guide for teachers and education workers entitled Building Safe and Inclusive Schools: Partnering with Parents and Caregivers. The guide serves as a companion piece to OTF’s recently completed Parent Engagement project.
We continue to receive frequent requests from organizations and school boards, in Ontario and beyond, for COPA’s whole-school training and the rich resources that form part of our Safe@School kits. Traffic on the Safe@School website also continues to be very high, with close to 60,000 unique visitors to the website over the past 12 month period.
Survive and Thrive / Surmonter les défis
After going many years without updating, the Survive and Thrive website for beginning teachers, occasional teachers, teacher candidates and mentors will soon be getting a complete overhaul. In late spring, we began the work of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the current site, and re-conceptualizing what Survive and Thrive 2.0 could look like. The new and improved site will engage with a new generation of socially-connected young teachers, leveraging social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. We hope to be able to launch the revitalized site in early 2016.
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Teachers’ Gateway to Special Education
This web resource for teachers continues to be widely used. There were 122,127 unique visitors to the site between September 1, 2014 and mid-August this year, averaging over 10,000 unique visits per month.
OTF Connects (2014-2015)
OTF Connects is the Ontario Teachers’ Federation’s online interactive webinar program developed by teachers for teachers. These webinars allow teachers to learn, share and collaborate with other teachers across the province, while broadening and deepening their learning in the areas of 21st century learning, critical thinking, environmental education, financial literacy and violence prevention. Teachers leave each session with immediately useful ideas and resources for their classroom.
In addition, teachers who are not able to participate in live sessions can access recorded webinars at their convenience by visiting the OTF Connects section of the OTF website at www.otffeo.on.ca.
In the 2014-2015 school year, OTF used Ministry funding allocated for technology and mathematics to offer sessions that were specific to these areas. Teachers were supported in enhancing their classroom practice with the effective use of technology and in gaining skills and confidence in the area of Mathematics. This funding allowed OTF to expand our program, increase the number of webinars offered and to scaffold the learning opportunities for teachers. A number of the technology and mathematics sessions were offered as a series or in parts. For example, the Google series allowed teachers to learn the basic and then build their knowledge and skills with the many Google tools and applications presented. Also, the math sessions that were offered as a three part series allowed participants to learn, practice, and gain confidence in the math processes and their problem solving skills.
OTF was again able to reach out to many experienced and exemplary technology and mathematics educators from across the province to develop and facilitate the OTF Connects webinars. A number of our facilitators supported participants throughout the year by collaborating through TeachOntario. We also collaborated with Ministry staff to offer webinars on ministry programs and resources relevant to teacher classroom practice.
Overall, the additional funding provided OTF with the capacity to reach out to more teachers throughout the province. OTF advertised the OTF Connects program through an all school mailing of a poster in the fall of 2014, followed by regular promotion through Twitter and Facebook, as well as biweekly emails that go out to our growing teacher database. As a result, our registration numbers increased over last year by 345%! Our average attendance for live webinars nearly doubled compared to last year. Please see the chart below for a summary of this year’s program.
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OTF CONNECTS 2014-2015 PROGRAM SUMMARY Number of Type of Session # Registrants Avg/session Sessions Technology in the Classroom 26 1146 42.4 Technology Tools for Teachers 8 385 48.1 Supporting Mathematics 22 1119 50.9 New and Revised Curriculum 2 54 27 Critical Thinking 5 326 65.2 Media Literacy 3 70 23.3 Exploring Inquiry 4 231 57.8 Professional Learning Series 5 132 26.4 Environmental Education (1) (65) (65) This session is cross-listed with Mathematics Violence Prevention 2 7 3.5 Financial Literacy 1 13 13 TOTAL 78 3481 44.6
The OTF Connects 2014-2015 program was again extremely well received by teacher participants.
Financial Literacy Resources
The Ontario Securities Commission - IEF Financial Literacy Resources were offered by tender in the spring of 2015. The OSC had developed school based resources for teachers, parents and students to support financial literacy. They also offered for tender a highly successful school-based assembly program called “Funny Money”.
A bid was submitted by OTF to purchase the IEF web resources so that they would remain available to Ontario’s teachers and students. Although “Funny Money” is a very good program, offering assemblies to students is not what OTF does so we chose only to bid on the teacher resources / teacher program components. Initially developed by teachers in Ontario to align with the Ontario curriculum expectations, and free of the logos or advertising of any financial institution, OTF did not want to see these valuable resources either leave the province or be taken over by a corporate institution. We also argued in our submission that we were ideally placed to maintain and improve the resources and provide training and in-service to teachers. We were delighted to learn that the OSC agreed and that OTF was the successful bidder.
The bid process was a new one for OTF and began with a first round submission followed by interviews with the shortlisted organizations. After successfully completing both rounds, a transfer agreement was signed and the assets are now the property of OTF.
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We are in the process of migrating the content of the website to OTF’s site. Although almost all of the content is still valid and current, we will give the main webpage a new look to align with OTF’s look but will otherwise maintain the web structure. We’ve registered the appropriate domain names. Since the site is in wordpress, we have internal capacity to amend and add to the site. In house, we had some remaining funds for “financial literacy” in an account from a previous partnership with the Ministry; the Ministry of Education has also committed to further funding to help OTF follow through on the commitment to keep the resources valid and useful and to offer webinars and training to teachers.
This summer we issued a press release indicating that the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) and the Ontario Securities Commission reached an agreement by which OTF will assume the OSC high quality resources for teachers, parents and students to support financial literacy. We advised that the website will be formally launched in the fall.
As President McLaughlin stated in the release, this is a really exciting opportunity for OTF. The materials are varied, engaging and very practical. They help meet a need we all face in understanding how our financial decisions have both an individual and collective impact and they will be a great support for teachers incorporating financial literacy into the curriculum.
PD Calendar
OTF continues to update the PD calendar accessible through the OTF website. We appreciate the assistance of Wanda Wilcox in keeping the calendar current. We do our best to post all events and AQ courses and other opportunities that we are aware of; please remind your fellow teachers that this is available to them through OTF.
OTF Planboard
OTF renewed its partnership with Waterloo-based Chalk.com to support free access, for OTF members, to OTFPlanboard. Analytics from Chalk.com indicate that just under 1100 teachers are registered members of this free cloud-based, multi-platform planning tool for OTF members. This school year, Chalk.com facilitated the migration of approximately 450 Ontario teachers, who were using the original (non-OTFPlanboard) platform, to OTFPlanboard. The migration provided these members with instant access to over 250 lesson plans available only to OTFPlanboard users. Collectively, these 1100 teachers have planned over 77,000 lessons using the platform.
OTF members can find more information about OTFPlanboard and access archived OTFConnects webinars that support the use of OTFPlanboard on the OTF website at http://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/planboard/. OTF members can also register for the free service here: https://www.planboardapp.com/otf/.
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OTF Parent Engagement Project
OTF Director Ian Pettigrew, in collaboration with staff representatives of the four Affiliates, oversaw the completion of the Parent Engagement Project. The launch of the multi-platform (website and podcasts) resources to support educators in navigating relationships with parents and guardians occurred in March, 2014.
Previously released resources about this topic have been oriented towards parents as the main audience. While the OTF project complements these resources, and references some such as Building Parent Engagement kit by the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE), the School Administrator’s Guide to Parent Engagement by CPCO, OPC and ADFO, and the creation of an innovative animation series, The Capsule Family Gets Involved by the Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions (COPA), the thrust of the OTF materials is focused on the needs of teachers and educators.
The project addresses seven interconnected focal areas, each of which is essential in its own right. The content areas were derived from an environmental scan of the main resources provided to Ontario’s teachers by their Federations. The seven areas of focus are:
1. Establishing Positive Relationships with Parents and Guardians 2. Modeling Effective Communication with Parents and Guardians 3. Working with Parents and Guardians to Support Students' Academic Success 4. Inviting Parents’ and Guardians’ Contributions to School Life 5. Engaging Parents and Guardians in Wellbeing and Safety Issues 6. Addressing Equity Issues and Concerns with Parents and Guardians 7. Managing and Resolving Conflicts with Parents and Guardians
The three different formats (website, podcasts and print resource) help to maximize exposure to the content and to provide a variety of avenues for educators to access and make use of the information. The websites can be accessed at www.parentengagement.ca (English) and www.engagementdesparents.ca (French). A print version of the resource (also available in English and French) has been made available to each of the Governors. A copy of the print resource will be mailed to each school and other stakeholders in Ontario in early fall. Affiliates wishing to obtain copies of the resource can do so by contacting Ian Pettigrew directly at [email protected].
POLICY AND LEGISLATION
Regulation 274 Report
Governors will recall that OTF and the Affiliates were invited to a briefing by Ruth Baumann and Dr. Charles Ungerleider of Directions Education and Policy Research Group on Regulation 274 last fall. They were commissioned to report on the implementation and impacts of the Regulation. While their report was shared confidentially at that time, the findings have been widely shared since that time. Despite the report’s findings which were largely consistent with A - 18
the perspectives of the Affiliates, the matter continued to be one of contention with school boards.
Partnership Table, Advisory Councils and Consultation Tables
As in previous years, OTF participated in a large number of Ministry consultation activities and sat on formal Advisory Councils established by the Government. These included the Minister’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit Advisory Council and Working Group, the Student Achievement Division Working Table, the Healthy Schools Working Table and EQAO’s Assessment Advisory Committee, to name just a few. The Minister held two Partnership Table meetings, one on September 24, 2015 and one on April 28, 2015.
Most recently, OTF has been invited to send a representative to a newly formed sub-committee of the Healthy Schools Working Table called the Prevalent Medical Conditions Committee. As its name implies, the Committee has been tasked with providing expert advice on a strategy to be used by the Government as it develops a comprehensive approach to addressing four prevalent medical conditions, namely anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes and epilepsy. The Committee is composed of education and health stakeholders and has met twice since June, with a third meeting scheduled for August 25.
Final Report of the Research Study on the Implementation of Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 155, Diagnostic Assessment in Support of Student Learning
Although previously reported, it bears repeating that the final report on PPM 155 was received this past year. In its cross-case summary, the research team noted that there were differences in Boards in terms of:
previous use of diagnostic assessment tools, current use of diagnostic assessment tools, capabilities of the data management systems, and perspectives on diagnostic assessment and on PPM 155 (24)
The research team also noted that there was no uniform/consistent interpretation or use of the term formal diagnostic assessment among the 53 respondents. The team inferred, from respondents, that typically the descriptor “formal” was interpreted to mean either purchased (third-party) assessment tools or board-developed or mandated tools as opposed to teacher-developed assessment tools (24). Boards across Ontario are at different phases of implementation. There was no consensus about what it means to have achieved full implementation of PPM 155 (27).
In terms of implications for Ontario teachers and educators, the report provides few, if any, new or surprising revelations into the implementation of PPM 155 in school boards, and classrooms, across Ontario. For example, the fact that there is no consistent interpretation or understanding of assessment terminology, or that there exists a disparity in terms of implementation is hardly an epiphany. The value of the report may reside in its affirmation of OTF’s and its Affiliates’ perceptions about PPM155 implementation. A - 19
TEACHER EDUCATION
Teacher Education - Faculty Liaison
OTF’s liaison activities with Ontario’s publicly-funded faculties and schools of education continued in earnest throughout the 2014-15 academic year. A full report on the main activities of the Teacher Education Committee will be presented to the Governors later in this meeting, and from this you will be able to gauge the incredible breadth and depth of the work undertaken by the OTF/Affiliate Liaison Committees (TELCs) that operate at the teacher preparation institutes across the province. In addition to running countless Federation Days and student workshops during the university academic year, and attending the provincial meetings of both OTF and their Affiliate’s Teacher Education Committees, our liaison officers meet monthly or every second month with their Faculty counterparts to monitor and provide input to the pre-service and in-service programs offered. This year, strikes at both the Faculty level and at the school level meant that the liaison officers had to be especially vigilant in carrying out their role as the conduits of clear communications between the Faculties and the Federation. Their work was also particularly important this year because there were far fewer opportunities for OTF to meet formally with the Ontario Association of Deans of Education (OADE), owing to the OADE’s decision at the end of 2013-14 to cut back its regularly scheduled meetings with stakeholder organizations from eight or nine meetings per year to just one.
In this regard, we were pleased to learn as the academic year drew to a close that the OADE has now reversed its decision, and will meet with OTF and its other stakeholders at least four times in the coming year. While this is certainly good news, on the flip side is the recently received report that there will be an unprecedented turnover of the Deans in the year ahead, which will occur at a full nine of Ontario’s teacher education institutions. This will mean that the ongoing liaison work of our TELCs, in building and maintaining strong relationships with the Faculties and with the Deans of Education, will be all the more essential in the 2015-16 academic year.
Through the work of our liaison officers, we continued to receive updates this year on decisions at the teacher education institutions to cut program offerings, lessen the number and breadth of teachable subjects and reduce spending on the practicum component of their programs, all in response to the funding cuts to the pre-service programs imposed by the Government. This information was complemented by the activities of OTF’s newly established Teacher Education Discussion (TED) Table.
As I reported in the spring, OTF made presentations this year at 20 Federation Days, two Orientation Days, and four “Entry to the Profession” pinning ceremonies. What is particularly interesting to note about the pinning ceremonies is that this idea, originally proposed by Western’s Faculty of Education, has now been spread by the TELC Chairs to additional teacher preparation programs. While the oaths taken by the teacher candidates during the pinning ceremonies have slightly different forms at each participating Faculty of Education, most include the following wording, directly excerpted from the Teaching Profession Act:
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I will strive at all times to achieve and maintain the highest degree of professional competence and to uphold the honour, dignity and ethical standards of the teaching profession.
We anticipate that more and more faculties will institute this practice as part of their orientation activities in the years ahead.
Teacher Education Policy
Teacher Education continues to be an area of important policy engagement for OTF. Our involvement in this area is primarily through our OTF/Affiliate Teacher Education Staff Work Group, with input from OTF’s provincial Teacher Education Committee. The main areas of focus of the Staff Work Group this year have been:
OTF’s positioning on the implications of the expanded Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs; the review by the College of Teachers of the Professional Learning Framework; implications for pre-service of Bill 18, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act; impact of strikes on practicum placements; teacher candidate admissions’ numbers and trends at Faculties of Education and implications for teacher supply and demand; planning for a new structure of delivering Federation Days in the expanded pre-service programs; criminal records checks procedures for teacher candidates vis-a-vis the requirements for teachers at school boards across the province; hiring by school boards of teacher candidates as unqualified OTs in May and June; Ministry of Education Associate Teaching pilot projects; and analysis and implications of Teach for Canada;
By far the greatest concentration of the policy work undertaken by the Teacher Education Staff Work Group this year, however, has been focused on launching, planning and strategizing next steps for OTF’s newly established Teacher Education Discussion (TED) Table / Table de discussion sur la formation initiale (Table de DFI).
Teacher Education Discussion (TED) Table
As the Governors may recall, the OTF Executive passed a resolution in the spring of 2014, approving the creation of a new working table to enable ongoing dialogue among education stakeholders regarding ITE programs in Ontario. The inaugural meeting of OTF’s TED Table took place on November 20, 2014. Two subsequent meetings were held on February 26, 2015 A - 21
and April 23, 2015. Representatives from 22 organizations – including the Faculties of Education, principals’ organizations, CODE/CODELF, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, College of Teachers, QECO and OSSTF Certification – were invited to attend the meetings. Attendance remained high throughout the year, with participation between 34 and 38 representatives at each of the meetings.
The TED Table provided the only forum in the province this year for all teacher education stakeholders to come together to discuss important issues and challenges currently facing teacher preparation in Ontario, as we transitioned to the expanded initial teacher education programs mandated by the Government. The four areas that formed the main focus of our discussions throughout the year were:
Associate Teaching and the Practicum Technological Education Francophone Priorities Program Evaluation/Subject Specialization (Teachables)
Of particular note was the administration of a survey by CODE, addressing the supply and demand of technological education teachers. The survey emanated from the work in this area undertaken by members of the TED Table. Similarly, the TED Table participants raised awareness regarding low intake and other challenges faced by the French language pre-service programs at Laurentian University and the University of Ottawa. Also considered at the TED Table was the important question of access to pre-service teacher education by marginalized and under-represented groups, as well as the dearth of candidates being prepared to teach high needs subject areas. Similarly, TED Table representatives examined the question of teachables that will be offered next year, and the challenges the Faculties of Education will face to offer courses with low enrolment numbers. Finally, the TED Table looked at the important issue of associate teaching in the new teacher preparation regime, and considered some pilot projects to enhance supports for associate teachers, which were funded by the Ministry of Education this year.
Plans are underway to continue the meetings of the TED Table in the year ahead, and to move forward with the work initiated during the 2014-15 school year.
Teacher Supply and Demand
In mid-April, OTF attended a meeting of the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Supply and Demand Working Group. The most recent (2014-15) teacher supply and demand forecasting model shows an excess of 35,834 qualified teachers, and indicates that this oversupply will peak in 2015-16, but will then begin to decline. There was a great deal of discussion at the meeting regarding the fact that the forecast model does not enable an accurate view of how the oversupply breaks down by subject specialization or geographic region. There was also discussion regarding whether qualified teachers, who have been unsuccessful in finding employment in teaching five to eight years after graduation, and who are still included in the numbers projected by the forecast model, would realistically still be pursuing teaching positions. It is hoped that the Ministry will move forward in the year ahead on suggestions, made both at A - 22
the Working Group meeting and at the TED Table, of how we could more accurately uncover this data and thereby get a clearer view of the effective excess supply of teachers.
Letters of Permission (LoP) and Temporary Letters of Approval (TLA)
Over the last few years, owing to a combination of Regulation changes, the oversupply of qualified teachers and an improved system for tracking LOPs and TLAs via the Government’s OnSIS data base, we have seen a decline each year in the total number of Letters issued.
This year, the total number of LOPs reported is down, with 356 LOPs issued in 2013-14 versus 441 in the previous school year. Consistent with the trend in previous years, there were more LOPs granted in the secondary panel than at elementary. As has been the case in the past few years, Classical and International Languages at the secondary panel again exceeded Technology as the subject area requiring the greatest number of LOPs, followed by FSL at the elementary panel, which appears at a distant third.
In terms of TLAs, we are beginning to see what appears to be a steady, downward trend in the numbers provided by the Ministry. In the four years since the Field Services Branch has made the TLA data available, we have seen the numbers decreasing from 1,014 TLAs issued in 2010-11 to 667 in 2013-14, (down from 704 in 2012-13).
EQAO Online
EQAO Online is a multi-year project designed to move EQAO’s provincial student assessments from paper-and-pencil to computer-based and represents a marked departure from its traditional and long-standing approach to the assessment administration process. Despite implementation hurdles experienced in other Canadian and international jurisdictions experimenting with computer-based assessments, EQAO seems determined to forge ahead with what it calls a “21st century” approach to standardized testing. EQAO positioned the 2014–2015 school year as one of consultation, research, analyses, pilot field tests. Upwards of 84 secondary schools (25 Catholic, 9 francophone, and 50 public) from 52 school boards (18 Catholic, 7 francophone, and 27 public) voluntarily participated in the EQAO Online field tests which were scheduled the week of February 23. EQAO’s goal was to test the online assessment system in a way that mirrored as closely as possible an authentic context. According to EQAO, it selected schools in boards that were large and small; in rural, urban and remote areas; those with fast and slow Internet connections and who were using a wide variety of devices (such as desktop computers, laptops and tablets); and those whose students used a variety of digital accommodations during the provincial assessments (such as screen readers, speech-to-text technology or different font and background colours).
In the lead up to the field tests, EQAO had indicated that a variety of supports would be available to students in the online version of the assessments – both in the field-test and in the real versions. Most of these anticipated supports did appear to have been incorporated and operationalized.
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In the upcoming 2015-2016 school year all eligible students will have the opportunity to complete the OSSLT online. There will be no other computer-based assessments administered at any other grade level or in any other subject area during the 2015-2016 school year.
EQAO 2013 Provincial Result (Grades 3, 6, 9, 10)
On September 17, 2014, EQAO released the Primary and Junior 2013-2014 Provincial Reports on the EQAO assessments for Reading, Writing and Mathematics for Grades 3 and 6, followed on September 24, 2014, by the release of the Secondary 2013-2014 Provincial Reports on the EQAO assessments for Mathematics (Grade 9) and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (Grade 10 OSSLT).
Elementary Results
Taken as a whole, the results from the primary and junior assessments of reading, writing and mathematics indicated that the number of students in Grades 3 and 6 who were achieving at or above the provincial standard in Reading and Writing had increased marginally by 1% to 2%. However, achievement in Mathematics at the elementary level continued to reflect a downward trend. The improvement in achievement in Reading and Writing of students in Grades 3 and 6 with special needs and that of English language learners continued to surpass those of the Grade 3 and Grade 6 populations as a whole. In both Grades 3 and 6, the difference between the percentage of females achieving at or above the provincial standard in reading and writing, compared to males, continued to be significant, especially in writing. Highlights of the 2013-2014 results can be viewed at http://www.eqao.com/pdf_e/14/provincial-report-highlights- elementary-2014.pdf
Secondary Results
Again in 2013-2014, results indicated that overall, there was marginal improvement (2%) over the 2012-2013 results in the percentage of students performing at the provincial standard in the Grade 9 Mathematics assessment. However, the percentage of students taking applied mathematics, who were performing at or above the provincial standard (47%), continued to lag significantly behind the percentage of students taking academic mathematics who were performing at or above the provincial standard (85%). The percentage of English language learners in academic mathematics who performed at or above the provincial standard has increased by three percentage points, from 79% to 82%, over the past five years, and by one percentage point since 2012–2013. The percentage of students with special education needs taking academic mathematics performing at or above the provincial standard has increased by two percentage points, from 72% to 74%, over the past five years, and by one percentage point since 2012–2013.
Overall, over the past five years, the success rate on the Grade 10 OSSLT for all eligible and participating students has remained relatively stable (ranging between 82% and 84%). In 2014, 83% of all participating students were successful. A larger percentage of fully participating female (87%) than male (78%) students successfully completed the 2014 OSSLT. While the success rate, over the past five years, for fully participating students taking an academic A - 24
English course has been high (ranging between 93% and 95%), the success rate for fully participating students taking an applied English course has decreased by 10 percentage points (to 50%) and for those students taking a locally developed English course the success rate has decreased by nine percentage points. The difference in success rates between the genders remained relatively consistent over the past five years. Over the past five years, the percentage of fully participating first-time eligible English language learners who completed the OSSLT successfully has substantially increased, by 12 percentage points (to 75%). During the same period, the percentage of fully participating students with special education needs (excluding gifted) who completed the OSSLT successfully has decreased by three percentage points (to 51%). Highlights of the 2013-2014 results can be viewed at http://www.eqao.com/pdf_e/14/provincial-report-highlights-secondary-2014.pdf
EQAO – Assessment Advisory Committee (AAC)
The first EQAO AAC meeting of the 2014-2015 school year was held on October 23, 2014. EQAO’s focus continues to be on its Modernizing Assessment Operations (MAO) especially its commitment to moving toward EQAO Online – a computer-based testing (CBT) model.
To be sure computer-based assessment is not without potential perils and pitfalls, something OTF and the Affiliates have underscored at every turn. It remains to be seen whether EQAO can avoid the real challenges and troubles encountered in Canadian and international jurisdictions that have already embraced this method of large-scale testing. For these and other reasons, the OTF Assessment Work Group will continue to monitor carefully EQAO’s journey toward CBT.
OTF was unable to attend the May 7, 2015 AAC meeting due to conflicting schedules; however, Affiliate staff did attend.
International Assessments: Pan-Canadian Assessment of Science, Reading, and Mathematics (PCAP)
On October 7, 2014, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) released its report on the results of the 2013 PCAP.
The PCAP is administered every three years and was first administered in 2007. Reading, mathematics and science tests were administered for the third time in the spring of 2013. All 10 Canadian provinces, but no territories, participated in the assessment. In 2013, approximately 32,000 grade 8 students (24,000 English-language students and 8,000 French-language students) across Canada wrote the tests. Students from over 1,500 schools across the country were tested. In Ontario, the tests were administered to 5,388 students (3,208 students in 150 English-language schools and 2,180 students in 125 French-language schools). Science was the major or primary domain assessed, while reading and mathematics were the minor domains.
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In most provinces with English majority-language school systems, students in the English systems did better in science and reading than students in the French systems. The reverse was true in mathematics. Ontario students were leading performers in Canada across all three assessed domains. In science, Ontario students’ average scores at Level 3 were 4% above the Canadian average and the average scores at Level 3 were second in Canada to Alberta’s by only 1%. In reading, Ontario was the only province whose students’ average scores were higher than the Canadian average. Female students outperformed their male peers. In mathematics, Ontario was one of two provinces whose students scored at the Canadian average.
Highlights and full reports can be accessed here:
PCAP 2013: Science, Reading, and Mathematic Highlights”: http://cmec.ca/docs/pcap/pcap2013/PCAP-2013-Highlights-EN.pdf EQAO’s Infographic “Highlights of Ontario Students’ Results: Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP), 2013”: http://bit.ly/11Z5510 EQAO’s “Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (2013): Ontario Report”: http://bit.ly/1wrCZGI
Student Achievement Division Working Table (SADWT)
The SADWT met twice (October and May) this school year rather than the customary three times. Not surprisingly, Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario vision formed the backdrop of the first meeting as the Ministry makes a concerted effort to frame and align everything it does to the vision and goals set out therein.
This first meeting was focused both on updates about and consultation on established and pilot programs including the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM), Adult Education, First Nation, Métis and Inuit Leadership Camps. In addition, members of the SADWT were provided with updates on research and opportunities focused on implications for teaching and learning and the professional growth of teachers in the areas of math for young children, collaborative inquiry, and 21st century learning. The Ministry-facilitated table group discussion which ensued focused first on 21st century learning, the Ministry’s Applied Literacy Strategy, and the Experiential Learning Consultation (K -12).
The second and final meeting in May focused first on a review of the 2014-2015 Mathematics Action Plan (MAP). Preliminary findings of a joint Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region businesses pilot experiential learning project – Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) – were shared. The SAD also solicited feedback from table groups about how to support broadening access to this pilot program at the elementary and secondary levels. Members were updated about the framework for Experiential Learning currently in development and some of the pilot projects being funded in over half of the schools boards across Ontario. Members also received an update about efforts to support children and youth in care after which members were invited, in small, moderated table groups, to discuss how the education system might better respond to, and support, the needs of students in care at both the elementary and secondary levels who are struggling while recognizing some do well without intervention. A - 26
Next school year, an anticipated focus of the first SADWT meeting will be on two new research studies:
1. Student Achievement Division Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat: Evidence of Improvement Study, Campbell (2014) 2. The Ontario Student Achievement Division Student Success Strategy Evidence of Improvement Study, Ungerleider (2014)
Ministry-Subject/Division Association Meeting
OTF continued its tradition of conferring with the Ministry on the Ministry-Subject/Division Association meetings of which there was only one this year, in October. The meeting traditionally held in the spring was cancelled. Dedicated time was provided in the meeting for subject/division associations to provide updates to other participants about their initiatives and resources. Branches of the Ministry of Education and other Ministries also had time to provide updates on the following matters:
The focus of the October meeting was on inquiry-based teaching and learning. The Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario was used to frame the session, referencing the new vision and goals for public education in Ontario, namely:
1. Achieving Excellence: Children and students of all ages will achieve high levels of academic performance, acquire valuable skills and demonstrate good citizenship. Educators will be supported in learning continuously and will be recognized as among the best in the world.
2. Ensuring Equity: All children and students will be inspired to reach their full potential, with access to rich learning experiences that begin at birth and continue into adulthood.
3. Promoting Well-Being: All children and students will develop enhanced mental and physical health, a positive sense of self and belonging, and the skills to make positive choices.
4. Enhancing Public Confidence: Ontarians will continue to have confidence in a publicly funded education system that helps develop new generations of confident, capable and caring citizens.
Two of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat’s Capacity Building Series (“Getting Started with Student Inquiry” were also highlighted: [https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_StudentI nquiry.pdf] and “Inquiry-based Learning” [https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_InquiryB ased.pdf]
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In addition, Ministry staff made connections to Growing Success, the Adolescent Literacy Guide and Ministry Licensed Digital Resources (OSAPAC/CCPALO) as supports for inquiry-focused teaching and learning. A focused discussion ensued in small table groups related to the inquiry process. The following Subject/Division Associations were invited to share their approaches and resources related to inquiry in a carousel session:
Association for Media Literacy (AML) Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators (CODE) Ontario Association of Physics Teachers (OAPT) Ontario Elementary Social Studies Teachers’ Association (OESSTA) Ontario History and Social Science Teachers Association & Association des Enseignants des Sciences Humaines de l’Ontario (OHASSTA/AESHO) Ontario School Library Association (OSLA)
Implementing Achieving Excellence Symposium
As another step in the Ministry’s plans to roll out is vision “Achieving Excellence”, it invited OTF, its Affiliates, and other selected education stakeholder groups to a one-day symposium in Toronto on December 16, 2014 that mirrored the regional symposia it had already held in the fall with senior management from school boards to discuss practical steps for moving from the “what” (four goals) of the renewed vision Achieving Excellence to the “how” (implementation) of Achieving Excellence, Enhancing Equity, Promoting Well-Being and Increasing Public Confidence.
Both Education Minister Liz Sandals and Deputy Minister George Zegarac celebrated the collaboration that had characterized the development of the vision articulated in the final document. Furthermore, they called attention to improved results in literacy and higher graduation rates but observed there was more to be done in other areas including First Nations, Metis and Inuit well-being and achievement and mathematics at the elementary and Secondary Applied levels. It was underscored that these priorities would have to be explored and realized within a climate of “fiscal stress.”
Ministry of Education-Faculties of Education Liaison Committee (MEFELC)
The MEFELC met four times this school year. Ian Pettigrew represented OTF on the MEFELC. In addition to customary updates from the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch (CAPB) and the French Language Education Policy and Programs Branch (FLEPBB), the first meeting was devoted to additional Ministry updates about Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario, the Building Futures program, the Associate Teacher Partnership Projects and the Provincial Virtual Learning Environment. In response to feedback from committee members at its first meeting, each of the subsequent meetings focused on a specific theme with a small block of time set aside for updates. The themes explored throughout the year included “inquiry across the curriculum”, “environmental education” and “mathematics education”. These sessions involved presentations by staff at, and representatives of, the Ministry, Faculties of Education and Subject/Division Associations.
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2015 Ministry of Education-Faculties of Education Forum
The 2015 Ministry of Education/Faculties of Education Forum (Forum) was held on May 13 at OISE/UT. Ian Pettigrew represented OTF on the Ministry/Faculties Forum Planning Committee and facilitated part of the opening of the day. The Forum represents an annual opportunity for the Ministry, the 13 faculties of education and subject/division association representatives and small teams from selected school boards to engage in dialogue and share innovative and successful practices, policies or programs with participants through a variety of formal learning sessions. This year’s theme was “Learning Out Loud: Opening Conversations”. The guiding question was “How do we continue working together to build and sustain relationships that supports solid theory and practice connections?”
Following the opening sequence of the Forum, participants were able to self-select from an array of between 10 to 17 one-hour breakout sessions in each of three blocks all of which connected to the Forum’s theme. These interactive sessions were often co-facilitated by Faculties of Education and Subject/Divisions Associations or Faculties of Education and Ministry Branches. Some sample sessions included:
Cross-curricular learning about FNMI perspectives, culture, history and language Inquiry in Action in your School Library Learning Commons Promoting Child and Student Well-Being Re-imagining the Practicum: From Performance Task to Learning Experience What is the state of the Arts in the 2-year Bachelor of Education Program: Fighting for survival or growing through transformation?
Throughout the day there were also numerous structured and unstructured opportunities for participants to make connections, network, and to process or consolidate their learning.
Over 70 facilitator/presenter applications to host a session were received – the largest in its recent history. Attendance was down slightly for participants and facilitators from the original registration numbers due to members honouring ETFO and OSSTF directives regarding participation in Ministry-sponsored events during job action. All told, some 204 participants attended. The breakdown by participant/presenter affiliation was as follows:
Faculties: 127 Federation (OTF): 1 Ministry: 41 Other Organizations: 5 School Boards: 7 Subject/Division Associations: 27
Based on both anecdotal observations and conversations and formal, post-Forum survey responses, the Forum’s theme appeared to resonate with participants and a tweaked format successfully balanced meaningful learning and networking opportunities. The Forum continues to represent a useful vehicle for bridging the chasm that sometimes exists between Faculty of Education programs and experiences of teachers in the field. A - 29
Release of Revised Curricula and Ministry Training and Implementation Sessions
Over the course of the 2014-2015 school year, the Ministry released the following revised curriculum documents at the elementary and secondary level:
Canadian and World Studies (11-12) Classical Studies and International Languages (9-12)* First Nation, Métis and Inuit Studies (9-12)* French as a Second Language (9-12) Health and Physical Education (1-8) and (9-12)
The revised documents that were officially approved are accessible here and identified by a “new” label: http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/curriculum/index.html. *These documents were in pre-publication or draft form when they were shared at Ministry training sessions; at the time of this report, they have not yet been posted on the Ministry website or www.edugains.ca.
The Ministry also conducted regional implementation and training sessions for the above revised curricula. Ian Pettigrew represented OTF as a stakeholder at one of the regional sessions for each of these curricular or program areas. Training sessions have provided greater transparency about the key phases of the Ministry’s curriculum review process (see Fig. 1 below) and provided opportunities for participants to make stronger, more explicit interconnections between curriculum documents and other Ministry priorities and policy documents.
Fig. 1
In general terms the revised curriculum documents provide more support and guidance for how to teach, not just what to teach while still allowing teachers to exercise professional judgement and make their own instructional decisions. There are expanded and updated sections in the A - 30
Front Matter to the documents dealing with: 21st century learning; assessment and evaluation; critical thinking and critical literacy; differentiation; English language learners and students with special needs; environmental education; equity and inclusive education; experiential learning and education and career/life planning; financial literacy; literacy and mathematical literacy; mental health and wellness; school libraries.
Other key changes worthy of note are a greater emphasis on an inquiry-based and problem- based approaches to learning that support students “doing” the curriculum, more explicit identification of big or enduring ideas, improved alignment among overall expectations and related specific expectations, updated and refreshed examples connected to specific expectations and sample teacher prompts and student responses.
Taken together, changes to the revised documents represent more of a substantial overhaul than a refresh or tweak. The documents also reflect a healthier spirit of collaboration on behalf of the Ministry since it has listened more carefully to teachers’ constructive suggestions for improvements to the curriculum documents in terms of content and structure and tapped into the expertise of subject/division associations.
Time was also been devoted in these sessions for knowledge mobilization among teacher teams to support implementation and training in their own contexts. However, those teachers, who are not able to attend these sessions, will continue to be under-served and disadvantaged in terms of access to sufficient professional learning opportunities or time, during the instructional day, to acclimatize to the substantive changes that have occurred in most documents or programs and to make adjustments to their own practice.
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
OCT Review of Professional Learning Framework
In the fall, OTF was invited to participate in a large-scale and far-reaching initiative by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) to review the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession. A large number of focus groups were held by OCT over the fall and winter months. As I reported to you at your meeting last winter, OTF’s Teacher Education and College of Teachers Staff Work Groups developed a formal response, which was forwarded to OCT in late January. Our response conveyed the following clear positions of the Federation with regard to the ongoing professional learning of our members:
that OTF stands opposed to any attempt by the Ontario College of Teachers to introduce a system of mandatory professional learning and/or recertification of teachers; that OTF continues to support the principle of self-directed professional learning as the critical element of any professional learning framework for teachers; and that OTF stands opposed to any tracking of teacher professional learning by the Ontario College of Teachers.
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We have yet to see the revised Professional Learning Framework that is being recommended by College staff as a consequence of the focus sessions they conducted. We expect this will happen shortly, as we have recently received an invitation from OCT to “engage in a conversation” about the draft revised Framework to be held on September 17, 2015.
OCT Professional Advisory on the Duty to Report
In early April, OTF received an invitation to provide feedback to the College on a draft Professional Advisory addressing the duty of members to report suspicions of abuse and/or neglect of children and youth to the Children’s Aid Society.
OTF and Affiliate staff conducted a review of the draft Advisory, and determined that the document was problematic on several levels. The main points of contention were summarized and forwarded by OTF to the College on April 24. These included:
The timeline allotted for feedback (April 2 – 24) was insufficient for an issue of such importance. The request that stakeholders not share their feedback with each other was not in the public good and should be revised. The draft Advisory was poorly organized and hence confusing. The draft Advisory strayed from Section 72 of Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act (CFSA), and in so doing provided contradictory and inaccurate information. The section on working with parents and guardians should be removed since it was inaccurate and misleading. The draft Advisory incorrectly informed members that they must “manage their own emotional responses” to the Duty to Report. The draft Advisory positioned the College’s Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice as being the “ethical underpinnings” for protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and youth in Ontario.
The OTF response also listed several resources already in existence that, in our view, provide superior information and guidance to members on the Duty to Report. Included in the list were the website of Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS), and information pamphlets created by OTF’s Affiliates.
In mid-May, I heard back from the Deputy Registrar of the College on a number of pending items, including the draft Advisory. The Deputy Registrar thanked OTF for its feedback and indicated that several substantive amendments had been made as a consequence of our input.
When the revised Advisory was presented to the OCT Governing Council in early June, we noted that, indeed, most of the changes made were positive and in keeping with the concerns raised by OTF and the Affiliates. Of particular note was the removal of the section on working with parents, and of references to the emotional state of the member. In several instances, the revised Advisory reminds members of the existence of Federation policies/resources and of the support they may find there. Directions to follow school / employer policies and other areas outside the jurisdiction of OCT have also been removed in some parts of the document. A - 32
To date, we have had no response from the College regarding the concerns we raised with regard to the process used for collecting stakeholder feedback on the draft Advisory. It is our understanding that the finalized Advisory will be sent out to members with the September issue of Professionally Speaking / Pour parler profession.
OCT Public Interest Committee
The Public Interest Committee (PIC) of the College’s Governing Council issued its final report to Council in early June.
As previously reported to OTF Governors, the PIC’s proposed work plan covered issues (under the guise of “Ensuring Excellence in the Classroom”) that appeared to encroach upon employer/employee matters such as: assessing the use of Temporary Letters of Approval (TLAs), reviewing the Ministry’s practice of using Letters of Permission (LoPs), and reviewing the Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) system. In addition, the PIC’s work plan had also raised the spectre of mandatory PD.
In his remarks to the College’s Governing Council earlier this year, the Chair of the PIC (Bill Kirkwood) noted that the Committee had some concerns about: possible abuse regarding the use of temporary letters of approval (TLAs), transparency regarding the use of letters of permission (LoPs), and an apparent disconnect between the TPA process and disciplinary matters before the College regarding competence.
With respect to professional development and currency, the PIC had undertaken a review of the ongoing professional learning (OPL) programs adopted by other professional regulators, noting a wide variation in such programs in terms of requirements, reporting, documentary evidence and consequences (for failure to meet requirements). The PIC indicated that it would consider this matter further once the College’s current review of the Professional Learning Framework (PLF) was complete.
The final report of the PIC indicates the following with respect to each of the above issues:
TLAs – having been provided with further information (qualitative and quantitative) by OCT staff regarding the classroom assignment process and the use of TLAs, the PIC has not expressed any further concerns or recommendations;
LoPs – the PIC reiterated its previous support for Council’s requests to the Minister that LoPs come under the jurisdiction of the College, in the public interest;
TPA – the PIC recommends that Council recommend to the Minister that the OCT Act be amended to:
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realign the definition of “incompetence” with the 5 domains and 16 competency statements under the TPA process, allow for the publication of summaries of Discipline Committee (DC) decisions regarding incompetence (as reflected in Bill 103), and deal with board notifications as regular employer notifications (as endorsed in the LeSage Report).
The PIC also recommends that the College consider publishing full DC decisions in CanLII (a legal database accessible to the public for free);
Ongoing Professional Learning and Currency – the PIC had this to say:
“The committee was encouraged with the findings from the focus groups showing that teachers are engaged in ongoing professional learning, and will consider the revised Professional Learning Framework and the recommendations made by the Standards of Practice and Education Committee once they are made available.
This topic will be placed on the committee’s new work plan during the term of the College’s 7th Council.”
Despite previous comments by the PIC Chair that the Committee had also been following the issue of the College’s mandate (OTF’s views) and would provide advice to Council at its June meeting, there were no further comments on this issue at that meeting.
2015 Council Elections
Following the recent Council elections (only a 2.45% voter turnout), there remain two vacancies on Council representing the northeast part of the Province. The College has invited applications for these two positions (July 15th deadline) which will be reviewed, shortlisted and interviewed by the Governance Committee and recommended to Council for approval.
OCT Mandate Issue
Without detailing every activity, over the past year OTF communicated with its members (directly and via Affiliates) regarding the mandate issue. Our Who Does What? pamphlets and video vignettes were shared as widely as possible. The OTF President and Secretary-Treasurer made a deputation to the OCT Governing Council and took questions following the presentation. Materials were shared with the College Council and the OTF report from the previous year, “A Course Correction” was provided to and discussed by the Council. Many meetings were held between OTF and the College Registrar. We met with representatives from the General Teaching Council of Scotland to better understand their approach to regulation. We met with many other stakeholder groups to discuss shared concerns with respect to this issue.
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As the year progressed, OTF became increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress. Subsequent to the Spring Board of Governors meeting, OTF advised both the OCT and the Government that we were interested in tripartite discussions on the matter as the direct conversations between only OTF and the OCT had not yielded positive results. Although we are due to follow up again soon, a constructive meeting was held and attended by Deputy Minister George Zegarac, Assistant Deputy Minister John Malloy, the OTF President and Secretary Treasurer and the Registrar of the College before the end of the school year. We expect to resume our conversations with the Ministry soon.
Alongside these developments, candidates for the Governing Council were sent letters from OTF, copied to the Minister of Education, alerting them to OTF’s concerns about mandate and ensuring that they understood the role of an elected councilor prior to the election’s conclusion. A copy of that letter from the OTF President is included as Appendix 1.
PENSIONS
2015 Valuation
As Governors are aware, OTF and the Government filed a funding valuation for the Plan as at January 1, 2015. The $6.8 billion surplus in the Plan was invested towards further restoring conditional inflation protection (CIP), effective January 1, 2016, as follows: pensions-in-pay will be restored to the levels they would have been at had CIP not been invoked (at 60%) in 2015, although there will not be any retroactive payments to compensate for the inflation protection not paid in 2015; and the CIP applicable to post-2009 service will be increased from the current 60% level to 70%.
Having now filed in 2015, the next mandatory filing date will be in 2018, beyond the end of the “freeze period” in the JSPP Agreement (signed in 2013), the period during which the Government has capped its contributions to the Plan.
Funding Management Policy (FMP) Review
OTF representatives on the Work Group included Scott Simpson (OTF Consulting Actuary), Murray Gold (OTF Legal Counsel), Scott Perkin (OTF Director, Pension and Economic Affairs), the OTF President and the Secretary-Treasurer. As reported to Governors at the 2014 Annual Meeting, the Actuaries for OTF, the Government and OTPP proposed the concept of a ‘temporary funding zone’ for the FMP. Such a zone would allow for the provision of temporary benefit improvements (or surplus distributions) or temporary contribution reductions, if certain funding thresholds are met (thresholds that would not otherwise support permanent benefit improvements or contribution reductions).
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Given the support for this direction from the OTF Executive and as previously discussed at the Board, revisions have been approved by the Partners to the current FMP that incorporate this concept as well as other changes necessary to bring the FMP up to date.
Partners’ Agreement Amendments
Since the Spring Board of Governors meeting, the Partners’ have signed amendments to the Partners’ Agreement to:
update the Funding Management Policy (FMP) for the Plan, and to incorporate the temporary funding zone concept (to allow for temporary Plan improvements under certain circumstances) that was previously reported to Governors; and increase the number of OTPP Board members from nine (9) to eleven (11).
Re-employment Reporting and Review
Since the implementation of the current re-employment limits (50 days) in September 2012, and the obligation of employers to report all such activity to the OTPP, OTF has been periodically reviewing re-employment statistics with the Government Partner.
Further review and analysis of such stats assisted the Partners earlier this year as they conducted a comprehensive review of the re-employment limits, a review to which they had committed when the current limits were first announced in 2010. A report of the Partners’ review has been circulated to Governors and will be discussed separately during the Annual Meeting.
Review (Sponsors’) Task Force
As Governors are aware, the work of this group concluded this past year. In September, at the final meeting, Dr. Harry Arthurs presented his final report to the Plan and the two Partners. At that time, final closure was still required on the FMP but that has since been reached. Dr. Arthurs’ summary report was provided to Governors at the Winter Board. Other agenda items under consideration by the Task Force, related to funding, demographics and inter- generational equity, will continue to be reviewed and assessed through the existing structure of the Partners’ Consultative Committee, which includes representatives from all three parties and which meets quarterly. Communication matters discussed by the Task Force will be dealt with by the tri-partite Communications Work Group. The Partners agreed through this process to maintain their rights to a Hearing Officer should they wish to request one in the future when circumstances permit. Overall, this process was lengthy but valuable to all parties.
Pension Forum
On April 9, 2015, OTF held its annual Pension Forum. The Forum is always interesting and this year was no exception. Ron Mock, Barbara Zvan and Deborah Ng spoke of how the Plan carries out responsible investing in practice; Murray Gold and Bob Baldwin discussed ORPP vs. CPP expansion and pension reform. Myles Ellis provided a national look at pension reform in teacher pensions in particular. Peter Tertzakian gave a fascinating presentation on the energy A - 36
transition. All of these topics were very timely and covered very thoroughly. Scott Perkin’s efforts in organizing an outstanding Forum were much appreciated.
OTHER
International Assistance
OTF received close to 700 applications for international assistance during the course of the 2014-15 school year. Of these, 324 that addressed high priority areas were considered for project funding by the Committee. As you will see and hear in the Committee’s report later on in this meeting, OTF was able to fund a total of 158 projects, located in 24 developing countries, including Afghanistan, the Caribbean, the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Particular priority was placed on funding requests for teacher training, water purification and sanitation projects for schools, as well as requests benefitting special needs students, girls and women.
As part of its work, the Committee also continued to serve as the trustee of the Blanche Snell and Lesotho Educational Sustaining Funds.
International Appeals
Over the fall, the Executive approved two donations to assist teachers affected by geopolitical and humanitarian crises. The first was a call in September from EI to assist teachers in war-torn Gaza, and the second was a request from the CTF Trust Fund to support teachers in West Africa whose lives have been adversely affected by Ebola. Then, in late April, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, followed by a second quake just days later. At final count, the death toll surpassed 8,500. OTF responded to this tragedy through a donation to the EI Solidarity with Nepal fund to provide earthquake relief for Nepalese teachers’ organizations, teachers and their families.
Aboriginal Literacy Camps
OTF was proud, once again, to support an Aboriginal Summer Literacy Camp in Fort Hope. At a subsequent Board meeting, we will apprise Governors of details from this summer’s camp activities. The budget for the 2015-2016 provides for continuing support.
Parry Sound Campground
Since last reports at the Spring Board, much work has been done at the Parry Sound Campground and, unlike last summer, the weather has been co-operating!
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Major repairs have been made to the roadway into the Camp, and the beachfront has been re-graded and replenished with sand. The purchase of a (much needed) tractor and truck has assisted with these efforts, as well as with the grass cutting and the movement of camper trailers on and off campsites. Picnic tables have been replaced as necessary and new canoe racks have been built in order to meet the needs of campers. Campers continue to enjoy singsongs and barn dances under the leadership of volunteers who have also taken it upon themselves to rejuvenate the many trails surrounding Quinn Lake. The barn dances were so popular that campers are considering organizing other events such as movie nights, concerts and sing-alongs. (Kumbaya anyone?)
We continue to support our Campground Staff, Mike Bosley (Caretaker), Heather McEwen (Registrar) and Duncan McEwen (Groundskeeper) in many ways, and thank them for their efforts in maintaining a safe and healthy environment. We have received many positive comments from campers (some of whom have been enjoying the Campground for many years) regarding the efforts of Staff and OTF’s investments in Campground facilities. It seems that we are making the right improvements, which is resulting in many ‘happy campers’!
CONCLUSION
At the time of writing, uncertainty abounds in education. We are starting the longest ever Federal election campaign. It is easy to predict that September and October will be anything but dull. Beyond that, predictions may be fool-hearty and best left for commentators and pundits.
What is clear is that teachers will benefit from the support of their Affiliates and OTF in continuing to deliver excellent education in Ontario and we look forward to doing our best to offer that in the coming year.
Respectfully submitted,
Rhonda Kimberley-Young Secretary Treasurer