New professional advisory

The Ontario College of Teachers has issued professional advice on addressing hate and discrimination to the province’s 228,000 Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs).

The advisory provides OCTs with a starting point to build their awareness and understanding of professional expectations to help foster safe, equitable, inclusive, and accessible learning environments for all students.

The advisory includes:

• a self-reflective framework
• key elements for examination
• guidance for ongoing learning
• practical advice

As an additional and responsive resource, in August the College will publish an appendix of case studies — a first for the College. Based on real life examples, the case studies are designed to help OCTs work through and react appropriately to acts of hate and discrimination.

The advisory and case studies were approved by the Standards of Practice and Education Committee on May 14 and were received by College Council at its meeting on June 12.

Save the date for our Annual Meeting of Members on October 14

The College’s Annual Meeting of Members will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The online meeting is open to OCTs, applicants, interested education partners, and members of the public. College leadership, including Registrar and CEO Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO, and the Chair of College Council will provide updates on how the College works within its mandate to protect the safety and well-being of Ontario students.

The meeting will be hosted on Zoom with simultaneous French and English interpretation and optional closed captioning. The meeting will conclude with a Q&A session. Questions can be submitted in advance when you fill out your registration form. Details on how to register will be available soon.

Supervision is key to physical safety in learning environments

The College provides guidance to OCTs through its professional advisories. We are currently reviewing the advisory focused on safety in learning environments and your feedback is vital to the review process.

Inadequate supervision is a common factor in professional conduct cases involving student physical safety. As an OCT, you are responsible for providing adequate supervision for students in your care, including higher-risk settings like technology or shop classes, outdoor education, and off-site excursions. It is essential to recognize when enhanced supervision is needed and to follow all relevant policies, protocols, and safety requirements.

Regardless of the circumstances, consistent, thoughtful supervision helps foster a safe, inclusive learning environment.

Please take a few minutes to tell us what student safety guidance would help you.

Council approves two OCT appointments at special meeting

At its special meeting on April 29, 2025, College Council approved two key appointments based on recommendations from the Selection and Nominating Subcommittee. Both appointees, now actively serving in their roles, are OCTs.

Charles Kouassi, OCT, was appointed as a Council member and began a two-year term on April 29, 2025. Diane Vetter, OCT, began a two-year term as an Accreditation Committee roster member on the same date.

Council meetings are livestreamed on the College’s YouTube channel and meeting summaries, along with related documents, are posted on our website.

Last call to apply for the 2025 Ontario College of Teachers Scholarship Program

There’s still time to apply for the Ontario College of Teachers Scholarship Program before the deadline on June 30, 2025, at 5 p.m. Teacher candidates who are enrolled in an accredited teacher education program in Ontario can apply to be awarded one of four $1,500 scholarships. Award recipients are chosen based on their academic achievement, their dedication to the highest ideals of teaching, and their resilience.

If you know a candidate, let them know they can find more information about each scholarship, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, on our website.

Focus on Teaching 2025 survey development underway

Work to develop the 2025 Focus on Teaching survey continues. Together with our partners, Gray & Associates and Amorell & Co, the College facilitated focus groups in late May and early June with OCTs to gather insights to refine the survey questions. A second round of focus group sessions is expected to take place in July.

The survey is expected to launch in late summer.

For the summer reading lovers

School’s (almost!) out for summer, and you may be planning to spend some time reading up on the latest developments in literacy, math, the classroom environment, or school leadership practices. Check out our summer reading list!

How?

1. Sign into your College account on oct.ca under Members.
2. On the left navigation pane, click Library.
3. On the right navigation channel of the library page, click on Summer Reading List.

Explore our FAQs to learn tips and tricks to navigate the Margaret Wilson Library’s online services.

Still have questions? Contact the library team at library@oct.ca or 1.833.966.5588.