Council meeting update

During the Council meeting on October 7, 2025, key updates were presented, including a quarterly report from Registrar and CEO, Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO, and a briefing note on a proposed framework for a new leadership pathway for technological education, Indigenous ancestry and Indigenous language teachers.

Council approved a College bylaw amendment that allows the new Director of Digital Technology and Services position to act on the Registrar’s behalf in the event of a conflict of interest that prevents them from fulfilling their duties in the complaints, investigations and hearing processes.

Additionally, Council received a briefing note on the College’s plan to launch a multi-year Governance Enhancement Plan to further strengthen governance practices and align with emerging best practices.

Council also received a report from the Audit and Finance Subcommittee alongside the quarterly financial report for the period ending June 30, 2025, and the 2026 budget proposal.

In addition, the Selection and Nominating Subcommittee’s report was received, and their recommendations for Council and subcommittee appointments were approved. Reports from the Accreditation and the Standards of Practice and Education committees were also presented.

Council meetings are livestreamed on the College’s YouTube channel. Meeting summaries and related documents are posted on our website.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2025 Focus on Teaching survey

We are grateful to all Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs) who contributed their voices and professional experiences to this year’s Focus on Teaching survey, which closed on October 20.

Whether you were among the nearly 37,000 OCTs who participated in the survey itself, or you lent us your expertise as part of survey development focus groups over the summer, your contributions helped form the foundation of the 2025 Focus on Teaching report that will be published on our website next year.

It is our hope that the 2025 Focus on Teaching will strengthen the profession by providing key decision-makers with anonymized and aggregated data that can help them:

• address teacher suppy and demand in Ontario’s French and English district school boards,
• support equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the profession,
• support career progression opportunities for OCTs, and
• continue to track the professional experiences of OCTs.

We offer a sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this year’s effort. Upcoming editions of Your College and You will provide updates on the 2025 Focus on Teaching report, as well as how you can participate in future College initiatives.

Get to know our new online application platform

The College is pleased to announce the launch of a new online application platform to make applying for certification easier. The redesigned system offers a more intuitive experience, helping applicants track progress and exchange information with the College more effectively.

Key features of the new platform include:

1. Message Centre

   Stay up to date with important notices about your application in the new Message Centre. The Message Centre will reduce reliance on email notifications, which can sometimes be missed if they are caught by spam filters or an applicant switches to a new email address without updating their contact information. The Message Centre can be accessed from the link at the top of the application homepage.

2. Improved Status Page

   The upgraded Status Page clearly shows which documents have been received, processed, or are outstanding. It also indicates which documents you can submit yourself and which must come directly from your granting institution.

Visit the application homepage to explore these features and manage your application with confidence.

Upholding Professional Standards through reflective practice and equity-centered learning

OCTs are committed to ongoing professional learning. This summer, educators from across the province came together to share insights from their practice to inform the refreshed professional standards for the teaching profession.

One participant reflected on how they bring the standards to life through learning, self-reflection and a commitment to equity and inclusion, reminding us that real growth happens well beyond scheduled PD days. It happens in the classroom, in the hallways and in quiet moments of reflection. It’s through this ongoing learning that OCTs deepen their understanding, refine their approaches and uphold the standards that guide the profession.

“I demonstrate ongoing professional learning by seeking out opportunities that deepen my understanding of anti-racist, anti-oppressive and culturally responsive teaching. I intentionally learn from people with lived experience, for example, joining sessions with racialized educators who share strategies for affirming Black joy in curriculum. Critical reflection shapes my daily practice. I ask: Whose voices are missing in this text set? Why are all my examples from a Western lens? How might this seating plan feel for a student with anxiety or an I.E.P. for sensory needs? When I notice gaps, I do my best to take action like swapping a story to include stories by authors of colour, restructuring group roles so students with learning differences can lead meaningfully or integrating restorative check-ins after conflict to acknowledge invisible trauma. I look at my students and put them in the lesson so they can actually see themselves represented in the learning space.

For me, professional growth goes beyond PD days. It shows up in the hallway conversation where a colleague shares a strategy for supporting newcomer families, in staying late to review a new YRDSB equity policy with a critical eye or in apologizing to a student when my word choice unintentionally caused harm and then doing better the next day. I remind myself: growth is not optional; it’s my responsibility.”

- Tricia Blackstock, OCT

How do you uphold the professional standard of ongoing professional learning?

Engage in professional learning through case studies from the Professional Advisory Addressing Hate and Discrimination

Based on real life examples, the appendix of nine case studies that accompany the Professional Advisory Addressing Hate and Discrimination are designed to help OCTs work through and appropriately address acts of hate and discrimination.

Focus on case study 2: Sharing political and personal beliefs

Should OCTs share their political and personal beliefs with others in learning environments?

Politics and beliefs that discriminate against or target specific groups with hate have no place in any learning environment.

As an OCT, you should be aware of the leadership role you have in classrooms, administrative spaces, other learning environments and in the community at large. You should also be aware of how your role can ignite, maintain and perpetuate discriminatory behaviour and oppressive approaches that adversely impact students and others in the school community.

OCTs are always required to uphold professional and ethical standards for the profession, both inside and outside of learning environments, including online. Behaviour and actions that go against the standards can lead to a College investigation.

The Professional Advisory Addressing Hate and Discrimination and case studies are available online at oct.ca in both PDF and audio formats.

Each case study is divided into four parts:

1. Scenario: Describes a situation based on real life occurrences, presented from the point of view of an OCT
2. Address it: Provides guidance on addressing the issue professionally
3. Build awareness: Highlights professional, ethical, and legal responsibilities
4. Know your role: Clarifies how an OCT’s actions reflect professional expectations

2025 Annual Meeting of Members

The College’s Annual Meeting of Members was held online on Wednesday, October 14 and was open to all OCTs and members of the public.

Council’s Acting Chair Tammy Webster, OCT, began the meeting by providing an update on 2024 College strategic priorities, including the Professional Advisory Addressing Hate and Discrimination, the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program and Council’s role in supporting meaningful policy changes.

Next, Registrar and CEO Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO, provided an operational update focused on the College’s ongoing commitment to agile certification processes and key initiatives including the professional standards review and Focus on Teaching. These updates and more can be found in the College’s 2024 Annual Report, available now on oct.ca.

An update by the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee Valerie Fontenelle, OCT, followed. The results of KPMG’s 2024 audit confirmed that the College’s budget was balanced, without the need to access reserved funds. As a result of sound fiscal management, the 2025 Annual Membership Fee was not increased.

Finally, the speakers answered questions submitted by attendees. Topics included how OCTs and members of the public can get involved in College governance, the College’s commitment to truth and reconciliation, publishing of discipline decisions and summaries and partnerships in the public education system.

What OCTs read this summer

It feels like summer was just yesterday and yet, it’s almost December. If you want a taste of summer 2025, check out what books and ebooks OCTs dove into during the sunny season to drive professional growth and support student learning.

These resources from the Margaret Wilson Library helped OCTs stay current on key topics and areas of interest like literacy, explicit instruction and math.

Find the list by:

1. Logging into your College account on oct.ca under Members.
2. Clicking Library on the left navigation pane.
3. Clicking on Most popular books and ebooks of summer 2025 on the right navigation channel of the library page.

Explore the Margaret Wilson Library’s FAQs for tips on how to navigate the library’s online services.