Focus On Teaching: Our profession, our voice

On behalf of the College, I would like to thank the more than 15,000 Ontario Certified Teachers who completed our anonymous Focus on Teaching survey in 2023. Your participation made it possible for us to publish an inaugural report based on data gathered from the first-ever survey that we distributed to all OCTs. You can read the full report on the College website.

Focus on Teaching is designed to strengthen the profession by providing a more complete picture of the OCT workforce and how it reflects the linguistic, geographic, and demographic diversity of Ontario. This data will be crucial to decision-makers in Ontario’s publicly funded education system, from the organizational level such as school boards that are recruiting, to the individual level such as OCTs who are looking to take the next step in their careers.

The OCTs who volunteered to complete last year’s survey helped prove that this is a concept that works. Now, I am asking for your help to improve it.

This is your profession and your voice matters. Data gathered by the survey grows more dependable with every OCT who completes it. The survey is still under development, but we are committed to respecting your time by keeping it short.

Your privacy will be protected at all times and at every step. All submissions will be anonymous and aggregated. At no point will the College have access to any identifying information, nor will that information be shared with any other organization, including school boards, affiliates and federations, or the provincial government.

The College is also doing its part to improve Focus on Teaching. We have partnered with TCI and Forum Research to help the College develop and distribute the survey. Both organizations are well-known, widely trusted, and equipped with an established record of effective partnerships in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

We will provide updates in each issue of Your College and You and the College website as development of the survey content and distribution strategy continues. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly at focusonteachingsurvey@oct.ca.

Thank you in advance in joining me in this initiative that I truly believe will be of immense benefit to all OCTs, as well as those who will join the profession in the future.

Kind regards,

Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO
Registrar & CEO, Ontario College of Teachers

Important updates from the March 21 Council meeting

The College would like to highlight two significant items that were discussed during Council’s most recent meeting:

• Sexual Abuse Prevention Program adherence
• Mathematics Proficiency Test

The below information is the most up-to-date available, and is subject to change. Continue monitoring the College website and future editions of Your College and You for additional details as they are confirmed. No further information is available by contacting the College directly.

Sexual Abuse Prevention Program adherence

Council approved a request to the Minister of Education to enact new regulations under the Ontario College of Teachers Act that would allow the College to develop a process to administratively suspend OCTs who do not successfully complete the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program by their applicable deadline.

Math Proficiency Test

The Ministry of Education has notified the College of their intention to reintroduce the Math Proficiency Test as a certification requirement for applicants in early 2025. Please note that details about the test’s content, who will be required to complete it, and the first available sittings are outside of the College’s mandate. However, we will share those details and other critical information as soon as they are known.

More information about Council meetings

Summaries of Council meetings and related documents are available on our website, where you can also find a calendar of upcoming meetings and information about how to register to attend a Council meeting.

Keeping your Ontario Certified Teacher contact information up to date

Have you moved?
Have you gotten a new phone number or primary email address?
Did you start with a new employer?

The College’s mandate requires us to regularly send vital information to Ontario Certified Teachers. That information can sometimes impact an OCT’s membership status and their eligibility to teach.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your personal and professional information is up-to-date by signing into your online account on the College website. If you are unsure whether your information is up-to-date, please sign into your account to verify.

Tell a colleague!

Updated Professional Advisory on Additional Qualifications (AQs)

The College has updated its Professional Advisory (PA), Additional Qualifications: Extending Knowledge and Practice through Ongoing Professional Learning.

This PA emphasizes the significance of ongoing professional learning as an integral part of effective teaching.

Throughout their careers, OCTs acquire additional skills, knowledge and perspectives that are adaptable to societal changes and improve professional practice. Completing AQ courses is one way OCTs can engage in ongoing professional learning and demonstrate a commitment to student success and well-being.

The refreshed edition of this PA clarifies the purpose of Ontario’s regulated system of qualifications, including the principal's and supervisory officer's qualification programs. It also outlines admission requirements for select AQ courses and offers examples of AQs that OCTs may complete to prepare for teaching assignments or in pursuit of a specific professional interest.

The College conducts cyclical reviews of all PAs as part of our commitment to remain responsive to an evolving education landscape. This ensures that our resources are relevant to the varied needs of OCTs, including teachers, vice-principals, principals, supervisory officers, directors of education, and consultants.

Do you have subject, divisional or leadership expertise that would be of value to guideline development?

AQ guidelines establish the required elements that AQ courses and programs must address in order to be accredited by the College and offered to Ontario teachers. AQ courses enable teachers to expand subject knowledge and pedagogy and become qualified to teach a new subject or in a new division. AQ guidelines are revised regularly to support currency and ongoing quality assurance.

Find out more about AQ guideline development and complete an expression of interest form.

Meet b Wrauley, OCT

b Wrauley is the 2023 recipient of the Brian P. McGowan Scholarship for Resilience.

Named in honour of the College’s fourth Registrar & CEO, the scholarship recognizes a teacher candidate’s outstanding resilience in the face of adversity, and their tenacity and ability to overcome significant barriers to achieve their academic and social goals while they pursue a career in the teaching profession.

Having overcome the removal of a brain tumour as a child, b Wrauley continues to navigate physical and mental health challenges with staunch determination. Despite these hurdles, they have forged ahead, becoming a lead instructor at a rock-climbing gym where they designed and implemented programs that fostered holistic development of youth - mentally, emotionally, and physically.

b Wrauley’s personal journey, coupled with dedication to Indigenous reconciliation, makes them a powerful advocate for creating inclusive and diverse learning environments.

Each year, the College Scholarship Program awards four $1,500 scholarships to exemplary teacher candidates enrolled in a teacher education program in Ontario.

Applications for 2024 scholarships are now open. For information, including how to apply and eligibility criteria, please visit the College website.

Financial awards are made possible through donations. If you are interested in making a donation to support the scholarship program, here’s how: Supporting the Scholarship Program.

Library services

OCTs, kickstart spring by revisiting favourites from the Margaret Wilson Library.

Did you know the library offers a free shipping service for OCTs? You can also borrow and download eBooks for offline reading.

How?

1. Log into your College account on oct.ca under Members.
2. On the left navigation pane, click Library.
3. On the right navigation pane of the library page, click on Old Favourites under Book Lists.

Still have questions? Visit the Margaret Wilson Library's FAQs or contact the library team by email library@oct.ca or by toll-free telephone (Canada and U.S.A.) at 1.833.966.5588.