2025 Year-End Statement
December 17 2025
As we close the year, this is a time to reflect on what we’ve achieved together and look ahead to what’s next.
Collaboration shaped our work in 2025. Ontario’s publicly funded education system is complex, and the College plays a key role in bringing system partners and members of the profession together to advance initiatives that prioritize students’ safety and well-being.
This message is one of gratitude to everyone who contributed to our work this year. Your efforts strengthen the teaching profession and help us prepare for the future...
Our new Professional Advisory
In June, the College issued the Professional Advisory Addressing Hate and Discrimination to all Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs). This advisory was part of our response to an increase in reported concerns related to hate and discrimination in learning environments and online.
Development began with engaging community leaders, parents and guardians, and subject matter experts to help ensure that we were treating the topic with the care it deserves.
The need to thoughtfully approach this topic was further supported by our own research that suggested OCTs would welcome additional resources to help them identify and address hateful and discriminatory behaviour.
The professional and personal experiences that OCTs and others shared with us were kept in confidence, but they are woven throughout the advisory. The advisory was further strengthened when the College issued an accompanying appendix of case studies in August.
Based on real life occurrences, case studies are an additional resource that provide OCTs with examples of how to work through and respond professionally to acts of hate and discrimination.
OCTs’ professional experiences are foundational to both the advisory and the appendix. They are equally vital to another major College initiative from this year.
Updating our Professional Standards
There are many benefits to our current model of self-regulation. Key among them is that OCTs are deeply involved in the development of our professional standards.
The College’s current Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice have provided guiding principles for OCTs for more than 25 years. They have served us well as a foundation for our daily practise. However, education and society have changed significantly over time.
Throughout 2025, staff from the College’s Standards of Practice and Accreditation Department have been developing a new set of professional standards that will be both practical and responsive to the change behind us and the change ahead.
OCTs, along with other system partners and interestholders, have joined us in the development. Whether by responding to our calls for feedback, participating in focus groups, or joining us for a writing session, many parties have generously shared their insight and expertise with us.
I am confident that our new professional standards will effectively guide our daily practise in the years to come, because our professional experiences are guiding their creation today.
An enhanced online experience
In January, our new website will launch with a fresh design and improved navigation. Combined with the upgraded online application introduced in November, applying to the College and learning about our public interest mandate will be simpler and more intuitive.
- For OCTs: Access information and resources that support your work in classrooms across the province more easily.
- For applicants: Find clear, step-by-step guidance on certification pathways throughout the application process.
- For the public and other interestholders: Gain a transparent view of how we regulate the teaching profession to protect students, along with opportunities to engage in our work.
There will be more to share about further improvements to College publications and resources in 2026.
Thank you to Ontario Certified Teachers
At the College, everything we do is guided by our mandate to serve the public interest by protecting the safety and well-being of the more than two million students in our publicly funded school system.
It’s also guided by recognition that student success would not be possible without the OCTs who create safe and inclusive spaces where students can focus on learning.
To all OCTs, and to the thousands of aspiring teachers who apply for College certification each year, I thank you for your care and dedication.
Happy holidays and best wishes for the year ahead.
Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO
Registrar and CEO
Ontario College of Teachers
