Ontario’s public high school teachers begin voting on changes to the contract imposed on them by the Liberal government under Bill 115
April 5th, 2013 | Comments (0)
An overwhelming majority of bargaining unit presidents have voted in support of changes to the contracts imposed on public high school teachers under Bill 115. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation says unit presidents voted 96 per cent in favour of the tentative deal with the Liberal government at a meeting on Thursday. Voting by teachers on the agreement is to be completed by April 18th. The union and Premier Kathleen Wynne have insisted the updated tentative agreement would not cost the province any additional money.
Younger high school teachers expected to get a better payout for banked sick days in new agreement
April 3rd, 2013 | Comments (0)
Some details of the tentative deal the government has worked out with the union representing public high school teachers have leaked out. Sources say younger high school teachers will be given a much better payout for their banked sick days under the proposed agreement. Teachers with less than 10 years on the job will get 25 cents on every dollar for sick days they banked, compared with 10 cents under existing agreements. Premier Kathleen Wynne insists the updated tentative agreement will not cost the province any additional money.
Tentative agreement reached between the province and the OSSTF
April 1st, 2013 | Comments (0)
A tentative agreement has been reached between the province and its high school teachers. Education Minister Liz Sandals says terms have been reached on numerous issues including: sick leave, maternity leave, retirement gratuity, unpaid days and local bargaining. More details will be given to the members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation over the next few days. Sandals says the agreement in principle is consistent with the existing collective agreements, while reflecting the ministry’s fiscal situation.
Province lowers cap on annual tuition fee increases for post-secondary institutions
March 28th, 2013 | Comments (0)
The latest announcement by the Ontario government to lower the cap on average tuition fee increases for public post-secondary institutions is getting a mixed reaction. The framework caps fee increases by an average of three per cent. In the past, colleges and universities were allowed to increase by an average of five per cent. Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Brad Duguid says the policy strikes a balance between increasing affordability while helping institutions with long-term financial balance. President and CEO of Colleges Ontario Linda Franklin disagrees, saying the restrictions will make it more difficult to deliver quality programs. President of the College Student Alliance Ciara Byrne is happy the ministry changed the status quo but would have liked to see a 2-year freeze followed by linking tuition increases to the rate of inflation.
Toronto French teacher arrested for sexual assault
March 28th, 2013 | Comments (0)
A Toronto elementary school teacher is facing 42 charges in connection with a sexual assault investigation. Police allege that between September 2012 and March 2013, the accused sexually assaulted and made comments to several students.Investigators say the accused teaches French to Grade 4 to 6 students at Inglewood Heights Jr. Public School and has been a teacher with the Toronto District School Board since 2007. 53 year-old Christian Kpodjie of Toronto is charged with 16 counts of sexual assault, 12 counts of sexual exploitation and 14 counts of assault. Under the Criminal Code, a sexual assault is defined as any form of unwanted sexual contact.
ETFO lifts ban on members taking part in voluntary or extracurricular activities
March 27th, 2013 | Comments (0)
Great news for thousands of Ontario’s elementary students, as the union representing their teachers has lifted its advice that members not take part in voluntary or extracurricular activities. President of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Sam Hammond says the ban is being lifted thanks to progress being made in ongoing talks with the Liberal government. Premier Kathleen Wynne says she is thrilled and hopes teachers and support staff will return quickly to running afterschool activities and programs. Teachers withdrew from extracurriculars last fall to protest legislation that was used to force a contract on them in January.
Pringle Creek students talk change at TED-x event
March 24th, 2013 | Comments (0)
A group of grade seven students at Whitby’s Pringle Creek Public School are raising their voices, and calling for change. The students hosted an official TED-x event recently, all a part of a global conferences aimed at communicating “ideas worth sharing.” Intermediate teacher Monica Cheung says she applied online for a license to host the event, and from there, her students took the reigns and organized everything. Cheung says the students spoke for five minutes about what change means to them. Click here for the school’s official TED event page and or follow their blog page here.
Durham College hosts Spring Open House
March 23rd, 2013 | Comments (0)
Durham College is inviting people to stop by and check out their Spring Open house, Saturday. The event is being held at the college’s Oshawa (2000 Simcoe St.) and Whitby (1510 Champlain Ave.) campuses, along with their newest location, the Pickering Learning Site (1340 Pickering Parkway). Registrar Paul Bishop says it will be an exciting day, and visitors can check out the construction of their new state of the art facilities. He also says there will also be expert staff, students and successful alumni to answer questions. The event runs from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Ontario students at Queen’s park this week to push the province to lower tuition fees
March 20th, 2013 | Comments (0)
Students from across the province are at Queens Park this week to present MPP’s with a plan for improving access to college and university education. Chair of the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario chapter Sarah Jayne King says they want to show the government that the current post-secondary landscape is unacceptable. The federation says it’s possible to reduce tuition fees by 17% by re-allocating existing education funds. The federation represents over 300-thousand college, undergraduate and graduate students in the province.
Durham College program helps students transition from high school to the post-secondary level
March 18th, 2013 | Comments (0)
A new report shows the dual credit program offered by Durham College continues to be a successful option for students. Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Gail Mackenzie, says the most recent data has an 85% success rate for students enrolled in the college’s more than 100 dual credit courses. Mackenzie says this program allows students to reach their true potential and realize they can be successful not only in high school, but also at the post-secondary level.
Fraser Institute releases annual secondary school rankings
March 17th, 2013 | Comments (0)
The Fraser Institute’s annual secondary school rankings are out. Seven public and six catholic schools are among the fastest-improving in the GTA, while 75 in the province are showing some type of improvement. The report card includes information about each school’s make-up, like parents’ average income, and the percentage of ESL and special needs students. Director of School Performance Studies Peter Cowley says their report card shows improvement is happening all over Ontario. Schools with top ratings include, London Central, Cardinal Carter in Toronto, St. Joseph’s in Renfrew and Bayview in Richmond Hill. Click here for a full list of results.
Durham College offering science workshops for girls
March 16th, 2013 | Comments (0)
A new event hopes to encourage more girls to go into the science and technology fields. On March 24th, Durham College is offering hands-on activities for girls aged 7-14. Sheila Rhodes of the UOIT Faculty of Education says they will be making slime, playing with robots and learning how to make lip balm. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to sheila.rhodes@uoit.ca.