2024 Year-End Statement
December 17 2024
This year has been one of growth, innovation, and collaboration at the College. It also marked the first year under the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, which guides how we fulfill our mandate to serve the public interest mandate by regulating the teaching profession to protect students.
As we close out 2024, I’d like to reflect on the progress we’ve made toward reaching our four strategic goals.
Goal One: Accountable and agile processes to certify educators to teach in Ontario classrooms
The College has made significant advancements in our ongoing efforts to streamline certification processes for all applicants. We introduced additional self-serve options to help applicants submit required documentation and updated our application portal with user-friendly features such as an option to request a digital criminal record check. We also implemented measures to reduce barriers for internationally educated teachers, including policy changes, process efficiencies, and increased staffing resources.
These efforts have produced results. For example, the number of internationally educated teachers certified by the College has more than doubled since 2022.
Additionally, we swiftly launched a multi-channel communications effort to support applicants and members who will be impacted by the reinstatement of the Mathematics Proficiency Test, which takes effect on February 1, 2025.
These efficiency initiatives have enabled the College to more quickly certify qualified teachers for Ontario’s classrooms while maintaining the standards of the profession.
Goal Two: Teachers who are informed of, and held accountable to, professional standards
As members of a regulated profession, teachers’ daily practice is guided by the Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession. When the College first developed these standards, Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs) were among the first in the world to play a direct role in shaping these guiding principles for our profession. This year, as we began the process of reviewing and updating our professional standards, we followed a similarly collaborative approach.
More than 500 OCTs and members of the public, representing a broad cross-section of interested groups in Ontario’s education system, participated in consultations to guide this work, helping to keep the standards relevant to today’s educational landscape. Updating our professional standards is a major task that will have significant impact on OCTs, and we will maintain that collaborative spirit by offering additional opportunities for OCTs to contribute to the development of revised standards that will strengthen and preserve the profession in the years ahead.
Goal Three: Efficient and proportionate responses to alleged and actual misconduct, incompetence, and incapacity
In 2024, we experienced an unprecedented increase in complaints against members, leading to a higher number of open cases. While this does not necessarily indicate a proportional rise in instances of professional misconduct, it underscores the growing awareness and trust from OCTs, parents, and the public in the College’s role of upholding professional accountability for the teaching profession.
We are addressing this challenge with increased staffing and will continue to implement process improvements in the coming year. We are also developing a public-facing risk assessment tool that formalizes our established internal processes for greater transparency. This tool will explain how the College assesses and addresses risks associated with concerns and reports received about members. It will outline how we triage incoming concerns, how we prioritize high-risk cases that would likely expose students to a risk of harm, and how lower-risk cases are addressed more quickly through the College’s Complaint Resolution program.
Goal Four: A clear and independent role in the education system
The College is one of many partners in Ontario’s education and regulatory systems, each with distinct mandates defined by legislation. However, the interconnectedness of this system highlights the importance of open communication, ongoing learning from one another, and collectively addressing shared challenges.
A key example of this collaboration was the development of our updated 2024 Focus on Teaching survey. The survey collected insights about professional experiences, career mobility, and demographic representation directly from OCTs. The data gathered will support decision-makers in addressing pressing issues such as the teacher shortage in Ontario’s French and English school boards, as well as equity, diversity, inclusion, and access to the profession.
These concerns are shared by all education partners. By working together, we can make informed decisions that benefit the profession —and, in turn, every student in every classroom across Ontario.
We thank the nearly 38,000 OCTs —one in six teachers— who participated in the survey, demonstrating their commitment to shaping the future of our profession. We are thrilled with this response rate, which is considered excellent by industry standards and successfully met our participation goal.
I will close with a few words of thanks to all OCTs and aspiring educators: thank you for your dedication to creating positive, inclusive learning environments. Your efforts and leadership shape the future of our province and inspires students to thrive.
As we look toward 2025, we remain committed to continuous improvement and collaboration to a collective goal of having a certified teacher available for every classroom, where students feel safe, supported and cared for.
On behalf of the College, I wish you a happy holiday season and a bright year ahead.
Linda Lacroix, OCT/EAO
Registrar and CEO
