“While Catholic teachers welcome the Honourable Paul Calandra into the role of Minister of Education, we would be remiss if we failed to mention that this is Ontario’s fourth education minister in less than a year.

As Catholic teachers, we are always ready to work collaboratively with the government to best support students and strengthen publicly funded education, but the revolving door of ministers makes us question whether the Ford government shares these priorities. We are disappointed that not one of the education ministers that have passed through Queen’s Park over the last year have engaged meaningfully with us to address the critical issues affecting our schools.

Our students and schools are facing mounting challenges from government cuts, including:

• Overcrowded classrooms.
• Rising violence in schools.
• 3,500 fewer teachers and a growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
• More than 2,000 schools in disrepair.
• $1,500 less in per-student funding – over $3 billion less for schools across Ontario.

These are not new issues and addressing them requires not only real, stable leadership, but meaningful collaboration and consultation with teachers and the entire education community.

We can only hope that Minister Calandra will take a new approach, and use this renewed opportunity to engage with teachers, education workers, parents, students, and other education experts to gain a deeper understanding of what is happening in our schools and why. Our uncertain and changing economic future depends on learning and publicly funded education more than ever.

By working together and making real investments in education, we can ensure Ontario’s youth receive the high-quality publicly funded education they need to succeed.”

- René Jansen in de Wal, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association