The provincial government has now launched consultations on education reform. The consultation period will be open until December 15, 2018. There are three ways for people to participate:
- An online submission form that allows people, organizations or groups to provide their views on any of the consultation topics. Submissions can also be sent to the ministry by emailing fortheparents@ontario.ca or auservicedesparents@ontario.ca.
- An online survey that is be available in English and French, with questions that relate to the key themes.
- Telephone town halls across Ontario, with separate town halls in English and French.
The dates of the telephone town halls for the Eastern Ontario region are as follows:
October 30: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
November 16: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
November 22: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
November 26: 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. (en français, toutes les régions)
November 27: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
December 3: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Registration is required to participate in the town halls, you can register on the Ministry of Education website.
The consultations are intended to focus on the following topics:
- How to improve student performance in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM);
- How our schools are preparing students with needed job skills;
- What more can be done to ensure students graduate with important life skills, like financial literacy;
- How to build an updated and age-appropriate Health and Physical Education curriculum that includes subjects like sexual health education, mental health and the legalization of cannabis;
- What measures can be taken to improve standardized testing;
- What steps schools should take regarding the use of technology in classrooms, such as the use of cell phones; and
- What elements would participants like to see included in the Ministry of Education Parents’ Bill of Rights.
For up-to-date information on all of the ways people can participate, please visit fortheparents.ca.