“Catholic teachers have always supported efforts to eliminate racism, discrimination, and all systemic barriers in our schools, and we will continue to offer our perspectives on how to implement destreaming successfully.
What Minister of Education Stephen Lecce has implemented is oversimplified, underfunded, and rushed, placing the success of destreaming in jeopardy.
Eliminating inequality in our publicly funded schools necessitates properly funded and resourced programs, with meaningful collaboration with teachers and education stakeholders, as well as proper training.
To achieve the best possible learning environment for students, this government must acknowledge that destreaming requires smaller class sizes so that teachers can provide greater individual attention and differentiated instruction, appropriate teacher-led professional development opportunities, and supports for vulnerable students that address systemic inequities outside the classroom.
None of this has happened.
Our Association supports the move towards destreaming, but it must be realized with proper resources and consultations to improve equity and diversity in Ontario’s publicly funded schools, lest it inadvertently exacerbate existing problems.”
Liz Stuart, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association