2006 HIGHLIGHTS

Annual Report

The 2006 annual report pays tribute to the care, compassion and insight of teachers in helping their students to realize their individual potential.

Whether by awakening the mind of a six-year-old who's reading a sentence for the first time, fostering the unique talent of a teenage artist or nurturing the hopes and aspirations of students struggling to succeed, teachers' compassion and professionalism are keys to developing students' potential.

Updated practice and ethics standards

In June 2006, the Council approved the revised ethical standards and standards of practice, concluding a review of the standards that incorporated the input of almost 9,000 members of the College, education stakeholders, parents, students and other members of the public.

Support for teachers

The year saw real progress on College initiatives to assist internationally educated teachers, significantly enhance the preparation of Ontario's teachers, support all teachers throughout their careers, and help them carry on their excellent work on behalf of Ontario students.

Council approved recommendations for sweeping changes to the Teachers' Qualification Regulation that emerged from our review of teachers' qualifications. These included recommendations on the development – in partnership with the Ministry of Education – of a new regulation that will continue to improve both the education programs available for teachers entering the classroom and continuing education opportunities for experienced teachers. The Council also invited members to participate in developing effective practice resources, program guidelines and a professional advisory.

Job prospects

This was the fifth year of the Transition to Teaching study, in which we surveyed teachers who graduated between 2001 and 2005 to track their first teaching experiences. The responses indicated that many new teachers have to wait up to three years to land full-time jobs. French-language teachers have much better job prospects, as do specialists in math, chemistry, physics and technological studies.

College data also shows that internationally educated teachers (IETs) continue to have difficulty finding employment. Many cannot find full-time work and rely on occasional teaching assignments, even if they hold qualifications in the high-demand subject areas. The College and our partners in Teach in Ontario will be working to further assist IETs to successfully enter Ontario's job market.

Meanwhile, the Teachers' Network was created to enable IETs to develop teaching contacts within Ontario and to help them find jobs, learn about classroom management and locate education resources.

Members can use their secure, private account in the Members' Area of the College web site to communicate with other members through the Teachers' Network.

College governance

In this election year, the Election Committee approved several initiatives to provide more information about the election and the candidates, and to encourage more College members to participate. The passage of Bill 78 increased the number of teachers on Council from 17 to 23.

Members were able to access personalized ballots through the Member's Area on the College web site from September 5 to October 24.

Members could learn more about candidates by accessing their biographies and election leaflets, reading their responses to questions and listening to their recorded messages – all online.

In June, the College produced a special 28-page election edition of Professionally Speaking. It included a nomination form and complete information on becoming a candidate. The September edition carried information from all eligible candidates, and the December issue featured complete election results as well as biographies of the newly elected Council members.

Bill 78 also formally ended the Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test as a condition for entry to teaching.

New Teacher Induction Program

The government introduced a mandatory New Teacher Induction Program to support newly certified and permanent full- and part-time teachers in publicly funded schools.

The program echoes much of the advice the College gave to the government three years ago in its New Teacher Induction: Growing into the Profession policy paper.

Financial highlights

The College is financially sound. The final Excess of Revenue over Expenses in 2006 was $855,000, compared to $705,000 in 2005. Although there was no change to the annual membership fee or applicant fees, revenues were higher because the College had more members and more applicants in 2006. Strong advertising revenues from Professionally Speaking also contributed to the higher revenue levels.

The College is financed primarily by members' fees. In 2006, 207,231 members paid annual fees as the profession continued to welcome new teachers, which brought in $450,000 more than budgeted. The number of members as of December 31, 2006, was 206,859.

Council approved the transfer of the excess of revenue of $855,000 to the Reserve for Fee Stabilization within the Members' Equity reserve accounts.

Click Here to view the full financial statements.

Consolidated statement of operations

Ontario College of Teachers
For the year ended December 31, 2006
(in thousands of dollars)