General Secretary's Message

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about large class sizes, the physical condition of schools and the government’s failure to provide appropriate funding to meet the needs of all students, particularly students with special education needs and those from marginalized communities.

I want to begin this column by thanking you and acknowledging how hard you have worked, often under impossible circumstances, to support your students, your colleagues and to deliver the best possible public education across Ontario.

March marks a full year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a year that has been incredibly stressful and difficult, especially for those who work on the front lines.

Throughout the past several months, ETFO members have shown incredible resilience, professionalism and caring, working to provide excellent public education to students across the province under very difficult circumstances.

With the beginning of the school year quickly approaching as I write this in the first days of September, ETFO is ever more mindful of how important it is to get school reopening right and to ensure health and safety of both educators and students.

The summer issue of Voice is always our Women’s Issue. It is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women members, to talk about the value and impact of mentorship and women’s programs and to acknowledge both how far we have come as an organization and an advocate for social change, and how far we have yet to go.

As we worked on this women’s issue of Voice, I thought a lot about the importance of narrative, the stories we tell about ourselves and our social movements.

ETFO is continuing our work on the repealed portion of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum.

This issue of the magazine reminds us of the work we do in our classrooms and communities every day for equity, and of the tremendous amount of work that has yet to be done.

ETFO is committed to working toward a more just and equitable society.