Toronto District School Board
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Staff Inspiration and Support

We are proud that our staff are among the most dedicated and qualified in the world. We have nearly 38,000 dedicated professionals who support our students every day. And, to move forward as an innovator and leader in education, we must support the continued development of our entire staff.

Professional learning and training offers our staff the skills, knowledge and practices to be more effective in their roles. We also focus on leadership development, which is essential to ensure continued success for all current and future TDSB leaders. Through programming and a system-wide culture of mentoring, we provide assistance to all staff in achieving their leadership goals and to strategically support succession planning.

Professional development was offered to school administrators and superintendents to build capacity on how to infuse parent engagement and community partnerships into school improvement plans, staff meetings and school culture.

A focus was on improving classroom to home communications and better supporting parent councils. A professional learning series was also offered to staff across the Board to build cultural competence and enable staff to maximize their potential to serve all students effectively.

Supporting educators in infusing Aboriginal perspectives, cultures and histories into curriculum was a focus this year. A series of professional development sessions highlighting best practices in Aboriginal education were conducted. In addition, 28 new elementary and secondary teachers also participated in 3.5 days of professional learning with a focus on Aboriginal education and collaborative teacher inquiry.

To help support staff working with special education students, a new guide was developed to assist teachers and school administrators writing Individual Education Plans (IEP). Sample IEPs were developed for a number of areas, which will be a resource for staff to create consistent documents and practices across the system.

We are actively developing a new, online self-serve tool for staff that will improve service within the Board through improved efficiency and accuracy of data. Once launched, staff will be able to access their personal information in a convenient, secure and user-friendly application. Managers will also be able to see their team's information and provide them with a tool for key measurements including budget.

We are incredibly proud of the work that we have accomplished together and we would not be here without the focus, dedication and commitment of our staff. It is because of the strong and healthy relationships between staff and our students and parents that our school communities thrive.