Following are highlights from the latest report from People for Education. Note the section in the middle that mentions increased funding for ESL while the number of ESL teachers in the schools has decreased. This is something that has been talked about in TESL London board meetings, and now there is statistical proof that it is happening. The full report is posted on the People for Education web site at http://www.peopleforeducation.com.
Class sizes are smaller in elementary schools and there are fewer students on waiting lists for special education this year, but schools, students, and parents continue to lose valuable programs.
New government funding to reduce class size has resulted in an overall decline in the number of very large classes in elementary schools and, in primary grades, 36% of Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes now have 20 students or fewer.
While the percentage of schools with Music and Physical Education teachers remains well below 1997/98 levels, there has been no drop in the percentage of schools with these specialists since last year. We expect to see an improvement in these numbers next year when new specialist teacher funding is in place.
In September, the province will introduce policy requiring schools to provide students with at least 20 minutes of PHYSICAL ACTIVITY per day. Presently, schools with specialist physical education teachers are more likely to have more than 100 minutes per week of physical activity.
Only 6% of senior elementary schools had DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY TEACHERS, a 76% drop since 1998/99.
There are now 39,000 students on waiting lists for Special Education services, the first drop since 1999/00, but numbers on waiting lists remain 15% higher than in that year. The areas with the highest percentage of special education students are the least likely to have regular access to psychologists.
Schools continue to lose teacher-librarians - a 33% decline since 1997/98.
Despite increased funding for ESL programs and despite an increase in the number of new immigrants to Ontario, the percentage of schools with ESL teachers has declined again this year. In 1998/99, 41% of schools had ESL teachers; this year only 27% had this specialized staff.
New government policy on community use of schools has resulted in a dramatic increase in the percentage of schools reporting a reduction in the amounts charged to community groups for access to school buildings. Nearly every school board has signed agreements with the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation to provide community access at reduced rates to non-profit community groups.
Although
the province has provided boards with 2% increases in funding, for both salary
and non-salary costs the last two years in a row, there is still a gap between
the actual cost of staff and the amount of money the province provides to pay
for them. Boards receive approximately $6,000 less per teacher, secretary, or
principal, than boards actually pay. And in many boards this gap between what
things actually cost, and the benchmarks set in
the funding formula, remains at approximately 10%.