Trouble in the Principal’s Office
The problems in Toronto schools end up in the office, where principals and vice-principals say they’re overwhelmed and struggling to keep up.
Fewer Caretakers, Dirtier Schools
Sticky floors, rodent infestations, uncleared ice, overflowing toilets—Toronto schools are showing the effects of years of slashing caretaker jobs.
How Decades of Underfunding Eroded Toronto’s Schools
In the largest city in one of the richest countries, Toronto's public school system should be world class. So why are students heading back to school in crumbling buildings without enough staff to meet their needs?
Failing Our Students
Toronto’s public education system has been underfunded for decades. Kids are paying the price.
Excluded: The Legal Loophole Barring Hundreds of Ontario Students From School
A little-known provision gives school principals blanket authority to exclude “detrimental” students from class. Advocates say it’s being abused, and the province isn't paying enough attention.
Promised Childcare Centres Delayed by Provincial Red Tape, says TDSB
Six years after the ministry of education greenlit 28 new childcare centres, construction hasn’t even begun, leaving parents in underserved corners of Toronto struggling to find care.
After a Voided Election, A Surge of Interest in a French School Trustee Race
Last fall, a French school trustee election imploded when it emerged that no one running actually spoke French. Now the by-election in Viamonde Ward 3 — Centre has a crowded slate of eager candidates and an increase in voter enrollment.
How York Memorial Students Got Blamed for the TDSB’s Mistakes
Sensational reports about violence have dominated the narrative around York Memo, ignoring the reality of how, despite warnings, the Board’s decisions have devastated students' access to education.
The Mysterious French School Trustee Candidates Who Don’t Speak French
When parents at the Viamonde school board became suspicious of the only two trustee candidates running in their ward, they investigated. Now one candidate says he’s ready to resign, as the controversy threatens the legitimacy of the entire election.
Everything You Need to Know About School Trustees
We don’t elect people to oversee any other specific public service. But maybe we should?
How to Feed the Future
Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program—instead, we have piecemeal provincially-funded programs that are leaving children behind.
Tracking COVID-19 in Toronto Schools
A data blog about the pandemic's effects on the city’s 800 public schools.
Fires, Plagues and Also High School
Their school burned down, they survived a pandemic, and endured the ordinary teenage heartbreaks and triumphs under extraordinary conditions. Within the chaos, these York Memorial students found each other and their purpose.
Two School Shootings, 15 Years Apart
The 2007 shooting of Jordan Manners sparked a massive review of school safety. With another fatal shooting last month, advocates are asking what has changed, and what hasn’t, in the years since.
The Kids Left Behind
Shuttered autism services, kids caring for younger siblings, undiagnosed developmental conditions—for many students, the losses of the last two years go well beyond school closures.
Childcare is an Essential Service and a Dysfunctional Business
With ECEs fleeing the industry and a federal childcare deal on the horizon, now is the time to fix a long-broken system.
How to Keep Schools Open
None of it’s easy. All of it’s urgent.
Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy at Alternative Schools
High vaccine exemption rates have long been a feature at Toronto alternative schools, but as COVID vaccines roll out to kids, there’s a new urgency to reach these hesitant parents.
Inside the Push to Bring Vaccines to the Schools That Need Them Most
As shots for kids roll out, a small group of exhausted vaccine veterans build what they hope will be their final pop-up clinics.
Trapped in the Ivory Basement
In Toronto's booming public community colleges, part-time educators get none of the privileges of cushy academic jobs. Instead, they are overworked, underpaid, and even pushed out of their union.