Parent-teacher interviews used as bargaining chip
With talks deadlocked, province agreed that elementary teachers can choose to opt out of meetings
Elementary teachers will not be forced to do parent-teacher interviews this fall, as part of a compromise to reach a deal with their union, the Star has learned.
In the hours before a tentative agreement was reached Monday with the Ele- mentary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, talks hit a huge snag, with the union demanding that teachers not complete fall report cards and the government balking, sources say — so, instead, interviews were sacrificed.
The union confirmed to the Star that, as during their recent work-to-rule action, meetings about progress reports will still only be “initiated at the teacher’s discretion if the teacher identifies a concern about a child’s progress.”
“As always, teachers remain committed to ongoing communications with par- ents/guardians regarding student progress,” said the statement from an ETFO spokesperson, who would not explain why parents still can’t request meetings this fall — even though the job action was suspended as soon as news of Monday’s tentative agreement was released.
“Why upset the people you want to support you?” said one observer, noting that during the recent labour unrest ETFO had issued a plea to families titled “We need your help.”
“I really do believe that if parents want to touch base . . . teachers are going to respond.” LIZ SANDALS EDUCATION MINISTER
However, it is unclear if union locals will follow the directive, given that at least one Toronto elementary school is already booking teacher interviews over three days next week.
“ETFO does not send, with this clause, a very respectful message to parents about what they know about their own children and issues they would like to initiate about the children they share with elementary school teachers,” said Charles Pascal, a former Ontario deputy minister of education.
“The default is that if kids are doing OK with their grades and assessment and homework, that’s all that’s necessary — when in fact there may be other issues that suggest a meeting. I am surprised” the move was agreed to, said Pascal, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
“And I would be equally surprised if teachers actually exercise that clause, in their behaviour. I would be very surprised if parents requesting a meeting didn’t get a positive response from our elementary school teachers.”
At Queen’s Park, Education Minister Liz Sandals declined to discuss details of the ETFO settlement, as did the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, which was also party to the deal.
“I’m sure there’s all sorts of rumours flying, that’s what always happens. I’m not going to comment on specifics of the deal until it’s ratified,” said Sandals. “But what I would say is that we know that teachers want to get back to doing the job. We know that part of the job is communicating with parents. I really do believe that if parents want to touch base with teachers about ‘how is my child doing,’ the teachers are going to respond.”
“Clearly what we’ve said all along is that it’s really important that parents know how their kids are doing,” she stressed, adding, “I totally believe that the teachers are professional, that they will want to respond to requests from parents.”
In the past, boards have typically scheduled a night of interviews or set aside a professional activity day — Friday, Nov. 13, for the Toronto District School Board — for additional time slots. However, because of teachers’ job action this fall, progress reports are going out by Dec. 11 at the latest, well past the usual Nov. 20 deadline.
Because of the work-to-rule, meet-the-teacher or curriculum nights were cancelled in the fall, so parents may not have had any contact with their child’s teacher this school year.
Annie Kidder, of the advocacy group People for Education, said parent-teacher interviews are very important, and “a rich source of information and should accompany every report.”
A number of Ontario boards said they were in talks with the union locals to figure out report card timing. Sources say the deal between ETFO and the government and school boards contains a provision that allows for a “reasonable” return-to-normal period, as well as two weeks for teachers to submit report card comments and input assessments — which for this report aren’t grades but measures such as E for excellent, and check-marks indicating how a child is progressing — once the deal is ratified. Sources say the deal also has a signed agreement that interviews cannot be demanded of teachers.