The New Ministry of Education Policy Document:
Growing Success The Policy and Its Implementation by Private Schools

 

1. New from the Ministry: Growing Success, Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, Grades 1-12, 2010

Private schools are required to begin implementation of the Ministry of Education’s new assessment, evaluation and reporting policy document, Growing Success. This session will outline key policies and messages in the document and will help schools better understand changes in areas such as:

• Assessment as learning, assessment for learning
• Assessment of learning and evaluation
• Learning skills and work habits
• Report card

Presenter: Ms. Beth Lisser has been in education for more than 13 years in a variety of roles. She has taught in many secondary schools in Peel, has been an author and consultant for several different textbook publishers and was a Secondary Instructional Resource Teacher responsible for providing professional development both centrally and in schools. Beth is currently on a secondment to York University’s Faculty of Education, teaching preservice Teacher Candidates. Beth attended the Ministry’s initial Growing Success Assessment and Evaluation Symposium and has provided inservice sessions to a variety of stakeholders about the policy document. Beth has an M.Ed and B.Ed from OISE and in 2009, received an Award of Distinction from the Peel District School Board.

2. Changes in Ministry Inspection

The inspection report, along with other documents related to the inspection process have undergone revision. Over lunch, Mr. Tony Di Lena, Coordinator of Private Schools & Attendance will outline the changes that impact the Ministry’s inspection requirements.

Presenter: Mr. Anthony Di Lena Mr. Di Lena is the Coordinator of Private Schools and Attendance for the Ministry of Education. His responsibilities include policy development and oversight of inspection of private schools. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Di Lena was the Manager with the Student Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, for the Ministry.  He has been with the Ministry since 2000 and was directly involved with the Student Success Initiative since its inception in 2003. During his tenure at the Ministry of Education, he has worked diligently to build bridges with superintendents, principals, guidance counsellors, and teachers, in the interest of establishing strong comprehensive programs that support and enhance school improvement and student achievement. In his current role, he is working to enhance communication between the Ministry and the private school community, with the aim of providing effective direction and advice to this sector.

3. Implications for Practice

The afternoon session will be dedicated to the practical implications of the above changes and revisions. Schools will need to revise assessment and evaluation practices, develop new report cards, and develop policies and procedures for late assignments, plagiarism and cheating. Participants will be provided with templates and real-world recommendations for managing the changes in their schools. In addition, workshop facilitator will guide schools through the new approach Ministry inspectors are taking in observation of classroom lessons.