Learning
Enrolment is down at Toronto schools, but even fewer teachers are entering the field. Student mental health is not improving overall, and it’s worse for female students.
Teacher shortages are widespread, as new teacher rates are falling faster than enrolment.
- Enrolment at Toronto school boards has declined overall by 3% in the last five years, driven by a 6% decrease in elementary students. Though, it should be noted that secondary-school enrolment has increased by 3%.xxxviii
- Yet, schools are facing chronic teacher shortages because the number of new teachers is falling far faster than enrolment (provincially less than half, compared to a decade ago). Additionally, retirements and personal leaves have increased.xxxix
- The extent of shortages can be seen in TDSB elementary schools, where only 74% of calls for substitute teachers were filled. And the use of emergency staff (non-certified, community members) has more than doubled in the past two school years.xl,xli
- Schools where more students are racialized, have special needs or come from low-income families face the greatest staffing challenges.xlii
The student mental health crisis is not improving.
- The number of Ontario students in grades 7 through 12 reporting fair to poor mental health doubled between 2017 and 2021, from 19% to 38%, and remained at 38% in 2023.xliii
- One in two female students is reporting poor or fair mental health, compared to approximately one in five male students — a slight decline for girls and an improvement for boys since 2021.xliv
- More than half of students (51%) are reporting they have serious-to-moderate psychological distress, up from 47% in 2021. This includes a significant increase for female students (68% in 2023, up from 57% in 2021), while the rate remained unchanged for male students at 35%).xlv
ENDNOTES:
Infographics:
1. Jones, Allison. (October 2, 2024). Ontario teacher shortage to worsen in 2027, ministry document warns. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-teacher-shortage-ministry-of-educaiton-1.7339837
2a. Teotonio, Isabel. (2024, January 7). A ‘crisis’ in GTA school staffing shortages is leading to cancelled classes, burnout and mounting pressures. Principals are sounding the alarm. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/a-crisis-in-gta-school-staffing-shortages-is-leading-to-cancelled-classes-burnout-and-mounting/article_3ba6c71c-9a00-11ee-9654-fb2ba9e206c4.html
2b. Teotonio, Isabel. (2024, June 8). The person leading your child’s classroom may be a parent, grandparent or lunchroom supervisor — not an actual teacher. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/the-person-leading-your-childs-classroom-may-be-a-parent-grandparent-or-lunchroom-supervisor-not/article_c9a7d47a-17b4-11ef-8004-5f1ee996b9ed.html
Data:
- xxxviii 1) Ontario Ministry of Education, Education funding for school boards 2024–2025, https://www.ontario.ca/page/education-funding-2024-25. 2) Ontario Ministry of Education, Archived — Education funding for school boards 2023–2023, https://www.ontario.ca/page/education-funding-2023-24. 3) Ontario Ministry of Education, Archived — Education funding for school boards 2022–2023, https://www.ontario.ca/page/education-funding-2022-23. Note: Total enrolment was calculated by adding enrolment at the four publicly funded school boards. Enrollment at private schools is not included. In 2018/2019, elementary-school enrolment was 260,008, secondary-school enrolment was 102,126 and total enrolment was 362,134. For 2023–2024 (revised estimates), elementary-school enrolment was 245,125, secondary-school enrolment was 104,824 and total enrolment was 349,949.
- xxxix Jones, Allison. (October 2, 2024). Ontario teacher shortage to worsen in 2027, ministry document warns. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-teacher-shortage-ministry-of-educaiton-1.7339837
- xl Teotonio, Isabel. (2024, January 7). A ‘crisis’ in GTA school staffing shortages is leading to cancelled classes, burnout and mounting pressures. Principals are sounding the alarm. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/a-crisis-in-gta-school-staffing-shortages-is-leading-to-cancelled-classes-burnout-and-mounting/article_3ba6c71c-9a00-11ee-9654-fb2ba9e206c4.html
- xli Teotonio, Isabel. (2024, June 8). The person leading your child’s classroom may be a parent, grandparent or lunchroom supervisor — not an actual teacher. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/the-person-leading-your-childs-classroom-may-be-a-parent-grandparent-or-lunchroom-supervisor-not/article_c9a7d47a-17b4-11ef-8004-5f1ee996b9ed.html
- xlii Teotonio, Isabel. (2024, June 8). The person leading your child’s classroom may be a parent, grandparent or lunchroom supervisor — not an actual teacher. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/the-person-leading-your-childs-classroom-may-be-a-parent-grandparent-or-lunchroom-supervisor-not/article_c9a7d47a-17b4-11ef-8004-5f1ee996b9ed.html
- xliii CAMH (2024). The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS). https://www.camh.ca/en/science-and-research/institutes-and-centres/institute-for-mental-health-policy-research/ontario-student-drug-use-and-health-survey---osduhs
- xliv 53.9% of female students and 22.4% of male students.
- xlv Note that the increase is not statistically significant between 2021 and 2023. CAMH (2024). The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS). https://www.camh.ca/en/science-and-research/institutes-and-centres/institute-for-mental-health-policy-research/ontario-student-drug-use-and-health-survey---osduhs