Anti-Black Racism 

Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate defines anti-Black racism as prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and its legacy. Anti-Black racism is deeply embedded in Canadian institutions, policies and practices such that it is normalized or deemed invisible to the larger white society.” - Ontario College of Teachers, Professional Advisory on Anti-Black Racism, p.1

In this five-module course school leaders will: deepen their understanding of anti-Black racism and the current ways it exists in educational institutions today; and critically examine school practices and approaches through a variety of tangible, researched-based strategies to actively address and disrupt anti-Black racism in their schools and learning environments.

Course dates have concluded for 2023-24.

There are no assessments or formal completion criteria for this program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact learning@principals.ca.

Antisemitism

This course will support school leaders in naming, stopping, actively addressing, disrupting and dismantling Antisemitism in their schools and learning environments.   

To understand Antisemitism, one needs to start by understanding both historical and contemporary Judaism. Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hate with unique characteristics that distinguish it from other prejudices and hostilities.

In this five-module course, school leaders will:

• deepen their understanding of Antisemitism and its historical and present day manifestations in society and in spaces of education
• participants will critically examine Jewish identity and diversity
• take a trip to Ancient Judea to learn how anti-Judaism first developed
• learn about Antisemitism during exile and the progression of antisemitic ideologies as they morphed from religious to racial Antisemitism
• learn how racial supremacism was combined with socioeconomic discontents after WWI to produce a most virulent strain of Antisemitism during the Holocaust, and
• learn about what Zionism is and isn’t and about the role of Israel in Jewish identity as we look at examples of modern manifestations of Antisemitism.

Anticipated for Fall 2024

Participants will explore the ideas and strategies for building and managing relationships in their professional leadership roles.  Effective communication, understanding diverse perspectives and recognizing biases, and conflict mediation will be explored.

Facilitated by practising principals with diverse experiences in various education settings, this module focuses on fostering and facilitating relationships with staff, students, and the school community to:

• Develop self-awareness of personal leadership resources;
• Understand implicit and explicit biases and perspectives, and;
• Navigate conflict, through mediation strategies. 

Course dates have concluded for 2023-24.

There are no assessments or formal completion criteria for this program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact learning@principals.ca.

“The only thing that is certain, is that nothing is certain.”  If there was ever a more fitting time in education to quote this paradox, the time would be now. The unexpected Pandemic crisis became a catalyst for educators to radically change practice in ways no one had really imagined. As a result, we have seen new possibilities in education that seemed impossible a short time ago. In addition, rapidly changing social, political, technological and economic realities have added pressure to school systems to adapt. Educators now have an exciting (and daunting) window of opportunity to reimagine our education system. Given that nothing is certain, how do we begin to dialogue about the Future of Schools? 

This course will explore emerging educational theories, mindsets and bold leadership moves that will support you in preparing yourself and your school community for the future.

Open to school and system leaders.

Format: This course is a self-paced and asynchronous learning experience that will be using journaling and moderated discussion within the course modules throughout the summer.

Course Dates: July 2 - August 30, 2024

Facilitator: Lisa Hascal, York Region District School Board

Cost: 

Member and Associates - $350 + HST *Login required

Non-Members - $440 + HST

Register

*Please note the following:

• Registration closes - June 16, 2024
• This program will run on sufficient enrollment. We will notify you after registration closes to confirm. If the course moves forward, we will send a Canvas invitation for access to the course modules.

There are no assessments or formal completion criteria for this program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact learning@principals.ca.

Striking a Balance: Practical Strategies for Taking Control of Your Workflow

This 5-module course focuses on the individual and personal wellness strategies.

It will provide a space where you can spend time navigating what is in your control to help balance everything you have going on as a leader in your schools as well as a leader in your own life.  It will help you identify the barriers that may stop you from creating a balance and decreasing stress levels. We will use the Ontario Leadership Framework, specifically the Personal Leadership Resources, to focus the conversations and to build the confidence, wellness and habits that can positively impact how you show up in your workplace and lead effectively. 

There are only 4 synchronous sessions which will help you have time to implement the strategies in time for the next synchronous session. These modules are meant to help you decrease your workload, not increase it.  This course is bringing your work and home life into perspective and helping you make a plan to minimize the amount of clutter we hold in our brains and open it up to clear actionable steps.

This course is about you.

It will help you to create a roadmap that identifies the goals and the route that are most relevant to you, your experiences and your development as a leader. To support this, the course includes one-on-one coaching time with the facilitator. This work will change your perspective, the way you wake up each morning, and the narrative you tell yourself each day.

Course dates have concluded for 2023-24.

There are no assessments or formal completion criteria for this program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact learning@principals.ca.

Muslim students have been attending our schools for over a century and have been steadily growing in numbers since the 1960s. As administrators work towards building inclusive schools for everyone, conversations around Muslim students and families need to shift from a focus on accommodations to a focus on inclusive curriculum and responsive pedagogies.

This eight-module course delves deeper into understanding Canadian Muslims by discussing a number of relevant topics for school leaders, such as the diversity of the Muslim community, perspectives of Muslim youth, challenging Islamophobia in schools, considerations of building inclusive schools, addressing contemporary issues, and more. Through the lens of Muslim learners, participants will gain the necessary knowledge to better serve all students, families, and staff in our schools.

Course dates have concluded for 2023-24.

There are no assessments or formal completion criteria for this program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact learning@principals.ca.

Online facilitated learning courses draw from the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice. Our online facilitated learning courses have a combination of asynchronous and synchronous components. This structure is intended to recognize the demands that school leaders have on their time, while providing essential opportunities to collaborate and engage in discussions to critically reflect and solidify learning. 

Participants in online facilitated learning are expected to: 

• demonstrate honesty, responsibility and trust in the submission and representation of their academic work and related professional experiences 

• be respectful, collaborative and inclusive through their interactions, assignments, synchronous and asynchronous dialogue/discussions and any other form of communication 

• be open to receiving feedback from facilitators and peers, using it constructively to improve their learning

• Engage in learning activities and complete all required tasks and assignments as outlined at the start of the course and 

• demonstrate a commitment to their own learning and growth throughout the course, actively seeking opportunities to expand their knowledge and understanding by attending all synchronous session and engage in all course dialogue / discussions.

All participants should communicate with the course facilitator(s) if there is an issue with completing coursework or attending synchronous sessions.