Beyond 3:30 Multi-Year Evaluation for Model Schools for Inner Cities (MSIC) Program
May 2022, Updated 2024
Beyond 3:30 (B3:30) is an after-school program which provides multifaceted programming on school premises to Grades 6-8 students, and more recently, also to Grades 3-5 students. Most recently, the Phase III summative evaluation of B3:30 studied students’ experiences with B3:30, its impacts and ripple effects, and conditions for program effectiveness, while expanding upon the cumulative findings from the Phase I and Phase II Evaluations.
Literature Review on Meritocratic Perceptions of Public Education and Diverse Learning Opportunities
May 2023, Updated May 2024
This literature review looks at merit-based ideologies and the impact of these ideologies on society and education systems.
School During the Pandemic
2019-20 – 2022-23
The Research and Development department is monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on students, families, and staff in order to support schools and the system in adapting to change and planning for the future. As the pandemic continues, we are committed to disaggregating and analyzing results in more depth; building upon key areas of interest/concern from results through student and staff engagement; developing student voice; understanding experiences within ongoing practice and policy in close partnership with other departments within the TDSB; and collecting current and relevant data to support ongoing decision-making.
Trends in Toronto District School Board Special Education Data: 2016-2022
December 2022
This report provides information on trends in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB)’s special education data from the 2016-17 school year through to preliminary data from the 2022-23 school year.
A Collaborative Approach to Outdoor Learning Support in Schools: Evaluation Findings 2021-22
September 2022
This report outlines evaluation findings from the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) Toronto Outdoor Education Schools (TOES) Outdoor Learning Support to Schools initiative. To support teachers to integrate outdoor learning into their daily practice, TOES aimed to create a collaborative model of learning between Outdoor Education and classroom teachers focused on outdoor learning-based curriculum to increase outdoor learning opportunities for students and teachers.
Addressing Educational Debt in Adolescent Literacy (DIAL), Year 1 Report
September 2021
The TDSB is committed to addressing intermediate learners in our schools who are not yet reading at or close to grade level. This negatively impacts student’s educational outcomes and their development of a positive reading identity. The report provides a high-level overview of how the DIAL initiative was experienced by practitioners thus far, with some emerging information about impacts of this work on educators, students, and classrooms.
Anti-Racism Directorate Partnership: Black Student Success and Excellence Initiative and the Pre-Kindergarten Summer Learning Program
April 2021
The TDSB partnership with the ARD focuses on ensuring Black students obtain successful learning experiences in schools. The partnership focuses on two specific related but distinct initiatives in TDSB:
The Black Student Success and Excellence (BSSE) Initiative
The Pre-Kindergarten Summer Learning Program
This mid-year report provides an overview of the actions taken within the initiatives in core areas.
Some Calls to Action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission as Relevant to Education Workers
2021
As we continue grappling with news from the Kamloops Residential School, it’s imperative for Canadians to read and respond to calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) and calls to justice from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry (2019). We have highlighted some calls as they apply to education workers in particular. For more information, visit the Urban Indigenous Education Centre, which plays a primary role in supporting Indigenous education in the TDSB.
The Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement Research Studies
The Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement is the first of its kind in public education in Canada. The Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement is dedicated to improving the experiences and outcomes for Black students and aims to be responsive to the voices of Black communities who continue to advocate for systemic change within educational institutions and for dismantling anti-Black racism at the TDSB.
The Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement has nine mandates which reflect an ongoing commitment to foster authentic, reciprocal engagement between Black families, communities, and service providers. Some of the recommendations from education partners identified the need for Black students to have access to programs through The Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement and more importantly, connecting with organizations and post-secondary schools to execute this vision. Their recommendations are outlined in these studies.
Working Towards Anti-Oppressive Schools – Lessons from WE Charity: A Critical Review
February 2021
In August 2020, TDSB’s Board of Trustees proposed to suspend its current agreements with WE Charity/ME to WE and any other related organizations in light of increasing media scrutiny on the organization (TDSB, 2020b). Further research about the impact of WE on students and schools suggests alongside media scrutiny due in part to the federal funding scandal (CBC, 2020) and other concerns regarding the organization’s practices both locally and globally (Brown, 2020; Lilley, 2020). Even though the TDSB will be suspending its agreements with WE, to prevent collaboration with similar organizations in the future, it is critical to build capacity to center core pedagogical competencies that help staff and students think critically about issues of social justice as a key life skill, and teach competencies that help students and staff understand oppression to be a result of ongoing, pervasive, and institutionalized structures than just a result of individual biases or prejudices.