In the wake of discouraging results in the provincewide EQAO math tests, the Ontario government is offering parents cash to get help for their kids.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement in Toronto on Thursday.
Lecce says the work stoppages prior to the pandemic and then the pandemic itself significantly impacted learning, and he claims the province has a plan to help tackle that. He says part of that plan is keeping kids in class, with a potential strike by the union representing Ontario’s education support workers looming.
"We can not improve math scores if children face the perennial threat of strikes, withdrawing services where kids don't get a report card to assess their academic performance," Lecce stated.
That comment follows a release of EQAO test scores that saw middling results for math, particularly in Grade 9 test scores. Only 52 per cent met the provincial standard compared to 75 per cent before the pandemic.
To tackle these issues, Lecce pointed to what the provincial government claims are "historic" investments in the education sector to help students catch up on learning.
"That includes 600 million more dollars for this school year compared to the year prior. In addition we've delivered a 426 per cent increase to support student mental health. We've delivered an historic high in special education, 92 million dollars more this year alone, and in practical terms it means 3,200 more educational assistants are in our schools since we took office to help those with special needs," Lecce claimed.
Lecce also claimed that there are over 8,000 more educational staff in schools this year with over 1,000 of those being what he termed "frontline educators."
With regards to new supports, Lecce says the province is putting forth a plan to improve reading and math skills.
"We are expanding tutoring supports until the end of the fiscal year, in every school board in this province, with a focus on math and literacy, with more than 175 million dollars provided. This free, publicly funded tutoring program will support even more students as they catch up, and to date, 170,000 students have benefitted," Lecce said. "We are implementing a new provincewide literacy screening program for the first time in this province's history. Every child will soon be assessed for their reading skills from Kindergarten, to Grade 2. The program includes supports for those kids that are behind, effectively developing this foundation to build student confidence."
Lecce continued on the math front.
"To improve math scores, we also have a plan, and this school year the government is investing $50-million specifically for math to deliver more school based math coaches, new digital math tools within the classroom, more one-on-one tutoring, and additional supports to improve teacher training," Lecce added.
In terms of direct funding for parents, Lecce announced a new "catch-up" fund that parents can apply for online to help their kids improve their studies.
"Parents across Ontario can apply for Ontario's catch-up payments starting today. To put it simply, that means parents with school aged children up to 18 can receive $200 for every child, and parents with school aged children with special education needs up to 21-years-old, will be able to receive $250," Lecce shared.
Lecce says parents can visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/catch-up-payments to apply for the funding, which will be available until March 31, 2023.
A brief question period was opened up to gathered media, and Lecce was asked how the government can be confident that parents won't use the money for other financial struggles given the state of the economy and rising prices. Lecce simply stated he "trusts Ontario parents to do the right thing and invest in their kids."
"Look, I trust parents to make the right decisions for their kids, I trust all parents in this province to make the best decisions for the kids that they love. I know they will do the right thing because we've done this multiple times before, and I know they're putting those dollars to good use for before and after school programs, for learning and literacy development, for technology, this all helps," said Lecce.
The Education Minister was then asked why the government doesn't simply take this new funding for parents and use it to improve the offer to the union representing educational support workers, who will be in a legal strike position in early November.
"I think we can invest more in our schools and increase support to parents, it's not an either-or proposition. We believe in providing more investment, to the highest levels ever recorded under this Progressive Conservative government, in addition to providing over 1.6 billion dollars of direct financial payments to parents," Lecce responded.
A question was then posed to Minister Lecce regarding tutoring costs, with average tutoring costs of upwards of $80 for most specialized tutoring, meaning the $200 would amount to just over two hours per child under this new catch-up payment plan. Lecce stated that the government believes providing more direct support to parents is important during this "economic difficulty."
"We have done this before, and we're reaffirming our commitment to provide support to parents today. We think parents will put the dollars to work. They could buy technology, it could be a variety of tools, resources and textbooks, things that aid their child in getting back on track," Lecce said.
Lecce concluded by stating it is critical that a strike does not affect students and staff he says are "thrilled" to be back in classrooms, and he says that simply must not be disrupted.
"That shouldn't be disrupted because of a strike, and I believe if we're going to meet this challenge (of catching students up), let's work together to provide a deal that keeps kids in school, and in the meantime, we're gonna continue to increase supports for parents, students and schools across this province," Lecce concluded.