Latest news with #BobbiTaillefer
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Province finalizing teacher competency standards
Manitoba's independent education commissioner will have new powers to field and probe complaints about teacher performance in time for back-to-school season. Following a mid-summer consultation process that critics are calling 'hurried,' the Education Department is finalizing teacher competency standards for Sept. 2. A draft version suggests teachers must be knowledgeable about the curriculum, committed to student success and positive collegiality, foster a safe and inclusive environment and respect Indigenous people, languages and cultures. The approved list will replace a patchwork of expectations currently released by unions and employers. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Manitoba's independent education commissioner, Bobbi Taillefer, will have new powers to field and probe complaints about teacher performance in time for back-to-school season. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Manitoba's independent education commissioner, Bobbi Taillefer, will have new powers to field and probe complaints about teacher performance in time for back-to-school season. 'If I was a new teacher starting out, I think it would be reassuring to me to know what the standard is across the province,' said Bobbi Taillefer, who oversees the new teacher disciplinary process that came online in January. Taillefer said a soon-to-be-released regulation will make it easier for teachers to transition between schools and better align Manitoba with the rest of the country. People for Public Education is urging government officials to reconsider the decision to follow the lead of other jurisdictions. Members of the group, which is made up of academics, parents and other supporters of equitable, accessible and well-funded public schools, are accusing the province of rushing consultations over the summer break. 'It allows students, parents, others, the ability — if they feel its necessary — to make a complaint if they're not satisfied with the standards that a teacher is meeting.'–Bobbi Taillefer Melanie Janzen, one of its founding members, has asked the province to call off the project in its entirety, citing her research on the 'teacher competence movement.' Competence may sound like a 'common-sense notion,' but it is often motivated by efforts to deprofessionalize teachers and privatize public education, said Janzen, an education professor at the University of Manitoba. 'Imposing teacher competences undermines teacher professional judgment and autonomy, constitutes teaching as a simplistic and technical endeavour, and therefore engenders a narrative that 'anyone can teach,'' she wrote in an Aug. 13 submission to the province. Janzen later told the Free Press it is all but impossible to capture 'the intellectual, relational and ethical work that is teaching' in a written document. 1. The teacher has professional knowledge and implements professional instructional methods and practices. 2. The teacher is committed to student success, well-being and learning. 3. The teacher fosters a safe and inclusive environment. 4. The teacher is engaged with Indigenous students, families and communities. 5. The teacher fosters professional relationships in ways that are consistent with principles of equity, fairness and respect for others. — Manitoba Education's July 2025 proposed regulation consultation draft Education Minister Tracy Schmidt defended the initiative as one that will provide more transparency to parents. Schmidt noted that superintendents and other stakeholders, as well as members of the public, had an opportunity to weigh in on the draft. An online survey was up on EngageMB between July 16 and Saturday. The Manitoba Teachers' Society has requested that the province eliminate redundancies and broaden language to demand its members be engaged in reconciliation rather than explicit relationship-building with Indigenous families, because not all teachers will have students who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit. President Lillian Klausen said the union will support the standards 'if they're done right' and address teachers' needs, such as the time and funding required to complete professional development. 'Teachers aren't, on their own, responsible for all the competences when it comes to things like professional development,' said Klausen, who represents 16,600 public school teachers. She said she's hopeful that provincial standards will ensure school divisions fulfil their obligations to keep teachers up to date with best practices. Some teachers have reported their employers dialing back training opportunities in response to budget constraints and substitute shortages, Klausen noted. As Manitoba's inaugural commissioner of teacher professional conduct, Taillefer has been investigating allegations of misconduct since Jan. 6. In two weeks' time, her office will also look into concerns about teachers' ability to carry out their professional duties. 'It allows students, parents, others, the ability — if they feel its necessary — to make a complaint if they're not satisfied with the standards that a teacher is meeting,' Taillefer said. While noting some teachers are concerned about the possibility of facing vexatious or frivolous complaints, she said it will be fairly easy to dismiss cases that do not have merit. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. She cited the ability to quickly scan a teacher's résumé, including their participation in professional development, and access their employer's performance evaluations. The introduction of standards won't 'shock' the system, but rather formalize existing practices, Taillefer added. Her 30-year career in education includes overseeing the operational side of the MTS. The union has long-established standards of conduct via its code of professional practice. The first of 11 clauses in that document states a public school teacher's first professional responsibility is to their students. Among the others, MTS members are bound to principles of acting with integrity and diligence, avoiding conflicts of interest and respecting the confidential nature of information concerning students. Teacher Competence Standards Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
10-05-2025
- CBC
Winnipegger's teaching certificate suspended just weeks after sexual assault charges laid — unlike past cases
The teaching certificate of a Catholic school employee has been suspended within weeks of charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student being laid against him — a change from the months it previously could take to suspend teachers. Changes to Manitoba's Education Administration Act, which came into effect in January, created an independent teacher commissioner. The commissioner can freeze teacher credentials during an investigation — instead of waiting for a disciplinary hearing or a court process to be complete — if it is deemed necessary to protect students from harm. It ensure a "timely responsiveness and a process … to keep schools safe," said Bobbi Taillefer, Manitoba's first independent education commissioner. She oversees investigations and discipline of teachers, and posts discipline records on a public registry. Ketan Badiani's case may be an early indication of how the new legislation will work. The 58-year-old was escorted off the St. Maurice School campus in Fort Garry on March 17, after school administrators received a complaint from a high school student regarding unprofessional behaviour by the high school math teacher. His contract was terminated three days later, after further investigation, St. Maurice executive director Bryan Doiron previously told CBC News. Winnipeg police also investigated, and Badiani was arrested on April 11. Investigators believe the teacher gained the trust of a student in her mid-teens and forged an inappropriate relationship with her using private messaging on social media between October 2024 and March. He has since been charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and luring a person under 18 by telecommunication. Records from the Manitoba teacher's registry, containing the certification status of kindergarten to Grade 12 education professionals, show Badiani's certificate was still in good standing on April 17, the day Winnipeg police publicly released information on Badiani's charges. It is unclear when exactly Badiani's certificate was suspended. The information is neither disclosed in the province's registry nor provided by the commissioner. However, when CBC News reviewed the registry on May 2, Badiani's teaching certificate showed as suspended. Taillefer can't comment directly on Badiani's case, but she said a teacher's certificate can now be suspended while her office investigates a complaint or report of professional misconduct and before a disciplinary hearing is held to determine whether the teacher is guilty. The sole key concern for a certificate suspension lies in whether it is needed to protect students, Taillefer said. That authority to suspend certificates, which has only been in place since January, was first introduced in amendments to how Manitoba manages the teaching profession that were brought forward under the former Progressive Conservative government and later followed through on by the NDP, after they took office in 2023. "It's important for the province, frankly, to know that there are checks and balances in place to make sure that schools continue to be safe," Taillefer said. "We have legislation that we will follow that will allow for the protection of students." Before the creation of the commissioner, Manitoba's Education Department was responsible for suspending or cancelling a teacher's certificate. A spokesperson for the province said in "many cases," a final decision on a teacher's certificate was only made after court proceedings finished. In one case, a teacher's certificate wasn't cancelled until years after he was convicted of sexually touching a minor. Taillefer's investigations are independent of Manitoba's court system, which determines whether a teacher is criminally responsible. The independent commissioner's investigation and a subsequent licence suspension can happen before charges are tested in court, as in Badiani's case. 'Huge step forward' A spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection said putting a teacher on leave or suspending a certificate during an investigation, particularly in serious cases, "helps ensure student safety during the investigative process." "The priority must always be to first safeguard students if there is an identified risk," the statement said. Peter Hamer, a survivor of sexual abuse by a teacher and co-founder of the advocacy group Stop Educator Child Exploitation, says the process of investigating a complaint of misconduct can stretch over months, and it is important to prevent an accused teacher from moving to another school and regaining access to students. "The suspension … is a key component," Hamer said. But so is having a mechanism in place, like the online registry, to make that information publicly available, he said. While some might worry vindictive students could make false accusations against a teacher, Hamer said it is rare for such allegations to turn out to be a lie. "We're talking about a very serious accusation," he said. Before the new protocol came into effect, Manitoba was "one of the worst provinces" in addressing teacher misconduct, Hamer said, having no independent investigative body. But with the amendments to the legislation, the province is on track to having one of the best systems in the country, he said. "It is a huge step forward," he said. "I was really impressed with how it worked." There are still opportunities for improvement, he said. For instance, the registry falls short of being entirely transparent, as it doesn't show the reason for a certificate's suspension or cancellation, unlike in other provinces — important information for parents and employers outside schools. Hamer would also like to see more training involving staff and students. Staff at Manitoba schools are required to complete a mandatory training course on sexual abuse prevention that needs to be renewed every four years. "A lot of times, people don't know what to look for," Hamer said. "It's so challenging these days with social media," where grooming or abuse can happen out of the public eye, and "often the student isn't aware that what's happening is going to lead to something bad." The student who said she was sexually assaulted by Badiani reported the teacher quicker than most survivors and victims, Hamer said. With more information provided at schools, reports could come in when a teacher's conduct starts crossing the line and ideally before students are assaulted, he said. "We don't want victims. We want people to understand the process that a lot of sexual predators use in order to gain trust, in order to push the boundaries," Hamer said. "We owe it to the students."
