Two years of the pandemic have disrupted the learning and development of Ontario's elementary and secondary school students. In particular, households with lower incomes and fewer resources have been hit hard.
Bouncing back will require strong government resolve, new policies and the funding to back it up.
Ontario's government must boost annual education investment by $4.3 billion a year to recover for lost time, according to Catching Up Together: A Plan for Ontario’s Schools.
Among 13 key recommendation, the reports calls for increasing teaching staff at all grade levels to allow for smaller class sizes, increasing pay rates for early childhood educators and eliminating mandatory e-learning and hybrid learning.
Public schools can be a great equalizer. Increasing funding is key to ensuring Ontario's students succeed.