PC Caucus releases education white paper
NEWS RELEASE
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington-Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2013
PC Caucus releases education white paper
(Queen’s Park) – On January 24, the Ontario PC Caucus released Paths to Prosperity: Preparing
Students for the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century, a white paper on Ontario’s education system.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott has always maintained that education is crucial to the future
success of Ontario.
“The future of our province is dependent upon success in our schools,” said Mr. Arnott. “We must always
encourage a culture of continuous improvement in our schools, working in collaboration with teachers
and parents. But most importantly, we must always put the needs of our students first.”
Mr. Arnott believes that Ontario’s teachers play a vital role.
“The vast majority of teachers are caring and dedicated professionals, who just want to teach. They
have the important task of providing our children with the skills and knowledge they will need, while
fostering a love of learning that needs to be lifelong,” he added.
Among the ideas included in the white paper are:
• Identifying the schools where students fail to meet province-wide test standards and re-investing
more effectively in those schools to improve performance.
• Producing well-rounded students, ready to deal with life. Schools need to do their part to combat
childhood obesity and to prepare our children for the financial responsibilities that adulthood
brings. Implement a strong curriculum in arts, physical education, and financial literacy that will
help students develop vital life skills.
• Working with principals, the College of Teachers, school boards, and federations to adopt a
definition of the academic work day that reflects what teachers already do. This would include
timely and detailed report cards, meeting with parents, and after-school help for those who need
it.
• Delaying the expansion of full-day kindergarten until the budget is balanced and conducting a
thorough review of the benefits achieved by the program so far before proceeding with a full
rollout.
• Starting a student safety protocol that begins with a comprehensive bill to deal with every aspect
of the bullying problem.
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Mr. Arnott stressed that the ideas brought forward by the white paper are not campaign commitments.
Instead, they are a series of ideas that the PC Caucus is bringing forward to create a dialogue with
Ontarians.
“This is intended to continue our discussion on the issues that matter to Ontarians,” Mr. Arnott said.
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The education white paper is the 9 in a series of white papers that the PC Caucus has released.
Previous papers range from issues such as energy and the economy to health care and public sector
reform.
All the white papers are available on the Ontario PC website at: https://www.ontariopc.com/paths-to-
prosperity/.
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Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-325-3880
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org