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The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
-language public-separate school board for
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, headquartered in
North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
. It is one of the two
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
boards of education in the City of Toronto, serving the former municipalities of
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
,
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
,
East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
,
Old Toronto Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York Co ...
and
Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
. With 92,000 students, the TCDSB is one of the largest school boards in Canada, and is the largest publicly funded Catholic school board in the world. Until 1998, it was known as the Metropolitan Separate School Board (MSSB) as an anglophone and francophone separate school district.


History

On April 2, 1953, the ''Metropolitan Separate School Board'' (french: Les Conseil des écoles catholiques du Grand Toronto), officially known as the Metropolitan Toronto Roman Catholic Separate School Board (MTRCSSB) was formed as the governing body of all publicly funded
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
schools in Toronto through the merger of several separate boards in
Metro Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, which ...
. The merger was passed through Bill 37, the Metropolitan Separate School Board Act. At its peak, the board operated 185 anglophone and 6 francophone elementary schools and 41 anglophone and 1 francophone secondary schools as of 1990 with 100,000 students attended all MSSB schools. The MSSB took over seven high schools transferred from the Metropolitan Toronto School Board (MTSB) in 1988, with one of them being a francophone Catholic high school, the institution that has been lost since 1968. The MSSB was the largest school board in Canada at the time. In 1997, as a result of Bill 104, the ''Fewer School Boards Act'', the boards were reorganized resulting in the separation of English and
French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
schools. The MSSB became known as ''English-language Separate District School Board No. 40'' and renamed itself to the ''Toronto Catholic District School Board'' in 1999 while the former ''Section de langue française'' unit became part of the new ''French-language Separate District School Board No. 64'' which later became
Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir ( en, My Future Catholic School Board) is a Roman Catholic French first language public- separate school board that manages elementary and secondary schools in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board o ...
. The board headquarters were located on Duke Street, then Jarvis Street, and the MSSB moved its operations in 1964 to 150 Laird Drive, the former headquarters of
Durant Motors Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers who financed GM. Corporate relationships Durant Motors attempted t ...
and later, Imperial Oil. In 1982, the board moved to its current administrative headquarters and offices on 80 Sheppard Avenue East. The school board also had the offices for ''Section de langue française'' on Drewry Avenue, opened in 1989 in the former
Lewis S. Beattie Secondary School Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
, though it has since been occupied by Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir as its administrative offices.


Organization

The Toronto Catholic District School Board mission statement relies on as "an inclusive learning community uniting home, parish and school and rooted in the love of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
" that "educates students to grow in grace and knowledge and to lead lives of ''faith, hope and charity''." The vision encourages learning communities of the Board to "transform the world through ''witness, faith, innovation and action''." The school board is governed by 12 elected trustees who serve for a four-year term. Each year one secondary school student is selected to serve on the board as a student trustee (who is not entitled to vote). The chair of the board, the vice-chair, and the honorary treasurer are elected at the inaugural meeting of the board, and serve for one year. As of August 2013, Ann Andrachuk serves as chair, and Sal Piccininni serves as vice-chair. Trustees are paid $18,500 a year in salary, and can claim up to $18,000 for expenses. Prior to the 1998 separation of French-language schools, the Metropolitan Separate School Board had three French language seats. The policies of the Board are administered by the Director of Education and designates. There are more than 91,000 students serving over 195 Catholic schools, and represent close to 475,000 Catholic school supporters in all of Toronto. The TCDSB also has staff consisting of 6,000 teachers, 2,800 support staff, 360 principals and vice principals, and 200 administrators. In addition, the Board operates standing three committees: the ''Student Achievement and Well Being, Catholic Education and Human Resources'', ''Corporate Affairs, Strategic Planning and Property'', & ''Governance Framework''.


Trustees

As of , the trustee boundaries are aligned with the municipal wards, which was realigned to match with the federal and provincial ward boundaries.


Chairs of the Board

''Italics'' indicate the trustee remains active. *Averell Robinson, Q.C. - 1953–1954; Original chair of the MSSB *Rev. Msgr. Hugh Callaghan, D.P. - 1954–1955 *Gerard Godin - 1956–1957 *Georges B. Heenan - 1958–1959 *Michael J. Duggan - 1960–1962 *Edward J. Brisbois - 1963–1965 *Dr. John J. Andrachuk - 1966–1967 *Rev. Msgr. Percy H. Johnson, P.H. 1968–1969; School named after him. *J.A. Fullerton - 1970–1971 *J.A. Marrese - 1972–1974 *Joseph Grittani - 1975–1976 *Rev. E.F. Boehler - 1977–1978 *Bruno M. Suppa - 1979–1980 *Paul J. Duggan - 1981–1982 *Edward T. McMahon - 1983–1984; 1996–1997 *Rev. E.F. Boehler - 1984–1985 *Rev. C. Matthews, S.J. - 1985–1986 *Caroline M. DiGiovanni - 1986–1988 *Michael Lofranco - 1988–1989 *Donald E. Clune - 1989–1992 *Elvira DeMonte - 1992–1994 *Paul B.R. Fernandes - 1994–1996 *''Joseph Martino'' - 1997–1999 - Last chair as MSSB and first chair of the reorganized TCDSB. *Rose Andrachuk - 1999–2000 *''
Mike Del Grande Michael Anthony Del Grande (born ) is a Canadian politician. Elected in 2003, he is a former Toronto city councillor, representing Scarborough—Agincourt. He announced in February 2014 that he would not run for re-election, and instead ran for e ...
'' - 2000–2001 - Later became city councilor; 2014–2015 *Joseph Carnevale - 2001–2003; *Oliver Carroll - 2003–2007 - Ousted in early 2009 for conflict of interest charges. Now serves as a teacher for the
Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
since 2010 and teaches at
Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies (SCAS), formerly Tabor Park Vocational School is an alternative and adult high school serving Scarborough, a part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates under the Toronto District School Board and was ...
from 2012 onwards. *Catherine LeBlanc-Miller - 2008–2009 *Angela Kennedy - 2009–2010 - later removed by the judge and was later re-elected; 2015–2016 *''Ann Andrachuk'' - 2010-2013 *''Jo-Ann Davis'' - 2013–2014 *''Barbara Poplawski'' - 2017–present


Directors of Education


Current

The current director of education is Dr. Brendan Browne, who was appointed in 2020. Prior to his appointment, Browne served as the central superintendent for the
Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
covering schools in most of the former
North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
and
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
.


Past directors

*B. E. Nelligan - 1965–1983 *Berchman Kipp - 1983–1989 *Tony Barone - 1989–1996 *Norm Forma - 1996–1997 *Johanne Stewart - 1997–2001 *Tom Donavan - 2001–2005 *Noel Martin (Acting) - 2005 *Kevin Kobus - 2005–2007 *Les Nemes - 2007–2009 *Ann Perron - 2009–2011 *Bruce Rodrigues - 2011–2013 (now CEO at
EQAO The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario in Canada. It was legislated into creation in 1996 in response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Learning in February 1995. EQ ...
) *Angela Gauthier - 2013-2017 (served as Interim Director in 2011) *Rory McGuckin - 2017-2020


Charity

The Angel Foundation for Learning (AFL) is a TCDSB-organized charity that was founded on April 23, 1987, as the Metropolitan Toronto Catholic Education Foundation (MTCEF, french: Fondation métropolitaine d'éducation catholique de Toronto) to serve and support the needs of the education of younger Roman Catholic students in the City of Toronto.


School building architecture

Like the TDSB-built schools, 70% of the TCDSB stock of school buildings outside of the old City of Toronto were built after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and during the 1950s. These are typically Mid-Century modern in style with two to three storey brick facade and large double hung windows albeit from the cross attached. Some are built in Tudor Gothic style ones in the late 1800s.


Schools


School bus transportation

The following service providers have been contracted by the school board: * Attridge Transportation * Dignity Transportation *
First Student Canada First Student is the largest provider of school bus services in North America. The company works with districts in thirty-eight states and seven Canadian provinces, carrying approximately five million students daily. In addition to its regular ...
*
McCluskey Transportation Services Pacific Western Transportation (also d/b/a P.W. Transportation) provides a variety of bus services in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Yukon. Depending on the location, it offers scheduled and charte ...
* Sharp Bus Lines *
Stock Transportation National Passenger Services, d/b/a Stock Transportation, is a Canadian school bus operator based in Markham, Ontario. The company provides student transportation and charter services for twenty-eight school districts in Ontario, Nova Scotia a ...
* Switzer-Carty Transportation *
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
* Wheelchair Accessible Transit


Uniforms

Uniforms are mandatory for students at the secondary level and elementary starting in the fall 2011. In 2010 some elementary schools started implementing use of uniforms. In 1988, the MSSB ruled that public separate high schools are required to wear uniforms. At the time, all of the high schools in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
except for
Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...
had uniforms. Some trustees anticipated protests from parents and students from Newman. , all TCDSB elementary students must wear a uniform of a white or navy blue top, and navy blue bottoms. This is enforced in special programs such as the gifted program and ME.


Controversies


Enrolment of non-Catholics

While Catholic high schools are funded by the provincial government, making them open to any students who wish to attend, elementary schools do not have to enroll non-Catholic students. Many argue that the practice of fully funding separate schools exclusively for the Catholic faith is discriminatory to other religions (the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
has twice chastised the province for this policy). Supporters of the current Catholic education system point out that it has existed, in one form or another, since Confederation, and that the
Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
enshrines the right to government-funded religious education to all Catholics. The opposition, however, argues that this is an
appeal to tradition Appeal to tradition (also known as ''argumentum ad antiquitatem'' or ''argumentum ad antiquitam'', appeal to antiquity, or appeal to common practice) is a claim in which a thesis is deemed correct on the basis of correlation with past or present t ...
, and point to other provinces in Canada which amended the constitution to abolish Catholic school funding. It is up to the school principal whether or not non-Catholics are enrolled.


Government funding

Recently, the issue of government funding for religious schools has become a major political issue (see
2007 Ontario general election The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members ( MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, ...
), with PC Party Leader
John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...
supporting an extension of funding to all religious schools, Dalton McGuinty's Liberals and Howard Hampton's NDP supporting the status quo, and Frank de Jong's Greens alone calling for elimination of public funding for all religious schools (including Catholic Schools).


Labour issues

The first strikes occurred on April 5–11, 1986 when 6,000 teachers of the Metro Separate School Board went on
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
with over 100,000 students affected. From August 2002, the Toronto Catholic elementary teachers were without a contract and imposed
work to rule Work-to-rule (also known as an Italian strike, in Italian: ''Sciopero bianco'', or Slowdown in US usag is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job, and strictly follow time-cons ...
beginning February 2003. With stalled negotiations, the TCDSB officially locked out the teachers on May 16, 2003, and the strike lasted 12 days which left 69,000 students affected. The lockout ended when the Ontario government enacted back-to-work legislation on June 3, 2003. Conflict arose once again when the TCDSB elementary teachers imposed work to rule once more in 2016. Again in 2021, during the middle of a pandemic, teachers imposed work to rule, leaving report cards blank and ordering their members to not help in distribution of their students personal belongs in June 2021, without resolution in sight as of August 2021.


Trustee spending scandal

The board was embroiled in controversy in May 2008 when a report commissioned by the provincial government uncovered spending abuses by certain trustees, including charges for meals, promotional materials, and prohibited benefits. Provincial supervisor Norbert Hartmann was appointed to oversee administration of the board as a result.


Incidents between students and faculty

During a school trip organized by Holy Spirit Catholic School's eighth-grade students, vice-principal Stephen Patel threw a shoe at 14-year-old student Ian Goulbourne in the forehead while on the excursion at
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
on the school bus on April 24, 2013. Goulborune was taken to the
Montreal Children's Hospital Montreal Children's Hospital (french: Hôpital de Montréal pour enfants) is a children's hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1904, it is affiliated with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, Faculty of M ...
to be treated and Patel was sent home the next day on the
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
train on paid leave by the TCDSB while it investigated such incident. A few weeks later, Ferdinando Marrello, a teacher at
Monsignor Fraser College Monsignor Fraser College (also called Monsignor Fraser, MFC, or Fraser) is a Roman Catholic specialized dual-track Alternative and Adult Secondary School run by the Toronto Catholic District School Board in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school ...
was charged with allegations of assaulting an female student who was grabbed by the throat and punched in the face. In August 2018, Gerry McGilly, 47-year-old former English teacher at
Bishop Allen Academy Bishop Allen Academy; officially known as Bishop Allen Academy Catholic Secondary School (alternatively as Bishop Allen, Bishop Allen Academy CSS, BAA, BAACSS, BA, Allen), is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada managed by the Toronto Cathol ...
was sentenced to 2–3 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to luring, making
child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...
and sexual exploitation of his students, including three 17-year-old victims, dated between 2014 and 2017. On May 1, 2019,
Toronto Police The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...
formally charged 35-year-old Justin Iozzo, teacher of
Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre (also known as Father John Redmond, Father John Redmond CSS and RAC, FJRCSS, FJR, or Redmond in short) is a Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in t ...
of one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference that occurred in December 2016 when a student was assaulted on school property. Iozzo had been employed by the Board since 2012 and started his teaching career at Stella Maris and St. John the Evangelist Catholic Schools. However, thirteen days later, Toronto Police arrested 36-year-old Brian Ross, a teacher and coach at
Senator O'Connor College School Senator O'Connor College School (also called SOCS, Senator O'Connor CS, Senator O'Connor, OCS, or simply Senator or O'Connor), previously known as John J. Lynch High School until 1967 is a Separate high school in the Parkwoods neighbourhood in th ...
, who is facing charges of
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
stemming from a string of incidents during the 2011–12 academic year including a 16-year-old female student being assaulted during his 10-year tenure at
Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School (Marshall McLuhan, MMCSS, Marshall McLuhan CSS, or McLuhan) is a coeducational, non-semestered, Catholic high school in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada managed by the Toronto Catholic District School B ...
and another in March 2017.


LGBT issues

The TCDSB has a number of issues with the
LGBT communities Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual min ...
and the Roman Catholic education in Toronto. In May 2013, two trustees, Gary Tanuan and John Del Grande, the son of
Mike Del Grande Michael Anthony Del Grande (born ) is a Canadian politician. Elected in 2003, he is a former Toronto city councillor, representing Scarborough—Agincourt. He announced in February 2014 that he would not run for re-election, and instead ran for e ...
, passed a motion to eliminate Gay-straight alliances in all TCDSB schools. The motion stated that the "Toronto Catholic District School Board schools shall have no Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs or similar." Tanuan's motion stemmed from a report for all anti-bullying clubs to adhere to the "Respecting Difference" report issued by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association in January 2012. This report offered guidelines for Catholic schools that included calling groups like GSAs "Respecting Differences" clubs and avoiding discussions of sexual attraction, political activism and gender identity. However, in November 2020, the TCDSB imposed sanctions against Mike Del Grande over the LGBT2Q+ comments during the November 7, 2019 meeting for comparing homosexuality to bestiality, pedophilia and cannibalism. Del Grande violated the code of conduct for trustees even though he was acting within his role as a trustee to debate the motion. On January 8, 2021, the TCDSB removed the
Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line The Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line (LGBT YouthLine, "YouthLine"), founded in 1994, is a peer support organization for LGBT youth across the province of Ontario. Although originally known for their phone support line, the organization also offers o ...
, a phone peer support line for youth, from their online mental health resource list for students. The removal of YouthLine coincided the same time as when
Joe Volpe Giuseppe "Joe" Volpe (born September 21, 1947) is a Canadian politician. He represented the Ontario riding of Eglinton-Lawrence as a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until 2011, when he lost his seat t ...
ran an opinion piece in
Corriere Canadese ''Corriere Canadese'' ("The Canadian Courier") is an Italian language, Italian-language daily newspaper published in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is distributed exclusively in Ontario and Quebec, primarily throughout the Gre ...
purporting that YouthLine is inappropriate. YouthLine refuted Volpe's article, calling it "homophobic, transphobic, and racist." YouthLine reaffirmed that their anonymous services provide queer, transgender and questioning youth much needed information and resources.
Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...
called TCDSB's decision "another example of systemic homophobia and transphobia that continues to run deep within the publicly-funded school board." In May 2022, Youthline and the other defendants won their case in the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...
, and all of Volpe's charges against them were dropped. On May 6, 2021, the TCDSB voted to recognize June as Pride Month and the raising of the LGBT rainbow flag in all schools and board offices for the first time since the board's inception in 1953. The move comes after
Halton Catholic District School Board The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) serves over 37,000 students at its 46 elementary schools, 9 secondary schools and 3 continuing education facilities. The HCDSB serves the communities of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakvi ...
rejected the vote on raising the gay flag while the
Waterloo Catholic District School Board Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is a school board serving the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is headquartered in Kitchener, and is currently the eighth-largest Catholic school system in Ontario. As of November 2023, thi ...
approved the raising of the rainbow flag a month prior.


Logo

The official symbol of the Toronto Catholic District School Board was designed in 1969 by the internationally recognized design artist,
Allan Fleming Allan Robb Fleming (7 May 1929 – 31 December 1977) was a Canadian graphic designer best known for having created the Canadian National Railway logo, designing the best-selling 1967 Centennial book ''Canada: A Year of the Land/Canada, du t ...
, who designed the
Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
logo. It combines the cross, the anchor, and the heart representing the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. It is based on the cross and anchor symbol used by the early Christians in the catacombs, the added heart representing humanity.


See also

*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...
*
Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
*
Conseil scolaire Viamonde The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary schools and ...
*
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir ( en, My Future Catholic School Board) is a Roman Catholic French first language public- separate school board that manages elementary and secondary schools in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board o ...
*
List of school districts in Ontario This is a list of school districts in Ontario. There are 76 public school boards in Ontario, including 38 public secular boards (34 English boards and 4 French boards (ACÉPO)), 38 public separate boards (29 English Catholic boards, 8 French Cat ...


References


Further reading

*Toughill, Kelly.
Catholic board offers 10% over 2 years
" ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. October 19, 1987. News p. A2. *Daly, Rita.
Trustees attack proposal to cut separate board by four seats
" ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' (FIN Edition). January 18, 1988. News p. A6. *Daly, Rita.
French school trustees get okay on alcohol
" ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. September 21, 1990. News p. A6. *Small, Peter.
Separate schools' deficit up $3 million Trustee blames previous board
" ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''. October 11, 1996. News p. A6.
The History of the Toronto Catholic District School Board


External links


Toronto Catholic District School Board

Toronto Catholic District School Board
(1998–1999 archive, using Metropolitan Separate School Board website domain)
Angel Foundation for Learning
{{Authority control 1953 establishments in Ontario Christian education in Canada Organizations established in 1953 Roman Catholic school districts in Ontario Schools in Toronto Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto