The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is launching a public awareness campaign centred around a satirical television show called ‘Ford High’ where the school is crumbling, class sizes are too big and teachers are burnt out.Ian Compton/Supplied
An Ontario union representing front-line education workers is launching a satirical ad campaign featuring a fictional show about a struggling school called “Ford High” to draw attention to what it says is a crisis in education under Premier Doug Ford.
The campaign features an ad designed as a trailer for the made-up show and will begin appearing on digital streaming platforms and on social media Wednesday. “From the creators of The Privatizer and I Know What You Did to Ontario Place Last Summer,” one of the ads says before turning the camera on a school where classes are so crowded students have to sit on the floor, there is no phys-ed equipment and the ceiling is collapsing.
“The point is to get people talking and to really have them be aware of the crisis that’s happening in Ontario education,” says Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, the union behind the ads, which represents more than 60,000 public high school teachers, educational assistants, social workers and other educational workers.
Ms. Littlewood says the provincial government’s underfunding of education has resulted in dilapidated schools, overcrowded classrooms and teacher burnout, among other serious issues she hopes the satirical ad will bring attention to.
Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop says contrary to the campaign’s claims, the provincial government has spent record amounts on education.
“No other government in Ontario history has invested more in public education. We are focused on getting students back to basics on learning foundational reading, writing and math skill that sets them up for success in and outside of the classroom,” Ms. Dunlop said in an emailed statement.
She also touted the government’s efforts to build more schools.
“While the former Liberal government closed nearly 600 schools, our government increased funding and cut construction times in half to get shovels in the ground faster to renew and build more schools across our province,” she says.
But as a recent report from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office shows, a large number of schools across the province are below a state of good repair, many are facing overcrowding and much more investment is needed to address the backlog of repairs.
The December report found that 37.4 per cent of schools in the province are below a state of good repair, and 32 schools in such poor condition they should be replaced.
The Toronto District School Board had the highest share of buildings below a state of good repair, at 84.1 per cent. The Thames Valley District School Board in London had the second-highest share, at 52.5 per cent.
In total, the FAO estimates it would cost $21.7-billion to clear the infrastructure backlog and get all schools to a state of good repair over the next 10 years. However, the province’s 2024 budget has only allocated $12.5-billion over that time period, the report says.
“That means you’re not keeping up,” says Jeffrey Novak, the Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario. With the province’s current level of funding, the FAO estimates that the share of schools that are not in a state of good repair will increase from approximately 37 per cent to 75 per cent.
The report also looked at overcrowding, comparing student enrolment with school capacity.
At the more than 1,400 schools that were found to be over capacity, there were 150,881 more students than spaces for them, according to the report.
Most of those students were taking classes in portables, while an estimated 38,607 students were accommodated using other means, such as larger class sizes or “teachers holding classrooms in non-classroom spaces,” says the report.
Several of the issues raised in the ad campaign have been identified as concerns across the country in a survey by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation released Monday.
The survey of nearly 5,000 teachers, principals, support workers and other education professionals from across the country found 95 per cent said staff shortages are negatively affecting students and nearly 80 per cent of educators said they are struggling to cope with increasing and unpredictable workloads, among other issues.
“I don’t see any good news in the FAO report. I don’t see any good news in the CTF survey. And what I’m hearing from our members, I’m just hearing more and more bad news, and it’s compounding,” Ms. Littlewood says.
Natasha Wilson, chief executive officer of Point Blank Creative, the agency that devised the “Ford High” campaign, says its use of humour is meant to be discomfiting.
“It’s a nervous giggle that we’re going for here, because you have to be uncomfortable enough to stop taking public education for granted and actually be inspired to do something about it,” she says.