Catholic education partners will cooperate with curriculum review

Statement from Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto and President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, Paula Peroni, President of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, and James Ryan, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association

TORONTO, April 28 /CNW/ - Ontario's Catholic school trustees, teachers and bishops will work cooperatively with the Ministry of Education in its review of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

The controversy around the province's new Health and Physical Education curriculum has been marked by confusion and misunderstanding. We welcome the review as an opportunity to bring clarity to an important and sensitive subject.

We want to be clear: Ontario's Catholic schools teach the provincial curriculum, from a Catholic perspective and have done so successfully. For 170 years we have taught the provincial curriculum while adhering to Catholic principles. For more than 30 years Ontario's Catholic schools have provided and will continue to provide a family life and sex education program.

We welcome a new round of consultations and will actively offer input. We will work with the Ministry of Education, as we always have. The new curriculum is an important document and we are confident that any concerns about it can be addressed.

We are concerned that the new curriculum document, Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Health and Physical Education 2010, was not effectively communicated, leading to concerns both within the Catholic community and broader public. We will work with our own organizations, the Catholic community and the Ministry of Education to address the confusion and to provide clarification.

We agree with Premier McGuinty's decision to review the sex education aspects of the new curriculum, providing time to ensure clarity and support moving forward.

For further information: Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, [phone]; Paula Peroni, President, Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, [phone]; James Ryan, President, Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, [phone]