DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the "Act") and Ontario Regulation 437/97
AND IN THE MATTER OF a discipline proceeding against Michelle Solange Marie Levesque-Fay, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Monique Lapalme Arseneault, Chair
Marie-Louise Chartrand
Louis Sloan, OCT
BETWEEN: ) Christine Lonsdale and Dina Awad,
) McCarthy Tétrault LLP
) for the Ontario College of Teachers
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS )
– and – )
MICHELLE SOLANGE MARIE ) Michelle Solange Marie Levesque-Fay
LEVESQUE-FAY ) did not attend this hearing nor was she
(CERTIFICATE # 506810) ) represented
) Paul Marshall,
) Emond Harnden LLP
) Independent Legal Counsel )
) Heard: December 9, 2013
DECISION AND ORDER
This matter was referred to a panel of the Discipline Committee (the "Committee") of the Ontario College of Teachers (the "College") in Toronto on December 9, 2013.
A Notice of Hearing, dated May 8, 2013, was served on Michelle Solange Marie Levesque-Fay, requesting her attendance before the Discipline Committee of the College on June 10, 2013, to set a date for a hearing. The hearing was subsequently set for December 9, 2013.
The Member did not attend this hearing nor was she represented.
ALLEGATIONS
The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing (Exhibit 1) dated May 8, 2013, are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED that Michelle Solange Marie Levesque-Fay (the "Member") is guilty of professional misconduct and/or that she is incompetent, as defined in subsections 30(2) and 30(3) of the Act in that:
A. she failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);
B. she failed to comply with the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, chapter E.2 and specifically paragraph 264(1) thereof or the regulations made under this Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15);
C. she displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment and/or disregard for the welfare of her students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is clearly unfit to carry out her professional responsibilities or that a certificate held by the Member should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations.
At the hearing on December 9, 2013, College counsel announced that the College was withdrawing allegations of professional misconduct, including the allegation of having contravened subsections 1(5) and 1(15) of Ontario Regulation 437/97 of the Act, as stated above in paragraphs A. and B. The Committee accepts the withdrawal of these allegations.
AGREED STATEMENT OF UNCONTESTED FACTS
College counsel informed the Committee that the College and the Member have agreed on the facts; she then submitted the document entitled Agreed Statement of Uncontested Facts and the plea of no contest (the "Agreement") (Exhibit 2).
Michelle Solange Marie Levesque-Fay is a registered member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Information about the Member is attached as Appendix A.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario (the "Board") as a long-term occasional teacher. During the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, the Member was teaching at École publique Jean-Éthier-Blais and École publique Pavillon-de-l'Avenir
On May 21, 2010, the Member received an unsatisfactory performance appraisal. The summative report for this appraisal is attached as Appendix B.
On June 21, 2010, the Member received a satisfactory performance appraisal. The summative report for this appraisal is attached as Appendix C.
On June 6, 2011, the Member received a second unsatisfactory performance appraisal. The summative report for this appraisal is attached as Appendix D.
On August 31, 2011, the Board dismissed the Member.
The Member has no intention of returning to teaching.
PLEA OF NO CONTEST
The Member does not contest the accuracy of the facts and appendices mentioned above in paragraphs 1 to 7. The Member is filing a plea of no contest with respect to the allegation of incompetence as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, S.O., 1996, chapter 12.
Specifically, the Member does not contest the fact that she displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment and/or disregard for the welfare of the students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is clearly unfit to carry out her professional responsibilities or that a certificate held by the Member should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations
The Member declares that:
(a) she fully understands the nature of the allegations of incompetence made against her;
(b) she understands that, by signing this document, she gives her consent to allow the evidence stated in the uncontested facts to be submitted to the Discipline Committee;
(c) she understands that, by filing a plea of no contest to these allegations, she is waiving her right to require proof by the College of the validity of the case against her and is waiving her right to a hearing;
(d) she understands that the Discipline Committee is not bound by an agreement on penalty made between the College and the Member; and
(e) she understands the present agreement and is executing it voluntarily and unequivocally and with the benefit of legal counsel.
The Member is filing a plea of no contest in accordance with Rule 3.02 of the Rules of Procedure of the Discipline Committee, under the protection of the Evidence Act, R.S.O. 1990, chapter E.23, for purposes of these procedures instituted under the terms of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, chapter 12, and for no other purpose. The plea of no contest by the Member does not constitute an admission by her of the facts or findings for purposes of any other civil, criminal or administrative procedure.
In light of the uncontested facts described above and the plea of no contest, the College and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee should find that the Member's actions constitute incompetence.
SUBMISSION OF COLLEGE COUNSEL
College counsel emphasized that the Member was not contesting her classroom incompetence in the agreement. On August 31, 2011, the Board dismissed the Member and she has no intention of returning to teaching.
The College takes the position that she is incapable of carrying out her tasks and supports its submission with the following facts:
she received two unsatisfactory performance appraisals (Exhibit 2, Tabs B and D) from two principals in two different schools.
she displayed a lack of competence and follow-up, particularly with respect to classroom management, ongoing assessment, teaching strategies and communications.
DECISION
Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof and the submission of College counsel, the Committee finds that the facts presented support a finding of incompetence as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Act and considers that the Member has displayed a lack of knowledge, competence or judgment and/or disregard for the welfare of her students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is clearly unfit to carry out her professional responsibilities or that a certificate held by the Member should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations.
REASONS FOR DECISION
The Member admitted the truth of the facts laid out in paragraphs 1 to 7 of the agreement. She hereby acknowledges that the above-mentioned facts in paragraphs 3 to 7, and particularly the details presented in Tabs B, C and D, are evidence of her incompetence, and she does not contest this allegation brought against her.
The Committee agrees that the Agreement on Uncontested Facts and the Member's plea of no contest constitute incompetence, as pleaded by the Member.
As a long-term occasional teacher during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, the Member's performance as a teacher was appraised three times. On two of the three appraisals, her performance was found to be unsatisfactory in the following areas: commitment to students and student learning; professional knowledge; professional practice and leadership; in particular, classroom management, ongoing assessment and teaching strategies. The Committee also noted that the Member failed in her professional responsibilities at the time of an incident involving a student who injured her wrist in an outdoor physical education class. She failed to advise the parents of this incident. Moreover, she displayed great difficulties in consistently applying classroom management strategies.
The Committee is aware that support from colleagues was available to the Member during her assignments that lasted a few months from April 2010 to June 2010 and from April 2011 to June 2011; it is not clear from the evidence submitted at this hearing that she took advantage of the help that was available.
JOINT RECOMMENDATION ON PENALTY
The Ontario College of Teachers affirms, and the Member agrees, that, under the terms of the Joint Recommendation on Penalty (Exhibit 4), the Committee should impose the following penalty and order:
(a) The Discipline Committee directs the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions or limitations on the Member's Certificate of Qualification:
(i) Before accepting a teaching position that requires a Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the Member shall, at her own expense, complete a course equivalent in length to an Additional Qualification course. This course must focus on lesson planning, classroom management, student assessment and record keeping, and must be pre-approved by the Registrar.
(ii) Within 30 days of completion of the above-mentioned course, the Member shall provide the Registrar directly with proof of successful completion of the course.
(iii) Before beginning employment as a teacher, the Member shall inform her employer that it must agree to conduct a performance appraisal for each of the first two school years and deliver a copy of these appraisals to the Registrar no later than 30 days of their being carried out or of receipt of the copies, whichever is later.
(iv) The Member shall advise the Registrar of the date of taking up her duties and inform him of the name of her employer and the nature of her duties, at least 10 days before she begins her employment as a teacher. The conditions listed in paragraphs (ii) and (iii) above must have been fulfilled.
PENALTY AND ORDER
The Committee accepts the Joint Recommendation on Penalty and makes the following order:
(a) The Discipline Committee directs the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions or limitations on the Member's Certificate of Qualification:
(i) Before accepting a teaching position that requires a Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the Member shall, at her own expense, complete a course equivalent in length to an Additional Qualification course. This course must focus on lesson planning, classroom management, student assessment and record keeping, and must be pre-approved by the Registrar.
(ii) Within 30 days of completion of the above-mentioned course, the Member shall provide the Registrar directly with proof of successful completion of the course.
(iii) Before beginning employment as a teacher, the Member shall inform her employer that it must agree to conduct a performance appraisal for each of the first two school years and deliver a copy of these appraisals to the Registrar no later than 30 days of their being carried out or of receipt of the copies, whichever is later.
(iv) The Member shall advise the Registrar of the date of taking up her duties and inform him of the name of her employer and the nature of her duties, at least 10 days before she begins her employment as a teacher. The conditions listed in paragraphs (ii) and (iii) above must have been fulfilled.
REASONS FOR DECISION ON PENALTY
The Committee accepted the Joint Recommendation on Penalty. The Committee is of the opinion that the penalty is appropriate in that it meets a certain number of expectations regarding professional responsibility.
In spite of the fact that she has completed post-secondary studies, it is clear that the Member has been unsuccessful in applying the training she received. The Committee therefore finds that a course equivalent in length to an Additional Qualification course and focusing on lesson planning, classroom management, student assessment and record keeping could fulfil the requirements for employment and improve her teaching practices. This course will help the Member to overcome the difficulties that prevent her from being an effective teacher.
The fact that both parties successfully came to an agreement should be an indication that an appropriate balance of interests has been achieved.
The requirement that the Member undergo at least two other performance appraisals by a new employer serves the interest of the public and clarifies the expectations of the College vis-à-vis the continuing competency of its members.
The order is a rehabilitative measure for the Member if she wishes to return to teaching and enables her to demonstrate the skills which members of the profession and the public expect from a teacher.
December 9, 2013
Monique Lapalme Arseneault
Chair, Discipline Panel
Marie-Louise Chartrand
Member, Discipline Panel
Louis Sloan, OCT
Member, Discipline Panel