Character Development Initiative


Parents, schools and communities share the responsibility for and the benefits of developing our young people as caring, empathetic and involved citizens. Character development affirms the importance of respect in Ontario schools and beyond.

Provincial Character Development Resource Teams

Eight character development resource teams have been established across the province. Five teams will support English public boards, one team will support English Catholic boards, one team will support French Catholic boards and one team will support French public boards. Team leaders are school board leaders with experience in the implementation and extension of character development programs.

Leaders will be contacting the boards assigned to them directly. Boards are encouraged to take advantage of their expertise and of this opportunity to work together as board learning communities.

Character Development: Overall Goals

The goal of the Character Development initiative is to develop school environments in which all people – students, teachers, administrators and support staff – treat each other with care and respect. This initiative is based on four essential components: academic achievement, character development, citizenship development and respect for diversity. Specific goals include:

  • improved academic achievement
  • improved interpersonal relationships
  • safe and orderly schools
  • reduced behavioural problems
  • improved life preparation
  • improved employability skills
  • positive school cultures
  • responsible citizenship in classrooms, schools and communities

Character Development: Expectations

Ontario boards and schools will be expected to demonstrate the following in their implementation of the Character Development initiative:

  • board-based consultation with a wide cross-section of the community that reflects its diversity
  • a school-wide commitment to model, teach and expect demonstrations of the attributes in all school, classroom and extra-curricular activities
  • the intentional infusion of the components of the character development initiative into the policies, programs, practices and interactions within the school and board
  • the conditions necessary for student leadership development and opportunities for student voice in the education process
  • opportunities for student civic engagement and community involvement that reflect the unique needs of their communities
  • a culture which reflects the language and common understandings of character development
  • character development practices that are holistic in their intent and reflect the cognitive, affective and behavioural domains of learning
  • a deliberate focus on character development in board and school plans with specific alignment with other ministry expectations; for example, Safe Schools, Student Success and other initiatives

All publicly-funded school boards and school authorities in Ontario were expected to implement the Character Development initiative during the 2007-08 school year.

The Character Development Symposium:
October 15 and 16, 2006

The October 2006 symposium highlighted research, innovative programs and current practices in Ontario school boards. It featured special forums to engage students in the initial stages of the development of the initiative. Approximately 650 people attended, including teams from boards across the province, and community, business and faith representatives.

Regional Forums:

February to June 2007

The 15 regional forums and 9 capacity-building sessions held across the province from February to June 2007 overwhelmingly supported the need for character development programs in all schools, as well as the focus on shared responsibility for their implementation. Starting in Fall 2007, boards began consultations with their school communities to develop their character development program.

Key documents:

Additional links:

For futher information about the Character Development Initiative contact Lorraine Gruzuk: