Leadership Development


Ontario Leadership Strategy

Mentoring for New School Leaders

Mentoring for Newly Appointed School Leaders

The government is investing $4 million to support mentoring in school boards and authorities across the province. Through mentoring, newly appointed principals and vice-principals will receive mentoring support in their first and second years of practice. Experienced principals and vice-principals will also receive support and resources to prepare them to become effective mentors and continue developing their own leadership competencies.

Resources for mentors and mentees

Mentors and mentees should consult with the mentoring lead of their board or authority to find out what resources are available to them.

Additional information on mentoring is available on the following websites of principals' associations:

Ministry Resources and Initiatives (Tools and information for Ontario's principals and vice-principals)

Check here often for new tools and resources.

Coming soon: a toolkit for boards to design their own mentoring handbook and a resource handbook with effective practices.

Blended Coaching for School and System Leaders (Webcast)
In this webcast, Gary Bloom, Associate Director of the New Teacher Centre at the University of Santa Cruz, California, addresses the significant challenges faced by newly appointed school leaders and provides a number of important coaching and mentoring strategies to support their leadership. Many school boards have found this resource helpful in implementing mentoring.

Resources for school boards and school authorities

School Board Guideline for Implementation of Mentoring for Newly Appointed School Leaders

This guideline has been developed to support school boards in their implementation of Mentoring for Newly Appointed School Leaders. Appendix B contains an editable Sample Implementation Planning Form, which boards can use to fulfil Ministry requirements.

Professional Learning Activities for School Leaders

This common planning calendar schedules professional learning activities for school and board leaders provided by the ministry and provincial leadership associations. Learning activities related to mentoring will be added to the calendar as they become available.

Mentoring Pilot for System Leaders

The mentoring pilot that took place this year for newly appointed Supervisory Officers and Directors of Education will continue in 2008-2009 in partnership with the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, the Association des gestionnaires de l'éducation franco-ontarienne, the Ontario Public Supervisory Officials' Association, and the Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officers' Association. A field test approach will be used to build on the successes of the pilot and to learn more about the most effective mentoring supports for these leaders.

Additional information will be posted on this website at a later date.

Principal Performance Appraisal

A model for principal and vice-principal performance appraisal is currently being revised, using feedback from the field test that took place in a number of boards in 2007-2008. The revised model is also informed by consultation with various stakeholders and groups including principals, vice-principals, teachers, supervisory officers, directors of education, parents, students, and trustees.

The performance appraisal model provides principals and vice-principals with processes and procedures that will support improvement in their leadership and in turn, student achievement. A fair and consistent appraisal process reflecting common professional expectations will contribute to increasing respect and security for principals and vice-principals.

In the 2008-2009 school year, the ministry will release the new principal/vice-principal model province-wide. Boards will be encouraged to begin integrating the model into their leadership processes.

Minister's Principal Reference Group

The Minister's Principal Reference Group is a group of practising principals and vice-principals in Ontario schools who provide advice and feedback on a number of leadership initiatives underway in the ministry. Any principal or vice-principal can become a Corresponding Member of the reference group through OPEN.

Study of the Role of Superintendents and Directors Focus Groups and Surveys

A study of the role of supervisory officers and directors was conducted by the Council of Ontario Directors of Education in May and June of 2006. The study included surveys and focus groups across the province. This study sought feedback from practitioners on their roles and the opportunities and challenges they face in carrying out their roles.