TDSB fires director Clayton La Touche as education system overhauled

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Clayton La Touche was just appointed as the director of education at the Toronto District School Board last January, taking up the post in February.

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On Friday morning, less than a year into the job, he was fired by TDSB supervisor Rohit Gupta.

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In a letter to all staff, Gupta wrote that La Touche was being relieved of his duties and Stacey Zucker, currently the associate director of education, would replace La Touche on an interim basis.

“Now in my sixth month as supervisor of the board, I feel that the TDSB needs a fresh start as we look to set the TDSB up for success in the years ahead. With that in mind and after much consideration, I, together with the minister of Education, have made the difficult decision to make a leadership change,” Gupta wrote.

“To that end, director of education Clayton La Touche will be leaving the TDSB, effective immediately. I want to sincerely thank Clayton for his dedication to the students and staff of the TDSB since joining the board in February and I wish him nothing but the best in the next steps of his career.”

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From high praise to forced out

La Touche was appointed after a four-month search carried out by a committee. A statement announcing his appointment praised his track record in education.

“Throughout his career, La Touche has built a reputation as an inclusive, collaborative leader with a deep commitment to equitable achievement and well-being outcomes for all students. He is dedicated to the advancement of public education,” the statement read.

His dismissal by Gupta just 10 months into the job is supported by Education Minister Paul Calandra.

“Under the continued leadership of the supervisor, the Toronto District School Board is refocusing on student achievement. I have full confidence that the supervisor, working with the interim director, will drive that focus and ensure every decision puts students first,” Calandra said Friday.

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Seen as a political activist by some

La Touche started out as a teacher before moving on to be a principal and administrator. Prior to taking on the role at TDSB he had been working at the Ministry of Education and not everyone there was a fan.

“Idealogue, has an agenda,” said one former colleague who saw La Touche as pushing his personal political agenda into the education system.

That’s something the Ford government has been pushing to get away from with a refocusing of the education system on student achievement and not identity politics.

Calandra wants complete overhaul

Calandra ordered a review of the entire education system, including curriculum and governance, after looking at the most recent standardized test results. He pointed to the $43 billion that Ontario spends on education while achieving subpar results.

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“The curriculum is so open, so vacuous. It is so open for interpretation. Teachers have so much to fill in,” Calandra said in a recent interview with the Sun.

He wants a return to a curriculum that teaches to results, not open-ended questions and answers. During that interview, the minister also hinted again that the days of school trustees running the system could be over soon.

“There is literally nothing that leads me to believe that continuing on with school trustees to deliver on a $43-billion education system is the best way to do this. I’ve said this over and over — this is a system that was created in the one-room schoolhouse era. We are no longer there,” Calandra said.

The announcement of La Touche departing his role is big and shocking news. If you follow what the minister has been saying, and what the supervisors have been doing, it won’t be the last big change.

blilley@postmedia.com

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