June is usually the month when schools close and marks the end of the 10- month long schoolyear in Canada. It is also the start of the summer season and the time for family bonding, trips, vacation, recreation, and relaxation. For two Filipino Canadian teachers from remote Ontario North, it is the time to "trek down and travel back" to the city "where home is", to reflect, reinvigorate, and reconnect with family and friends.

Filipino Canadians Rowell Clarito Perez and Mirnalin Pillos Alforte are 2 professional educators who took up teaching assignments in two indigenous schools up North. Both are professionally certified and registered with O.C.T. designations by the Ontario College of Teachers, the regulatory body for licensing elementary and secondary school teachers in the province.

Years before, two other Fil-Can trailblazing certified teachers have accepted assignments in Nothern Ontario. Gary Salva Camu, in 2012-2013, taught multigrades at Nekestanga Education Centre under the Matawa First Nations Education Authority, located at Lansdowne House, Nekestanga First Nation Reserve, Ontario. Donna Laquindanum Scutariu also handled special education and behavioural pupils in 2013-2014 at Henry Coaster Memorial Elementary School under the indigenous band of Maarten Falls First Nation Authority in Ogoki, Ontario . Gary and Donna who brought their young families then, are now back and assigned in 2 GTA school boards.

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Filipino Canadian educator Rosario Alcazaren-Apilado, respectably quiet but passionately determined,  is on a benevolent outreach mission into one of Africa's impoverished nations. Specifically, R. Apilado has been doing continuous education and social work in the village of Liwonde, Lilongwe, Malawi in Central Africa for the past 7 years since her retirement from school teaching in 2011.

A Philippine- trained teacher, Rose as affectionately called by her family, friends, and colleagues, is proudly undertaking her Christian outreach commitment as a way of meeting her personal and professional passion for helping others in need especially in the field of learning. From 2013 up to the present, she has been sharing her efforts, assistance, time, and talent with the poor children and villagers of Liwonde in Lilongwe. Located in the central region of Malawi, Lilongwe is the capital and most populated city with more than 1.2 million residents. The country is near the borders of Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia in Africa. 

Rose Apilado's remarkable engagements in Malawi include desirable education, guidance, and guidance work with schoolchildren at Liwonde New Hope Community School, the primary school she helped establish, as well as at Chinguni Catholic Elementary School.. According to Rose, comparatively, they "maybe poorer than children from other parts of the globe, but material inadequacy has not prevented them from smiling, praying, singing and acknowledging with gratitude to God’s blessings and the gift of education!"

Sharing her wonderful story, Rose said that it all started while planning her school retirement. She "had been looking forward to a quiet and restful time reading her favorite books and devoting her time to painting and traveling".  All that changed after traveling for an African safari in Kenya & Tanzania and mountain climbing at Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mt. Mulanje in Malawi. While visiting missionary friends before flying home to Canada she met leaders of the Evangelical Baptist Church and the Catholic parish in Malawi who pleaded with her to volunteer in putting up a primary school in their village. In Liwonde, many children are very poor and could not go to school due to distance and lack of resources for a much-needed education. She decided to return in 2013 and started a Kindergarten class with 5 students in September and ending the school year with 27 students. In 2014, the school was officially registered with the government under the Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi. 

Every year Rose travels back to Malawi bringing in-kind support like books and educational materials & sports supplies for the school and also personal gifts to the children and the villagers coming from generous donors in Canada. She also helped single, unwed mothers and the aged in the village. An Ilongga from Capiz, Rose's other focal activities cover also community outreach projects through Emmanuel International in the ravaged city of Marawi, southern Philippines.

An Ontario certified teacher, she has taught elementary grades at TDSB, MSSB, and the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board(DPCDSB). Earlier in Canada, while working as a secretary-receptionist on weeknights and weekends, Rose enrolled at the University of Toronto where she completed her Bachelor of Arts equivalency degree as well as satisfying the in-service requirement for a Bachelor of Education degree at York University. Starting as a teacher assistant, she became a permanent teacher, handling classes from Kindergarten to Grade 8 in all subject areas including ESL and Special Education assignments. 

True to her profession, she is one of the organizers and later became the President of the Philippine Teachers Association of Canada(PTAC) in 2015-2016. PTAC is a  social-professional organization of Filipino-Canadian certified and practicing educators in Ontario. Happily married to Arthur Apilado with 4 adult children, Rose, now fully retired still does some traveling, visiting, and helping the school children, staff, and villagers in Liwonde whenever she finds time and opportunity.  She takes pride by always saying: "What a joy to see Christians, Muslims, non-affiliated children, in one school, their secondary home who are happy, living in harmony, as well as young minds bursting with zest for learning!" Zikomo kwambiri! Thank you. 

Filipino-Canadian Fermer Santos, a long-serving lady educator and school administrator in Toronto, has been in the forefront of helping and mentoring high school students quietly but productively, including those of Filipino descent.

As a professional teacher, she is passionately engaged in guiding Filipino students to meet schooling challenges and to successfully achieve academic success for their career pathways and future endeavours, as well. Currently, Ms. F. Santos is the Vice-Principal of Agincourt Collegiate in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario. Formerly, she served as Vice-Principal of Malvern Collegiate Institute, both secondary schools are in the Toronto District School Board publicly- supported school system.

Ms. Fermer Santos came to Canada while still a 16- year old teenager full of hopes and dreams. Looking back, she poignantly confided that having returned her University of the Philippines college admission to leave the Philippines and immigrate, she promised herself that she will enroll and finish a degree program in Canada. Initially, she would like to pursue a career in medical science and did not think of becoming a teacher. But fate comes into play when her big sister, who is a Philippine-licensed Chemical Engineer and a high-school mathematics and science teacher then in Toronto, encouraged her to become one. Not to mention too, her mother, now deceased, who was a teacher in the Philippines advised her to follow in their footsteps, which she did happily and progressively.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo with a degree in BA Psychology, major in Educational Psychology, F. Santos also completed Certificate courses in Brain and Learning at Harvard University and MIT in the U.S.A. Fermer completed her high school studies at Quezon City Science High School before immigrating to Canada in the 70s and in Canada, she received her Grade 13 Secondary School Diploma from TDSB's Harbord Collegiate Institute. At that time, only Grade 13 graduates are allowed to pursue a university degree program in Ontario.

As a certified school teacher, Ms. F. Santos handled students in all grades from Kindergarten up to high school levels in all subjects. She is an experienced guidance counselor and a teacher- extraordinaire, according to her peers. Working as a school vice-principal for many years, she was assigned to elementary and high schools on the Board. As the school's vice head at ACI, she coordinates with the Collegiate Institute's Committee on Achievement that includes assessment, evaluation, and reporting. She also collaborates with the school team in addressing issues involving mental health and well-being, equity, and anti-oppression. Her other school administrative responsibilities include administration liaison with Scarborough-Agincourt’s Music Parents’ Association as well as creating examination schedules for all students and staff supervision. She is also In-charge of delivering the Education Quality and Accountability Office standard testing, for both the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on Literacy and Mathematics.

Her community involvement is very impressive, being the Founder and Educational Consultant of the Centre for Advancement, Retraining & Education (CARE). She has been an Ambassadress of Goodwill to the Philippines in 1978. A constant professional resource person on many conferences and seminars organized and sponsored by the Philippine Teachers Association of Canada (PTAC) and the Kababayan Multicultural Centre (KMC), Fermer is also an active member of the Filipino Centre Toronto Annual Outstanding Student Awards Committee. 

As a teacher, administrator, and community personality Ms. Santos has received numerous awards and recognition. Among the merits are Mutya ng Pilipinas Canada title, sponsored by Barangay Pilipino Canada in 1977; a recipient of one of the Most Outstanding Filipino Canadian Leaders in Education award sponsored by Binibining Pilipinas Canada  Fil-Am Image in Washington, D.C; the 2013 TDSB Excellence Award recipient for Kizuna-Bonds of Friendship Project, a cross-cultural educational student exchange program between Canada and Japan and jointly sponsored by the Toronto Consulate Office of Japan, the United Nations, and the Canadian Foreign Affairs. The international project brought Canadian high school students and teachers to Japan to learn the Japanese language, culture, and way of life through the planned city and village tours in Japan and by reciprocity, Japanese students touring and staying in Toronto, and learning the Canadian way of life. According to Vice Principal Santos, "This unique life-changing experience for all participants was a significant life journey that they will never forget."

Engaged administratively in observing Black Lives Matter action in the school environment, she is addressing the needs of special education students, students who are deemed at risk, struggling students, and enriched and advanced students as well. Together with the school team, she helps in guiding students to achieve their goals, career pathways, explore their options, and plan their post-secondary destinations. Her constant advice which she shares with students, young and old, especially Toronto newcomer immigrants is to always remember that education is wealth, your biggest challenge and a valuable investment for a better life, adding with the words of encouragement that you should continue to dream and aspire to be the best that you can be as a productive person. 

Filipino Canadian School Trustee Luz Del Rosario was recently elected Vice-Chair of the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board. Trustee L. Del Rosario is the trustee of Wards 6 and 11 in the city of Mississauga. She was chosen during the yearly organizational meeting of DPCDSB on December 1, 2020, and will serve for a one-year term. DPCDSB, governed by 11 elected trustees, is one of the largest school boards in the province with approximately 77,000 students, oversees all 152 Catholic schools located in the Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Orangeville areas in Ontario.

Ms. L. Del Rosario is the first Filipino elected as Vice-Chair of the DPCDSB. As a school trustee, she will serve as a system leader of publicly-funded education in their community of schools in the electoral district.  L. Del Rosario has served in various leadership capacities during her ten (10) years on the Board of Trustees having been elected first in the 2006-2010 term, then in 2014-2018, and was reelected in 2018. Trustees in the Catholic school system "work collaboratively with their community to shape the vision that is reflective of the input of parents, students, and community members."

She has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the Philippines and also completed the Human Resource Management program at the University of Toronto receiving the Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) designation in 1996. She works full-time as a Payroll and Benefits manager with a company that owns and manages retirement and long-term residences.

On September 29, 2020, Trustee L. Del Rosario spearheaded the approval of the Proclamation to celebrate the Quincentennial Jubilee of Christianity in the Philippines in all schools at the DPCDSB in 2021.  A community leader and long-time resident of Mississauga, she is a recipient of various civic, cultural, and community awards. 

As a 3- term school board trustee, Ms. Del Rosario is fully determined and engaged in bringing "her expertise and extensive experience in human resource management" as well as her community volunteer work to the school board and to continue helping in " the formation of the future generation of Canadians who will serve the community in a Christian way of life."

A. What is the "recipe", if any, of your long-lasting marriage?

3) Yolly and Jorge, married for 67 years, with 6 children:  Yolly: " Mayamang pag-mamahalan at mabuting pag-sasamahan. That is the big secret. We like to do most of the same things ... like go on pasyalan, go out-of-country travels, go to the movies, go to parties and socialize with friends."  Jorge: "Loving one another at mahabang  pasensiya, and knowing and understanding kung ano ang mahalaga sa buhay namin ."

There is an appreciable trend of growth in terms of number of Filipino Canadian teachers which were fully certified and licensed in Ontario. However, teacher hiring and employment remain elusive if not problematic for many. In a preliminary analysis made recently, the news has been released by Tony A. San Juan in a recent statement during the two separate teacher-hiring consultation sessions conducted at the Toronto Catholic District School Board ( TCDSB) and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in Toronto.

The information was revealed to teacher attendees last June 15, 2014 and July 7 & 10, 2014. The 115 teachers who have participated in the two events were seeking information and advice about the teacher-hiring situation , requirements and procedures of the 2 public-supported school boards. All the participants are members of the Philippine Teachers Association -Canada (PTAC), Latin Education Network ( LAEN) and other internationally-trained teachers who are mostly interested and seeking possible teaching assignments for the coming school year 2014-2015.

San Juan, immediate past president and director emeritus of the Philippine Teachers Association ( PTAC) said that “teacher supply and demand for more than 5 years now remain very discouraging and highly competitive” due to such factors as : “declining student enrollment, low teacher-retirement, oversupply of certified teachers, mismatch of completed subject certifications with teachable subjects needed ” and other reasons.

PTAC, formed in 2006 with only 5 licensed teachers, is composed of current Filipino Canadian Ontario Certified Teachers and former educators in the Philippines as well. Currently, of the 120 active and inactive members of PTAC, fifty-nine or 49 % has been licensed by the Ontario College of Teachers (O.C.T.). The statutory professional regulatory body certifies and regulates teacher education graduates to teach in all public-and- Catholic elementary, intermediate and secondary schools in the province.

Sixty-one or 51 % of PTAC members fall under any of following 3 categories : 1) “in -certification process ” ( those who are awaiting for full licencing), 2)”in work- permit transition”( newcomer immigrants awaiting permanent residence status) and 3) Philippine teacher-trained but did not pursue provincial teacher accreditation.

Generally, of the known Philippine-born and considered to be internationally-trained teachers, including those Canada -born and / or who , at early age grew up, raised and educated in Canada, there are approximately more than 300 certified to teach in Ontario .

Notably, among the Filipino educators in the Greater Toronto Area are 2 elementary school principals , a secondary school principal, and 1 high school vice-principal. PTAC has six members with Doctoral degrees ( 3 EdD, one DTech and 3 PhD) and 15, with Master’s degrees.

General education educators include teachers in Primary grades( Kindergarten to Grade 3), and Junior grades( Grades 4-6) and academic subject areas in Intermediate( Grades 7-10) and Senior( Grades 11-12) divisions in the Ontario education curricula.

Current PTAC members with Ontario Certified Teacher ( OCT) licences have academic subject certifications in : business studies(general, accounting) drama, English, family studies, geography, health and physical education, history, mathematics, philosophy, science (general, biology, chemistry, physics), social sciences -general, and visual arts. In terms of Basic or Additional Qualifications( B/AQs) : primary, junior, ESL, special education, religious studies, and technological studies.

In its membership roster, of the 59 certified teachers, twenty-seven or 46% only are teaching in five GTA school boards ( TorontoCDSB, TorontoDSB, DufferinPCDSB, PeelDSB, and YorkDSB ) ,out of which , 22 are on permanent/ contract assignments or occasional / supply teaching assignments and five are doing EA -educational assistant jobs. Five members are employed by some private schools, Montessori schools, and early-learning centres as teachers, teacher-assistants, ECE and/ ECAs.

The rest, 32 or fifty-four % are doing education-related jobs or alternative paths as translators- interpreters, test proctors & markers, course tutors and the like.In school year 2013-2014 , only 5 PTAC teacher-members were hired either as occasional/ supply teachers or educational assistants. Two teachers served in band-aboriginal schools in the North. Others, applied in out-of-province positions.

In spite of the poor teacher employment situation and the attendant “cause factors” , Filipino teachers remain optimistic and hopeful that the hiring picture will change for the better in the next 3-4 years. As expected, Filipinos usually are resilient and patient enough by staying focus , taking up more AQ courses to be more “marketable & competitive ” and always hopeful for opportunities to come in their quest for reasonable and productive placement in the education environment.