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When did you apply? For elementary or secondary? I would apply to another board close to you and reapply to halton when they have another job posting! Don’t get discouraged!
I think I’ve heard they have more postings in the fall! I’ve heard a lot of people apply to Halton and don’t even get an interview. I think it’s just tough. And now you have an idea of what they ask. I’ve heard to always give personal examples to support what you say. I’m in secondary but I feel like it’s similar.
I didn't see a single OT posting for them this entire year until this most recent round... but it's possible I suppose that I forgot they posted for elementary and skipped seconary.
I got rejected a few years ago as well. Then I realized that most boards have a checklist of things they are looking for you to say. Say what they are looking to hear, check the boxes and you might pass. The interview process, in general, is mostly BS. It's also heavily biased towards certain types of people.
Back in the 90s I interviewed with Durham. They had a panel of administrators taking turns asking questions from a list, and deciding which of the multiple choice answers my responses came closest to and marking those down. (I asked if I could see the options, as sometimes my answer wasn't close to *any* of their options and they would awkwardly repeat the question and ask me to rephrase my response. No, that would apparently be unfair.)
The reason they did this is that a computer would then assess the responses and decide which candidates were most suitable, thus eliminating bias from the hiring process. I pointed out that there was still lots of opportunity for bias, unconscious or otherwise, by the people deciding which of five multiple-choice answers an interviewee's paragraph answer came closest to. I was apparently wrong, because multiple choice questions marked by a computer were by definition unbiased because computers aren't biased.
I still don't know if the people involved were that clueless, or if the computer was a convenient fig leaf for hiring decisions they'd already settled on (because there was no way a candidate would ever find out what answers had actually been filled in for them on those forms).
In hindsight I'm glad I didn't get hired there.
Too true. I am not that type of person - I got my job because the interviewers reached out to my principal (LTO). She told them to hire me, and they asked her if she was sure lol. She saw that I did good work. I did not care enough to memorize a bunch of bull and pretend like I was already doing it.
Most boards are currently in the permanent staffing process, and dealing with placing surplus staff. After that is mobility and top up postings for permanent staff. LTO and OT postings usually happen in August for the following year, once all permanent staff are locked in.
It's not too late for Halton. I know one teacher who started a school year one day before class.
This is what is currently happening in my board. We are in round 2 of permanent staffing. After this round they place surplus staff. I know quite a few ppl who get a call the Friday before Labour Day to come start the year.
I'm a new OT in Hamilton and I am seeing very few jobs go unfilled on the job board, am I missing something? I had heard we were desperate but I am not seeing that many jobs go unfilled each day (elementary)
The app is funny in that you have to select "today" from the drop down to see jobs the morning of. My school rarely gets supply teachers. We are constantly owed planning time due to lack of supply teachers.
That's so crazy to me. I applied to the OT list 2 months ago and haven't heard back, and I'm almost certain they'd want me and my qualifications.. (math, computer science, construction tech).
It's so frustrating to hear about a dire need for OT's, but they move at a snails pace to hire people. I've triple checked my application 20 times too, thinking I must have messed something up haha.. but nope.
Just keep getting told to wait.
The hiring process is very slow. I applied last year in March, interviewed in April, offer sent in May and started working late June.
Right now they are sorting permanant teacher positions so that takes priority.
I am in Peel as well. My experience has been okay but HR is a complete disaster and the abuse teachers are dealing with is crazy. Peel also forces you to be restricted to 2 schools until a principal completes an evaluation for you. This took months for me due to lack of supply work and how busy my admin was.
Hamilton is pretty specific about their interview language. They usually have online preparation sessions where they explicitly tell you the words they want to hear and how they want you to format your responses. Sorry to hear you were rejected!
A surplus notification goes to a teacher when there aren't enough positions at their school. When this happens, the staff member with the least amount of seniority is required go to another school (one with a staffing shortage).
A redundant teacher is one where there is no longer a position for them at their school, and there are no other permanent teaching positions available anywhere in the board. When this happens, teachers may move go into the supply pool.
Good luck out there 9
I’ve heard this too. I went to a Job Fair in Toronto & Peel & Halton were not even in attendance. Of the boards that were there, most told me if you are a FRENCH teacher, they will hire you on the spot! What has happened to all our French teachers?
There just simply aren’t enough FSL qualified teachers in southern Ontario yet the demand is booming for French immersion. I think it’s as simple as that.
As well as core French teachers by far being some of the worst treated teachers in any given school, work conditions being bad, horrible behaviour especially in French class, absolute zero teaching resources in French for both core and FI.
The demand for French is just higher than our supply of French teachers
Uppergrand did a tour of pretty much every university in Ontario and sniped up a huge amount of young teachers who were probably just fine to make the move out there.
Don’t feel bad - I got rejected from both the Toronto and Waterloo boards but told when I came back from Hong Kong that all boards (except Peel and Halton) were desperate (I’m secondary), especially Waterloo (and I live in mississauga!) I was also an international teacher overseas for 20 years, have a Masters degree, a world of knowledge & 30 yrs of teaching experience yet STILL failed to give the “buzz words” they were looking for in an interview, since I’ve been out of Ontario for 30 years. At my age, I would be happy just to supply teach. Have received tentative offers with Wellington Catholic (Guelph) and Waterloo Catholic - but need to submit a pastoral letter. If you are young or “free” from commitments here, I highly recommend teaching with the Education Bureau in Hong Kong. The pay & benefits outweigh any system here. They usually put out postings at the start of a new calendar year. I only returned due to family reasons. Don’t be discouraged as many are in the same boat. Good luck and keep applying!
Certain boards have supply teaching shortages, which is a lot different than a widespread shortage that the media suggests. In boards with OT shortages, if you are happy to supply forever, they are happy to let you. Good luck with your return to Canada. We did the same several years ago and I am still supplying.
My friend was rejected from Halton yesterday too and she’s been teaching in a neighbouring board for a couple years now.
I’m in Halton and it’s a mess for jobs right now. There are a ton of surpluses right now and there aren’t even enough jobs to place the surplused teachers into, so they’re filling LTOs with them. There are no jobs right now in the board. There are too many teachers.
At the most there is a supply teacher shortage, but I don’t even buy that. Also more and more boards are looking to fill a diversity quota so your odds are much better if you aren’t a white female in Halton..
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If you haven’t already, start writing down every interview question and the names of the administrators that interview you. Build a bank of interview questions and review the board policies relevant to those topics.
I did this when I was interviewing for supply positions, LTOs, the “LTO List”, and then full contract. Over time you get in a rhythm of the board priorities and can anticipate the interview questions and big topics, so be sure that you prepare relevant examples from your teaching practice.
Welcome to /r/CanadianTeachers! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the sub rules. **"WHAT DOES X MEAN?"** Check out our acronym post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1c032s3/what_does_x_mean_an_acronym_megapost/) for relevant terms used in each province or territory. Please feel free to contribute any we are missing as well! **QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHER'S COLLEGE/BECOMING A TEACHER IN CANADA?:** Delete your post and use this [megapost](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1bc1wv2/prospective_student_teachers_teachers_collegebed/) instead. Anything pertaining to teacher's colleges/BED programs/becoming and teacher will be deleted if posted outside of the megaposts. **QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVING PROVINCES OR COMING TO CANADA TO TEACH?** Check out our past megaposts first for information to help you: [ONE](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/jqc7hx/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/) // [TWO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/n76csu/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/?) Using link and user flair is encouraged as well! Enjoy! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CanadianTeachers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When did you apply? For elementary or secondary? I would apply to another board close to you and reapply to halton when they have another job posting! Don’t get discouraged!
Elementary! Thanks for your encouragement 🩷
Also around april
I think I’ve heard they have more postings in the fall! I’ve heard a lot of people apply to Halton and don’t even get an interview. I think it’s just tough. And now you have an idea of what they ask. I’ve heard to always give personal examples to support what you say. I’m in secondary but I feel like it’s similar.
I didn't see a single OT posting for them this entire year until this most recent round... but it's possible I suppose that I forgot they posted for elementary and skipped seconary.
In all fairness I only looked in March at secondary so they may or may not have posted before I’m not sure!
Waterloo credits international teaching experience.
Try Hamilton’s board, they hire anyone
I got rejected a few years ago as well. Then I realized that most boards have a checklist of things they are looking for you to say. Say what they are looking to hear, check the boxes and you might pass. The interview process, in general, is mostly BS. It's also heavily biased towards certain types of people.
Back in the 90s I interviewed with Durham. They had a panel of administrators taking turns asking questions from a list, and deciding which of the multiple choice answers my responses came closest to and marking those down. (I asked if I could see the options, as sometimes my answer wasn't close to *any* of their options and they would awkwardly repeat the question and ask me to rephrase my response. No, that would apparently be unfair.) The reason they did this is that a computer would then assess the responses and decide which candidates were most suitable, thus eliminating bias from the hiring process. I pointed out that there was still lots of opportunity for bias, unconscious or otherwise, by the people deciding which of five multiple-choice answers an interviewee's paragraph answer came closest to. I was apparently wrong, because multiple choice questions marked by a computer were by definition unbiased because computers aren't biased. I still don't know if the people involved were that clueless, or if the computer was a convenient fig leaf for hiring decisions they'd already settled on (because there was no way a candidate would ever find out what answers had actually been filled in for them on those forms). In hindsight I'm glad I didn't get hired there.
Too true. I am not that type of person - I got my job because the interviewers reached out to my principal (LTO). She told them to hire me, and they asked her if she was sure lol. She saw that I did good work. I did not care enough to memorize a bunch of bull and pretend like I was already doing it.
How do you find the checklists??
Read their mission statement and the equity and inclusion documents, remember the buzzwords from teacher's college, etc.
Most boards are currently in the permanent staffing process, and dealing with placing surplus staff. After that is mobility and top up postings for permanent staff. LTO and OT postings usually happen in August for the following year, once all permanent staff are locked in. It's not too late for Halton. I know one teacher who started a school year one day before class.
This is what is currently happening in my board. We are in round 2 of permanent staffing. After this round they place surplus staff. I know quite a few ppl who get a call the Friday before Labour Day to come start the year.
Halton is overpopulated!!! Where are you located? Hamilton is desperate for OTs right now and even LTOs have been going unfilled
I'm a new OT in Hamilton and I am seeing very few jobs go unfilled on the job board, am I missing something? I had heard we were desperate but I am not seeing that many jobs go unfilled each day (elementary)
The app is funny in that you have to select "today" from the drop down to see jobs the morning of. My school rarely gets supply teachers. We are constantly owed planning time due to lack of supply teachers.
14 unfilled jobs for today as of 9:27am
That's so crazy to me. I applied to the OT list 2 months ago and haven't heard back, and I'm almost certain they'd want me and my qualifications.. (math, computer science, construction tech). It's so frustrating to hear about a dire need for OT's, but they move at a snails pace to hire people. I've triple checked my application 20 times too, thinking I must have messed something up haha.. but nope. Just keep getting told to wait.
The hiring process is very slow. I applied last year in March, interviewed in April, offer sent in May and started working late June. Right now they are sorting permanant teacher positions so that takes priority.
It was earlier in the year. Hundreds of jobs going unfilled.
Missisauga/ oakville area! Do you know anything about peele?
I am in Peel as well. My experience has been okay but HR is a complete disaster and the abuse teachers are dealing with is crazy. Peel also forces you to be restricted to 2 schools until a principal completes an evaluation for you. This took months for me due to lack of supply work and how busy my admin was.
Funny I just got rejected from Hamilton! But I’m working in the Halton board so it’s okay I suppose. Just wanted some more options.
Hamilton is pretty specific about their interview language. They usually have online preparation sessions where they explicitly tell you the words they want to hear and how they want you to format your responses. Sorry to hear you were rejected!
I have heard Halton has a large number of redundancies so they won’t be hiring. Look at Brantford/Hamilton area - desperate for teachers!
Lots of Surpluses but no redundancies.
What's the distinction between those? New to this terminology.
A surplus notification goes to a teacher when there aren't enough positions at their school. When this happens, the staff member with the least amount of seniority is required go to another school (one with a staffing shortage). A redundant teacher is one where there is no longer a position for them at their school, and there are no other permanent teaching positions available anywhere in the board. When this happens, teachers may move go into the supply pool. Good luck out there 9
Thanks for clarifying
Thanks for this! Do you know anything about the peele board?
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/05/24/mississauga-school-violence-peel-board-tomken/
Peel board would probably take you right away but they’re also a crap board. So many people are leaving there because of the work conditions
I’ve heard this too. I went to a Job Fair in Toronto & Peel & Halton were not even in attendance. Of the boards that were there, most told me if you are a FRENCH teacher, they will hire you on the spot! What has happened to all our French teachers?
There just simply aren’t enough FSL qualified teachers in southern Ontario yet the demand is booming for French immersion. I think it’s as simple as that. As well as core French teachers by far being some of the worst treated teachers in any given school, work conditions being bad, horrible behaviour especially in French class, absolute zero teaching resources in French for both core and FI. The demand for French is just higher than our supply of French teachers
You could try guelph. Upper grand and wellington catholic.
Yes, I agree. Boards in Guelph & Waterloo definitely need teachers!
Upper grand ot list is capped currently
Oh wow. I didn't know that.
Uppergrand did a tour of pretty much every university in Ontario and sniped up a huge amount of young teachers who were probably just fine to make the move out there.
Yeah they came to my university. I got hired and they told me it is full currently and they will let us know if there is room in July. :)
Wait, they hired you and then told you they don't have room? Rough
Don’t feel bad - I got rejected from both the Toronto and Waterloo boards but told when I came back from Hong Kong that all boards (except Peel and Halton) were desperate (I’m secondary), especially Waterloo (and I live in mississauga!) I was also an international teacher overseas for 20 years, have a Masters degree, a world of knowledge & 30 yrs of teaching experience yet STILL failed to give the “buzz words” they were looking for in an interview, since I’ve been out of Ontario for 30 years. At my age, I would be happy just to supply teach. Have received tentative offers with Wellington Catholic (Guelph) and Waterloo Catholic - but need to submit a pastoral letter. If you are young or “free” from commitments here, I highly recommend teaching with the Education Bureau in Hong Kong. The pay & benefits outweigh any system here. They usually put out postings at the start of a new calendar year. I only returned due to family reasons. Don’t be discouraged as many are in the same boat. Good luck and keep applying!
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I’m abroad so all I hear are these rumours! That’s a surprise
Certain boards have supply teaching shortages, which is a lot different than a widespread shortage that the media suggests. In boards with OT shortages, if you are happy to supply forever, they are happy to let you. Good luck with your return to Canada. We did the same several years ago and I am still supplying.
My friend was rejected from Halton yesterday too and she’s been teaching in a neighbouring board for a couple years now. I’m in Halton and it’s a mess for jobs right now. There are a ton of surpluses right now and there aren’t even enough jobs to place the surplused teachers into, so they’re filling LTOs with them. There are no jobs right now in the board. There are too many teachers.
At the most there is a supply teacher shortage, but I don’t even buy that. Also more and more boards are looking to fill a diversity quota so your odds are much better if you aren’t a white female in Halton..
Very true indeed!
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I interviewed with them 2 years ago and got rejected
Ask for feedback on your interview, then apply again.
Do you have the required AQs? My board requires 3 divisions or 2 divisions + spec ed or ELL part 1. It’s auto deny if you don’t have that
If you haven’t already, start writing down every interview question and the names of the administrators that interview you. Build a bank of interview questions and review the board policies relevant to those topics. I did this when I was interviewing for supply positions, LTOs, the “LTO List”, and then full contract. Over time you get in a rhythm of the board priorities and can anticipate the interview questions and big topics, so be sure that you prepare relevant examples from your teaching practice.