a history of curriculum services canada

1995-1996
Help Wanted
Since the publication of the Transition Years Catalogue, hundreds of calls had come to OCC’s 1-
800 number to order materials, request copyright guidance, seek help co-ordinating curriculum
development projects, and so forth. Over the summer, many teachers also visited the office to
examine inhouse copies of the materials listed in the catalogue. Temporary help was hired to
manage the increased load, but it was becoming clear that more permanent help was needed,
along with more office space. Thus, negotiations began with OPSBA for more space and
clarification of the respective responsibilities of the two organizations within the lease
arrangement. Staffing was put on the Work Group agenda for the fall.
The greatest concern during the summer months, however, was the change in government and its
potential ramifications. News of impending funding cuts left OCC vulnerable. On the positive
side, OCC had been identified by MET as the agency for sharing resources produced by
numerous curriculum co-operatives and by projects related to the Common Curriculum
Innovation Fund. The Royal Commission on Learning had cited the Clearinghouse as a success
story and over 400 teachers actively participated in their ENO and e-mail conferences.
Moreover, at the Annual Meeting of the FWTAO in August, the new Minister, John Snobelen,
placed great stress on the importance of teachers and of technology as an aid to effective
teaching. OCC could point proudly to its consistent focus on teachers and to its growing use of
technology to provide pan-provincial, equitable service to the teaching community. On a more
cautious note, the Ministry “strongly advised” that OCC develop self-sustainability and an online
presence separate from that of ENO. No workable plan for self-sufficiency had emerged and
ENO alone had been contracted for online services.
Thus, when the Work Group met in the fall, there were many issues pending. One of the first
motions taken was to identify a management communications consultant to assist in the
development of a self-sufficiency plan. Instructions were also given to hire a secretary and to
look into developing a distinctive home page for the OCC website. Partnership initiatives—in
aid of both self-sufficiency and the development of a “one-stop shopping” service for teachers—
were given new urgency. In early October, a memorandum of understanding was signed with
the Asia-Pacific Foundation in which they agreed to list their materials with OCC and to track all
orders channelled through OCC for the first year. They also indicated their willingness to pay a
commission on future orders. This was encouraging. Perhaps a revenue stream could be
developed through partnerships.
Meanwhile, MET affirmed that it had no objection to OCC becoming incorporated, so the
pursuit of name registration was abandoned in favour of a name search for incorporation. The
latter outweighed the former legally and would ensure that the name “Ontario Curriculum
Clearinghouse” was protected. The Work Group resolved to incorporate as quickly as possible
and to achieve complete self-sufficiency by the year 2000. They hoped that MET would provide
at least base funding until that time, since the process for developing self-sufficiency within the
education community was unproven.
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