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ntropy
Joined: 11 Oct 2003
Posts: 671
Location: ghurba
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 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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No, I read the letter they sent directly to their provincial affiliates. Then I attended a two-day conference where they made that letter sound wildly optimistic. They can put any spin they want on it. They will work through the current applications and not anything else. Whatever may exist on some hazy future day, it won't be TESL Canada and the services they currently offer.
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On October 13, 2017, the TESL Canada Board of Directors held an emergency board meeting and made
the very difficult, but carefully thought out, decision to begin the process of suspending all TESL Canada
services effective immediately. |
October 16, 2017
Dear Lisa Rochman,
On October 13, 2017, the TESL Canada Board of Directors held an emergency board meeting and made
the very difficult, but carefully thought out, decision to begin the process of suspending all TESL Canada
services effective immediately.
As you know, in the past two years both TESL Ontario and BC TEAL have left the Federation. That
resulted in a reduction of our membership by almost 50%, which had the effect of drastically reducing a
main source of income, and at the same time increasing the workload on board members and
committees to set up new systems to better serve our members. This circumstance has impacted TESL
Canada negatively.
In the past few years, provincial partners have been saying that the model of running joint conferences
with TESL Canada was too onerous and unevenly balanced between workload and profit-sharing. In
response, TESL Canada chose to deliver the 2017 national conference last June 2017 without a provincial
partner. At the same time, changing directions at the federal level with IRCC meant that LINC teachers
did not receive their normal funding support to attend the conference. This circumstance had a
significant negative impact on registration numbers at the conference. While the conference was a great
success in terms of professional development and networking, it did not make sufficient profit to cover
the loss in membership revenue.
Another area of financial challenge for us has been around our core services: Teacher Certification and
Teacher Training Program Recognition. Both programs have been operating with antiquated systems
supporting too few adjudicators resulting in unacceptably slow processing times and frequent glitches.
Under the direction of the Executive Director, office staff did a comparative analysis of cost structures
and found that TESL Canada’s fees were far below comparable programs and, in fact, were not even
breaking even from a cost recovery perspective. When notice went out that we were raising service fees
– for the first time in more than a decade – there was opposition from our members.
All of the above are indicators to us that the membership, for whom we exist, does not or cannot
support our existence.
Rest assured that the TESL Canada Board of Directors is committed to shepherding this transition for the
membership with diligence and care. All outstanding applications and certifications will be processed
but effective immediately, we will not be accepting any new applications. In addition, we have already
started negotiations with the accreditation company Orion so that our members and teacher training
programs will have access to these types of services. The board will remain intact after the dissolution ofthe head office to wrap up various projects and business and to manage the transition of other products
such as the TC Journal. Likewise, we are committed to the responsible, transparent, and ethical
management of the financial assets and intellectual property of the organization.
We will continue to communicate and consult with the TESL Canada Board and ensure due diligence in
all of our actions. For the time being, the Head Office closure and the efficient and careful attention to
member services, including transparent communication, will be our priority. An AGM will be held at a
later date to make further motions as to the future of TESL Canada itself.
We thank you for your understanding during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
The TESL Canada Board of Directors
Joy Lin Salzberg – President
Paula Kristmanson – Vice President
Judy Sillito – Past President
Shahid Abrar-ul-Hassan – Secretary
Brian Courtney – Treasurer
Liliana Dominguez – Provincial Representative, Saskatchewan
Kim Dudas – Provincial Representative: Alberta
Kate Johnson - Provincial Representative: Newfoundland & Labrador
Darlene McInnis – Provincial Representative: Nova Scotia
Sherry Seymour – Provincial Representative: Manitoba
Kathy Whynot – Provincial Representative: New Brunswick
Jennifer Foote – Chair, Professional Development Committee
Elsie Johnson – Chair, Settlement Language National Network
Caroline Payant – Chair, Journal Advisory Committee
Dmitri Priven – Chair, Standards Advisory Committee |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 2:51 am Post subject: |
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| ntropy wrote: |
| No, I read the letter they sent directly to their provincial affiliates. Then I attended a two-day conference where they made that letter sound wildly optimistic. They can put any spin they want on it. They will work through the current applications and not anything else. Whatever may exist on some hazy future day, it won't be TESL Canada and the services they currently offer. |
I take it you were a paid-up club member then. Will that mean more cases of brash self-accreditation in Canada soon without membership cards opening doors for folks? |
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Scott in Incheon
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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They have recently walked back the first letter a little.
In a subsequent letter, they asked members to keep paying their dues and that they wanted to come back with an eye on doing accreditation and certification.
The first letter made it sound like they were done. The next one:
October 31, 2017
Dear Members and Colleagues,
We would like to thank you again for your patience and support as we thoughtfully deal with TESL Canada’s financial situation. We are working diligently to sort through various matters and to focus on priorities - Certification, Teacher Training Program Recognition (TTPR) and the TESL Canada Journal. While the head office is set for closure, we assure you that our dedication to keeping TESL Canada viable and sustainable is at the forefront of everything the board and executive are doing at present.
The Journal is in good financial shape with an extended SSHRC grant and we thank the co-Editors- Drs. Farahnez Faez and Antonella Valeo for their commitment to this quality product.
The TESL Canada Board is in the midst of working to find the best and most feasible solution to TTPR and certification. We are sincerely committed to this endeavor and we hope to have some news on this in the very near future.
In the spirit of transparency, as has been our goal throughout this process, we want to let you know that we are relying on our membership to continue their financial support of TESL Canada. We ask both direct and affiliate members to continue to pay your membership fees, so that TESL Canada is able to continue to provide national level support to ESL/EAL educators and be a voice at important national tables such as NLAB. In fact, TESL Canada volunteers are currently working with IRCC to review the language proficiency level of the document, “Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship”.
In order to continue, even in a reduced capacity, we need to be able to count on our members for financial support. If the affiliate is in a position to pay membership fees earlier than January 1st, this would be greatly appreciated. If this is not possible, we certainly understand and ask that you confirm that you intend to pay fees in the new year.
As you know, the Board and committees are made up of volunteers who give of their time and expertise to support our operations and certification programs. Keeping this in mind, we would welcome your financial contributions and appreciate your volunteer assistance. As always, we invite your constructive and positive feedback and any questions you may have.
Thank you for your commitment to TESL Canada and for your collegial support moving forward.
TESL Canada Board |
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Marinx
Joined: 15 Jul 2017
Posts: 86
Location: Guangdong
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| Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| Scott in Incheon wrote: |
They have recently walked back the first letter a little.
In a subsequent letter, they asked members to keep paying their dues and that they wanted to come back with an eye on doing accreditation and certification.
The first letter made it sound like they were done... |
Good to know. It didn't make any sense that they were still going to process current applications, etc., and then close down, anyway. |
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