Pre-module 1 and Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) Access

All candidates will be asked to complete an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) self-directed module (generally 2-5 hours) that is meant activate prior knowledge, provide an opportunity for self-reflection and new knowledge building. It is our hope that you will take the learning and reflection from this pre-module forward into the course as you engage with the facilitator and colleagues on a variety of topics. 

Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) Access

All program content and the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) access will be available to candidates/participants one week in advance of the program/course and will remain active for two weeks after the end of the program/course. Following this period, candidates/participants will no longer have access to assignments, conversations, resources or other content. Please save any information that you would like to retain during the timeframe that you have access to the LMS.

Module 1 - Principal Legal Duties and Responsibilities

(compulsory module)

• What are the principal's duties and liabilities in relation to the Child and Family Services Act?
• What are the principal's legal duties and responsibilities?
• What does it mean to be an “agent of the board?”
• What does a principal need to know when investigating the misuse of social media?
• What does a principal need to know when using social media?

Module 2 - Instructional Leadership for School Improvement

• Co-leading the instructional program
• Instructional leadership and school management
• School culture and its impact on learning and teaching
• Student-centred learning

Module 3 - Leading an Equitable and Inclusive School

• Equity, inclusivity, social justice and schools
• Mindsets and equitable schools
• Positive school culture and leadership
• Privilege, bias and culturally responsive and relevant leadership

Module 4 - Mentoring  and School Leadership

• How can leaders create a culture of Mentoring?
• To what extent can Mentoring skills enable leaders to successfully navigate hard conversations?
• To what extent can Mentoring skills improve relationships and organizational culture?
• What Mentoring attributes and/or skills do great leaders exhibit?

Module 5 - Building a Digital Leadership Portfolio

• Creating a digital leadership portfolio
• Creating a school and personal blog
• Creating a school and personal website
• Leading a collaborative inquiry

Module 7 - Courageous Conversations

• Lead schools as diverse workplaces

• Plan for and participate in courageous conversations

• Use strategies such as an Outcome Map to engage in courageous conversations that build trusting relationships and include impressive empathy, listening for meaning and asking powerful questions

• Continue to engage in courageous conversations which challenge traditional leadership practices and foster a school climate of inclusion, equity, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism to support all staff and students

Module 8 - Leading the Kindergarten Program

• Dealing with uncertainties in pedagogical documentation
• Four frames of the kindergarten program
• Play-based learning in a culture of inquiry
• Principal as co-learner in creating the conditions for learning

Module 9 - Leading the Innovative School 

• A shared vision of learning in a digital age
• Creating a culture of learning
• Innovative learning spaces
• Monitoring virtual spaces
• Rethinking digital citizenship
• Supporting virtual instruction and assessment
• Supporting virtual students and their families

Module 10 - Supporting Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex or Asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) in Your School

• Exploring bias and student agency
• Fostering allies
• Fostering personal leadership resources
• Intersectionality

Module 11 - Leading the Special Education Program

• Building collaborative partnerships with parents
• Building the staff capacity to meet the needs of all students
• The complexities of Special Education student aggression
• The law, Special Education and the Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Module 12 - Supporting Leadership in Mathematics

• Assessment and evaluation
• Effective instructional approaches in effective math classrooms
• Foundational knowledge in mathematics
• Implications for professional learning and school improvement planning

Module 13 - The Principal's Role in Mental Health Awareness and Trauma-informed Schools

• A tiered support model for school mental health and well-being
• Creating mentally healthy schools
• Establishing a common language and understanding
• Everyday mental health practices

Module 14 - Leading the French Immersion School

• Effective practices in French Immersion classrooms
• French Immersion teacher retention and developing the French Immersion program
• Inclusion in the French Immersion program
• The evolution of French Immersion in Ontario

Module 15 - I Stand in Treaty

• Pre-contact to the Indian Act
• The Indian Act to Indian Residential Schools
• The White Paper to the Apology
• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Decolonization

Module 18 – Anti-Oppressive School Improvement

• Critical Pedagogy, Anti-Oppression and Indigenous Education
• Equity, Anti-Oppression and School Improvement – Application
• Interrogating SIP Goals & School Learning Plan from an Anti-Oppressive Space
• Positive School Culture and Leadership - Moving Forward

• Ontario College of Teacher's (OCT) Certificate of Qualification and Registration
• Principal's Qualifications (Part 1 and 2 or equivalent) and
• Two years of successful experience as a principal or vice-principal, certified by your Supervisory officer (SO).

Candidates are solely responsible for ensuring they meet all eligibility requirements under O. Reg. 176/10 under the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, including applicable academic, professional, experiential, and credit prerequisites as determined by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). These requirements are a prerequisite to admission to Additional Qualifications (AQ) courses/programs, and to successful recommendation to the OCT. It is the candidate’s obligation to provide truthful, complete, and accurate documentation, and to confirm that their academic and professional history fulfills all regulatory requirements.

 Completion of an AQ course/programs through the OPC does not guarantee the OCT will accept a candidate’s qualifications, record the qualification on the Certificate of Qualification and Registration, or recognize any credits submitted. If the OCT determines a candidate does not meet prescribed requirements — even where OPC has accepted the registration and the candidate has completed or paid for the program — the OPC shall not be liable for any loss, claim, cost, expense or damage however arising from that determination.

Recent updates to the Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation have introduced alternative pathways to school leadership, expanding access for a broader range of Ontario educators.

These alternate pathways are available to teachers who do not hold an acceptable post-secondary degree and who are

• Teachers of technological education
• Teachers of Indigenous languages
• Primary–Junior teachers of Indigenous ancestry

Minimum requirements include:

• Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) Certificate of Qualification
• OCT membership in Good Standing
• Minimum of five years of verified classroom teaching experience

How the PDC fits in
Under these pathways, the Principal’s Development Course (PDC) may be used as part of the requirements for entry into the Principal’s Qualification Program (PQP), when combined with additional qualifications:

• Two Specialist qualifications (Schedule D), or
• One Specialist (Schedule D) and one Honour Specialist (Schedule E), or
• One Specialist or Honour Specialist and the PDC

Candidates may also have flexibility in how divisional requirements are met through approved courses or equivalency recognition.

For full details on eligibility and requirements, please review the Alternate Pathways on our PQP page.

A tax receipt will be generated and available on your OPC account by the end of February for the previous tax year.

To access the document:

• Log into the OPC website.
• Go to "My Profile" on the navy blue bar towards the top right of the browser window.
• Click on “Program Tax Receipts”.
• Select the appropriate year to open and print your tax receipt.

A full refund applies when a session is cancelled due to low enrollment.