Who is the OFTP?

The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents (OFTP) is a provincial homeschooling support and advocacy group. A non-profit association run by volunteer members, OFTP provides information about home learning.  We enable networking among our members. And we serve as an advocacy group and link between the homeschooling community and the provincial government. 

We are open to all. We are inclusive of all languages, all faiths/philosophies, and all educational styles.

About the OFTP: A brief history.

Founding

The OFTP was officially formed in 1987. 

In the 1970-1980s, the Ontario Ministry of Education had a working policy that directed homeschooling families to join “private schools” with “dispersed classrooms.” This meant that the individual families were each “classrooms” under the umbrella of their private school. By using private schools, the Ministry felt better able to monitor homeschooling families.  At their height, there were 25 of these private schools.

Early Days

Originally, the OFTP was a loosely organized group of these private schools.  The membership consisted of the families involved with them. The heads of these private schools worked with families who were actively homeschooling and provided a liaison and network between families and the provincial government. Over time, OFTP took on true homeschooling families as well, and today the membership is virtually all homeschooling families.

Policy Changes

In the mid to late 1980s, the policy changed, and school boards, under the direction of the Ministry, became much more hostile towards homeschoolers. Many of the private umbrella schools were suddenly shut down., though some are still operating in 2023.

The OFTP was formed to navigate and advocate against the adversarial activities of the Ministry and school boards. At that time, there were no support groups that had any experience in dealing with school boards and the Ministry. OFTP filled that void.

What we do.

About the OFTP mission

The OFTP provides factual information about homeschooling to the public and to homeschooling families. We provide networking, support and resources to homeschooling families in Ontario, Canada. 

About the OFTP Leadership

The OFTP is run by volunteers. While we have a large membership, our core executive team maintains our website and social media, responds to enquiries by the public and media, and continues to monitor and advocate for homeschooling with our provincial government. 

Our current executive team includes:

Gayle Hanlon – admin, treasurer and membership:

Gayle handles the OFTP finances and membership details. So when you purchase your membership or donate money to support the OFTP, Gayle is your point of contact. Gayle is a returning executive team member, having served as secretary when she was an active homeschooler. She has now stepped up to provide the oversight and perspective we need as the OFTP supports the next generation of homeschooling families. Gayle is our social media admin and moderates our Facebook page and group. She helps share many of the resources and unique educational opportunities that come our way.

Dr. Carlo Ricci – liaison:

Dr. Ricci has long advocated for homeschooling in Ontario and is our media spokesperson. He is a professor at Nipissing University and a researcher in education and homeschooling practices in Ontario. He also provides much of the advice on homeschooling best practices for school boards, school officials, and governmental agencies that consult the OFTP. 

Taucha Inrig – hotline:

Taucha is the voice behind our hotline and fields your urgent questions. If you require support, need a calming presence or need quick advice to solve a pressing problem, Taucha is there to help. 

Marie-Claude Dubé – Francophone support:

 Marie-Claude is an active French homeschooler in Ontario. She provides our hotline and enquiry support to our Francophone homeschooling families and helps ensure that all our materials are accurate and available in French. 

Cat Ochoa – special needs support:

 Our special needs families have unique support needs, and Cat Ochoa is there to help fill that need. Cat will also be assisting by answering email enquiries.