Roots of Empathy in Ontario
Ontario is the birthplace, home, and international headquarters for the Roots of Empathy organization.
The program was created in the province in 1996 by Mary Gordon and offered in a Toronto pilot of just six programs reaching 150 children in Kindergarten and Grade One. Grounded in Ontario in its early years, the program has since flourished, and to date Roots of Empathy has reached more than 125,000 children in the province alone and 325,000 children in total across Canada and in several countries.
Over the last 14 years, about 5,000 babies with the Roots of Empathy program have been the youngest teachers in Ontario classrooms, and many of them are now Ontario students themselves. A similar number of volunteer parents have learned more about their babies and the key role they play in a child's development. Thousands of Ontario classroom teachers have learned about their students' emotional lives and witnessed first-hand the power of helping children to develop social and emotional literacy. The significant impact Roots of Empathy has had in Ontario's schools has been recognized through two awards presented to Mary Gordon from the Ontario Teachers' Federation: the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Ontario Teachers' Federation Fellowship Lifetime Award.
The Government of Ontario has been a major partner in supporting Roots of Empathy over the last decade, putting it at the forefront of a global movement to create a more caring, peaceful and civil society through the development of empathy in children. In 2000 Roots of Empathy received one of the first early years' grants from the Ontario government, and subsequently to that the organization has been generously supported for many years by the Ministry of Education.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the first school board in the country to have the program, is also the site of the first Roots of Empathy Centre of Excellence in the world. In the 2009-10 school year, 18 classrooms in six schools at the TDSB are showcasing Roots of Empathy best practices in fidelity with the program’s curriculum and philosophy. The Centre of Excellence frequently hosts visitors from around the world.
In 2009-10, almost 18,000 Ontario children are participating in the program in more than 700 classrooms in 175 communities. The program is delivered in English and French, in urban, rural and remote communities including schools with high immigrant populations, schools with high Aboriginal populations and schools on-reserve.
More than 60 agencies in Ontario contribute Instructors, Mentors, or local program coordinators to Roots of Empathy. Hundreds of non-teaching school board staff have been trained as program Instructors. Roots of Empathy's Instructor certification is highly valued in education, health, social service, and related fields, and the training provided is a significant capacity building investment in Ontario communities.
Roots of Empathy is committed to providing equitable access to its program in the French language. Our programs have been running in French and French immersion classrooms in Ontario since 2005 with a dedicated French curriculum. Twelve French school boards across the province are currently offering Roots of Empathy. With support from the Ministry of Education and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Roots of Empathy has made significant investments in enhancing its capacity to provide programs, training, services and support to Francophone Ontarians.
Roots of Empathy has a strong commitment to Aboriginal children in Ontario (and to Indigenous children worldwide). The program is currently offered in dozens of Ontario communities with high Aboriginal populations (such as Thunder Bay, Dryden, Manitoulin Island, Kenora, Atikokan, and New Liskeard) in addition to eight communities on-reserve. In 2010, working with Aboriginal leaders and advisors, Roots of Empathy launched a comprehensive strategy of outreach to new Aboriginal communities across the province. Ontario will be leading the country - and providing a model for Roots of Empathy's international programs - through this initiative.