Spend each day with a purpose!
Teaching is an amazing career! As teachers, we help parents raise their covenant children to be discerning young adults, equipped for a life of service in God’s Kingdom. We help students learn what it means to love their neighbour and do all to the glory of God!
As Reformed Christian school teachers, we’re here to help you find your place as a teacher. Teach with us!
Click one of the options below to learn more:
Teaching High School
Teaching Elementary
Paths to Teaching
If you think teaching might be the career for you, don’t wait until you graduate high school to begin learning how to be a teacher. Get involved now! There are lots of options available that will give you great experience and prepare you for teaching.
You could:
- get involved in student leadership at your school or in your youth group at church
- sign up to tutor students
- job shadow a teacher for a day
- volunteer to coach a little league team for summer sports
- help out with a VBS program at your church
- serve as a counsellor at Campfire! for a week in the summer
Many teachers in Reformed schools complete their teacher training at Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College (CCRTC). Since 1981, CCRTC has been preparing men and women for careers in teaching. Their mission is: “Providing academic teacher training and professional development in faithful submission to the Word of God as summarized in the confessional standards: The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, and The Canons of Dort.”
Programs
CCRTC offers three programs of study: Two full-time diploma programs in preparation for a teaching career in Reformed Christian schools, and one part-time professional development certificate program for practising teachers.
The Diploma of Education is a two-year program. Applicants must hold a pass- or honours undergraduate degree from an accredited university (e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science).
The Diploma of Teaching is a three-year program. Applicants must hold a secondary school diploma qualifying them for university entrance.
For more information or to apply to CCRTC, click here.
The Ontario College of Teachers licenses, governs, and regulates the teaching profession in Ontario. Teachers who work in publicly funded schools in Ontario must be certified to teach in the province and be members of the College. For more information about the Ontario College of Teachers, click here.
To be certified, teachers must:
- have completed a minimum three-year post-secondary degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science) from an acceptable post-secondary institution
- have successfully completed a four-semester teacher education program (e.g., Bachelor of Education)
- apply to the College for certification and pay the annual membership and registration fees.
Resources at School
If you attend a Canadian Reformed High School in Ontario, one of your teachers is a “Teaching Career Champion.” A Teaching Career Champion is someone who
- is passionate about the career of teaching
- knows the joys and challenges of teaching in Reformed Christian Schools
- is willing to talk to you about the day-to-day work of teaching
- knows what path you might take to become a teacher
If you would like to speak to your Teaching Career Champion, ask your Principal or Guidance Counsellor for more information!
We think teachers do amazing and important work in God’s Kingdom. If you agree, show some appreciation and support for your teachers!
You could:
- Buy them a small gift at Christmas or at the end of the year
- Send them a card or a note of thanks and encouragement
- Arrange a “Teacher Appreciation Day” at your school
Frequently Asked Questions
Most public universities in Ontario offer a Bachelor of Education degree program. These programs are typically two-year (four-semester) programs. Applications to these programs are completed online via the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre. A list of teacher education program providers is available at the Ontario College of Teachers website.
Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College offers two pre-service teacher education programs.
Students who will have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited university should apply to the two-year (four-semester) Diploma of Education program.
Students who will have completed a high school diploma should apply to the three-year (six-semester) Diploma of Teaching program.
It depends what you want to do with your degree.
If you want to be a teacher in any grade at any Reformed school in Canada, you should complete your undergraduate degree and your Bachelor of Education at an accredited university. At this time in Ontario, teachers at private/independent schools are not required to have any teacher training. In other provinces, however, all teachers are required to be certified. Typically your certification in Ontario transfers to other provinces without difficulty.
At Canadian Reformed Christian schools in Ontario, teacher training from Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College (CCRTC) is recognized and greatly appreciated. As you can see from their website, CCRTC seeks to be the definitive source for Reformed teacher training. CCRTC offers teacher education for pre-service and in-service teachers.
Six years of university/post-secondary education is expensive, but there are a variety of financial support options available. These include grants, scholarships, loans, and loan forgiveness programs. Keep in mind that you have four months of summer to work in between school years, as well.
Completing a Diploma of Teaching at Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College involves less schooling and is significantly less expensive. However, as you make your decision you should keep in mind that the three years of additional schooling you take to get an undergraduate degree will result more than $140,000 of additional income over your career. If you take an Honours degree or complete a Masters degree, that number grows even bigger.
You should talk to your parents, your friends, your Guidance Counselor, and your Teaching Champion. You should pray about it, too.
If you want a taste of what teaching is like, there are lots of opportunities that will give you great experience and give you a good sense of what’s involved.
You can:
- get involved in student leadership at your school or in your youth group at church
- sign up to tutor students
- job shadow a teacher for a day
- volunteer to coach a little league team for summer sports
- help out with a VBS program at your church
- serve as a counsellor at Campfire! for a week in the summer
Usually high school teachers rank love of a specific subject as being more important in their decision to become a teacher. If you a passion for a specific subject and enjoy working with teens/young adults, high school teaching might be right for you.
Elementary teachers, on the other hand, often rank love for working with students/children as more important in their decision to become a teacher. If you have a passion for working with kids and enjoy a variety of subjects, teaching in elementary might be right for you.
Fortunately, you can try out teaching at different levels during your teacher education program, and you can always move from high school to elementary or from elementary to high school during your career.
The average public school teacher’s salary is between $87000 and $90000. This is significantly higher than the average median household income in Ontario, which is $74,287*.
Teachers in Reformed schools do make less money than their public school counterparts, but the League of Canadian Reformed School Societies (LCRSS) is committed to paying teachers a salary that is fair while at the same time respects the fact that our schools are 100% parent- and donor-funded. The average salary of a teacher in the LCRSS is $64,877.
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* It is important to keep in mind the difference between salary and household income. A salary is the wage of one wage earner. A household income usually includes more than one wage earner.