Leading in Learning
UTS is committed to being a global leader in academic excellence, striving for continuous improvement to offer the best educational experience for our students. At this week’s Curriculum Night, I hope you shared our excitement as you heard about the learning that lies ahead for our students and appreciate the planning our teachers have done to provide an exceptional academic program for our students this year. At the event, I also shared a short update for families on our Strategic Plan work on Leading in Learning, one of the Plan’s five pillars.
The world continues to change rapidly, and our school as an institution needs to be prepared for what lies ahead. The UTS Strategic Plan, which launched September 2024, provides a roadmap that outlines who we are and what we stand for as a school. More than just a series of goals, the plan is our shared commitment to ensure that we, as a community, continue the tradition of excellence and inclusion at UTS.
Whenever we are faced with new developments that have a major impact on society such as artificial intelligence, the Plan serves as our North Star, ensuring a strategic approach that aligns with our mission, vision and values. It helps us prepare and thoughtfully respond rather than react.
The UTS mission is, “We ignite the brightest minds to make a difference in the world.” Our vision is one of academic excellence, where our school is a global leader in education, thriving through our affiliation with the University of Toronto and our partnership with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Our values of respect, accountability, honesty and integrity are underscored by an equity mindset that endeavours to create an environment where all can thrive.
In the first year of our Plan, work on our Leading in Learning pillar sought to strengthen our technology curriculum with challenging real-world applications that prepare students to excel in their chosen fields. Some of these changes arose from feedback we received from parents, for which we are very grateful.
We made space for an expanded UTS VEX robotics program, increasing student participation by hiring a full-time Computer Science and Robotics teacher and giving the program a designated space to support innovation and hands-on learning. Another new role, the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Integration Director, will provide high-level leadership, professional development and expertise to staff and students as AI rapidly integrates with society. A new technology focused summer course was established and support was also given to the new UTS Cybersecurity Club, to help foster skills in emerging fields for our students.
In the 2024-25 school year, UTS also produced superior AP exam results – our mean scores continued to surpass Ontario and global scores, with 284 UTS students writing 629 AP exams. We also increased our support for teacher professional development, and increased student support with an additional counsellor for guidance and university counselling, all with the goal of enhancing the UTS experience for our students
This is just a sample of the continuous improvement taking place at our school, under the guidance of our Strategic Plan. Please read more about our efforts to advance equity and inclusion and safeguard student data and streamline processes in the Leading in Learning Presentation: Curriculum Night 2025.
The UTS Strategic Plan is an ongoing journey and your feedback is a vital part of the process we are undertaking to continuously improve our program. Please share your reflections on the UTS experience here to help us map the future of excellence at UTS. Your voice is important and we welcome your insights.
