About Us

About OHASSTA

About our Organization

We are a volunteer organization of practicing History and Social Science teachers in Ontario’s elementary and secondary schools. We have been serving our members since 1978.

We have a wide membership in Ontario’s English public and Catholic systems as well as in its various private schools. We work closely with our sister association, Association des enseignants et des enseignantes de sciences humaines de l’Ontario (AESHO) to support History and Social Science teachers in the Francophone public and Catholic systems in Ontario.

We also work closely with the Ontario History, Humanities and Social Science Consultants’ Association (OHHSSCA), and the Ontario Elementary Social Studies Teachers’ Association (OESSTA). We work with all subject associations in Ontario through the Ontario Teachers’ Federation Curriculum Forum.

We work together to support our members in teaching History, Economics, Law, Politics, Civics, and the Social Sciences and Humanities. We do this through our annual fall conference, our blog and newsletters, and our social media channels. We hold annual summer institutes through the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF), and we create curriculum supports by and for our members.

We have been an integral partner in the development and implementation of Ontario’s curriculum over many decades. We support inquiry learning and disciplinary thinking in our curriculum and classrooms. We believe that inquiry approaches can inspire all of our learners in History and the Social Sciences.

We participated in recent updates to the mandatory History curriculum to better support education for reconciliation. We support further action by members, school boards and ministries of education to ensure that we are fully addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, especially #62 and #63. We believe that our members have an important role in learning and sharing with our students the historical and contemporary truths of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada. As an association, we are committed to building respectful relationships so that we can continue this work together.

We are a member of the Social Studies Educators’ Network of Canada – Réseau pour l’enseignement des sciences sociales du Canada (SSENC/RESSC), a newly-formed national network of social studies teachers’ associations across Canada. We collaborate with other subject associations in Ontario through the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF).

Our Executive

OHASSTA Executive 2025-26

The OHASSTA / AESHO executive are volunteers who serve for one year (renewable). The year begins at the Annual General Meeting in the fall.

If you are interested in serving on the executive, please Contact Us to express your interest in the late summer/early fall of the year.

Name	Role	Board
Sarah Murdoch smurdoch@ohassta-aesho.education	President	Niagara DSB
Butch Rickeard brickeard@ohassta-aesho.education	1st Vice President Partnerships, membership	Greater Essex
Meghan Cameron mcameron@ohassta-aesho.educatio	2nd Vice President Conference Co-Chair Ontario Historical Society liaison	Grand Erie DSB
Rachel Collishaw rcollishaw@ohassta-aesho.education	Past president	Elections Canada
Zoe Flatman flatman@ohassta-aesho.education	Co-Treasurer	Retired TDSB
Jan Haskings jhaskings@ohassta-aesho.education	Co-Treasurer	Retired TDSB
Craig Phillips cphillips@ohassta-aesho.education	Secretary Web content support	York Catholic District School Board
Christina Iorio ciorio@ohassta-aesho.education	Website Social media	York Catholic District School Board
Valérie Lanoue vlanoue@ohassta-aesho.educatio	Présidence, AESHO FEO représentante	Conseil scolaire catholique Providence
Vanessa Caddel vcaddel@ohassta-aesho.education	Mailchimp, Alternate SSENC representative	Rainbow DSB
Melissa Chan mchan@ohassta-aesho.education	Conference co-chair	Elections Canada, Markham
Diane Vautour dvautour@ohassta-aesho.education	SSENC representative	Toronto Catholic DSB
Valérie Emond vemond@ohassta-aesho.education	Directrice, AESHO	Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est
Leigh MacDonald lmacdonald@ohassta-aesho.education	Director	Simcoe County DSB
Ted Christou	Faculty of Education liaison	Queen’s University, Kingston
Allan Hux	Director emeritus, OHHSSCA representative	Retired
Communications communications@ohassta-aesho.education

Social Media

Reconciliation in Action

OHASSTA participated in updates to the mandatory History curriculum in Ontario (2018) to better support education for reconciliation.

We support further action by members, school boards and ministries of education to ensure that we are fully addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, especially #62 and #63.

We believe that our members have an important role in learning and sharing with our students the historical and contemporary truths of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada. As an association, we are committed to building respectful relationships so that we can continue this work together.

Alex Janvier’s masterpiece Morning Star, painted in 1993, adorns the dome of the Haida Gwaii Salon in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. Morning Star illustrates the history of the land we live in from the artist’s Dene Suline perspective and expresses the hope of mutual respect. Click on the image to learn how to read the illustrated history.
Photo from the Canadian Museum of History.

The following is an excerpt from the Calls to Action #62 and #63 from The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. We call upon all Canadians to understand our shared histories and to work to take action for reconciliation.

Education for Reconciliation

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:
i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.
ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.
iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.
We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including:
i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.
ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history.
iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.
iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.

Our Partners

OHASSTA / AESHO is pleased to partner with researchers, like-minded associations, organizations, and institutions to support our members and advocate for history and social science education in Ontario and in Canada.

Social Studies Educators Network of Canada

SSENC / RESSC is an umbrella organization of Canadian provincial and territorial social studies teachers’ networks and associations. OHASSTA / AESHO is a member. Founded in 2019, SSENC / RESSC seeks to advocate for social studies education across Canada, facilitate networking and cooperation among social studies educators, and engage with public institutions, private interests, and non-government institutions in the development and implementation of policies and/or resources related to social studies education across Canada.

Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future

Launched in 2018 and funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future – Penser historiquement pour l’avenir du Canada is a 7-year, cross-Canada research project led by Dr. Carla Peck at the University of Alberta.

The/La Collaborative

Launching in 2020, OHASSTA has been working with Dr. Sandra Lapointe at McMaster University to create an effective platform to connect students and teachers meaningfully with post-secondary experts to support inquiry learning. The/La Collaborative is a major sponsor of the OHASSTA-AESHO annual conference.

Membership

About our Organization

OHASSTA Executive 2025-26

Education for Reconciliation

Social Studies Educators Network of Canada

Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future

The/La Collaborative

Ontario Justice Education Network

Ontario History, Humanities and Social Science Consultants’ Association

Ontario Elementary Social Studies Teachers’ Association

Ontario History, Humanities and Social Science Consultants’ Association

The Association for Canadian Studies

The L.R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History, McMaster University