History of CODE

CODE began as a network of friends and colleagues determined to support one another and to raise the profile of drama in Ontario schools. At conferences, by writing curricula, often by driving across the province to visit and help each other, these early drama teachers worked and volunteered for the same goals. Such activity continues to this day.

A planning conference was held at Queen’s University in the spring of 1967. The drama people from Queen’s and the University of Toronto worked to create momentum for Drama to be taught in schools as a stand-alone subject. 

Helen Dunlop organized a key dinner meeting at the old Granite Club in Toronto to discuss a new kind of association. At another larger ‘gathering’ (conference) at the St. Lawrence Centre in 1969, many Canadian teachers first saw Dorothy Heathcote working with students in her unique style of role-play. With the encouragement of David Booth and others, this way of working became the standard for Process Drama in Ontario schools. At this conference, discussion and planning for a provincial autonomous organization continued.

Helen Dunlop – chaired the Theatre Arts Committee, a sub-committee of the Creative Arts Committee of the Department of Education – and continued by the Ontario Institute of Education (Office of Development) in 1965-1969. The result: Courses of Study in Drama and Theatre Arts, Grades 7 – 12, 1969.

Helen became Assistant Superintendent in the Curriculum Division of the Department of Education. At the government level, she and others nurtured the acceptance of drama as both a subject and as a methodology. 

At an Ontario Educational Association conference at the Royal York Hotel in 1970, a room for drama was set aside and a conference of the ‘new’ organization was planned. There was discussion about duplicating the role of CCYDA (Canadian Child & Youth Drama Association); however, many people felt the need for a focus on Drama based entirely in Ontario from K – University, including professional artists.

In May, 1971 Queen’s University hosted CODE’s first official conference. Michael Wilson became the first President, and the organization was a reality.

Pioneer teachers (such as Bob Barton, Chuck Lundy, David Booth, Marilynn Nixon, Bill Roberts, Margaret Shotliffe and Michael Wilson) experimented with new courses. 

Secondary teachers in this era were teaching only one or two sections of drama per year and were usually the only drama person in their school or perhaps in their board. Support was non-existent and there were no resources. Teachers ‘invented’ the drama courses for their schools, touching base with the one ministry document and by calling friends in other cities. Teachers’ personal networks provided consistency of course content and techniques, province-wide, and these pioneers confirmed or amended their direction each year at the CODE Conference.  Elementary teachers introduced to drama tended to focus on using it as a vibrant teaching strategy to develop literacy and engage students in critical thinking.

This period saw conferences in Kingston three times, and spread across Ontario universities in the other years. CODE traveled east or west to ‘boost’ the profile of drama in regions. Keynote speakers were the top drama people in the world, such as Dorothy Heathcote and Brian Way. In spite of excellent quality, poor attendance cancelled the 1979 conference at Queen’s University. The momentum of the network was not big enough to carry the ‘word’.

Prior to the Internet, CODE established both a monthly newsletter “Touchstone”, and the annual scholarly journal “Contact”. Lorna MacKay was the first editor and Margaret Burke was the last. Both publications provided vital ideas and classroom resources between conferences. Slowly, teachers began sharing their ideas province-wide, school by school.

May 1980 saw a CODE/CCYDA Conference in Guelph entitled "Growing Together Through Drama". Between the 10^th and 15^th years (1981 – 1986), CODE conferences were held at the Bayview-Wildwood resort at Sparrow Lake in October, where a central resort location proved successful. The annual fall conference had a ‘reunion’ atmosphere that continues to this day.  The first fall conference was October 22-24, 1981: "Drama Today...Drama Tomorrow?"

With the publication of the Ministry curriculum revisions: Dramatic Arts, Intermediate and Senior 1981 and Drama in the Formative Years, 1984; and later the Ontario Academic Credit  in 1986, “Theatre Arts” became known as “Drama”.  Veteran CODE teachers became part of the writing teams for these Ministry curricula and support materials for the elementary and secondary panels, some of which were under the leadership of Bob Barton, CODE Honorary member.  CODE people moved into positions of leadership within the Ministry of Education, universities, drama festivals, professional theatre and the teachers’ federations. The vision of the early pioneers was being realized.

From the outset, teachers debated the importance of what became known as “process drama” and the influence of “theatre production” skills in the curriculum. Teachers favoured one set of skills over the other in their practice and debated passionately at the conferences. During this period, due to the wisdom and leadership of mentors like David Booth and Norah Morgan, teachers realized that a good drama teacher should be comfortable teaching anywhere on the spectrum from role-play to theatre. This era saw the peak and end of this ‘either-or’ debate. Drama simply became ‘both’ in the hands of progressive classroom practitioners.  And Drama also now included movement/dance skills.

In this era, CODE tried to connect with all arts organizations that had similar goals. A CODE member (often the CODE President) would volunteer to liaise with these to keep communications going. The original goal of networking now extended to a much broader, international drama and dance community, and included a political element. 

CODE has participated in the international IDEA (International Drama/Theatre and Education Association) congresses, and was a founding member of IDEA; their first congress was held in Porto, Portugal (1992). CODE was instrumental in the founding of Theatre/Thêatre Canada in 1997.

In 1997, Dance teachers joined CODE as their subject association. The “Council of Drama in Education” became the “Council of Drama and Dance Educators” in 1998, and eventually the “Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators” in 2006. CODE Conferences benefited greatly with the introduction of dance workshops.  A much broader understanding of all the arts as tools for learning came into common practice. Currently, both Drama and Dance teachers are content to share the same subject association governance group. This was an important step towards having Dance recognized as one of the four arts in the Ontario curriculum.

There were political tensions between teachers and the government of Ontario premier Mike Harris, in power at the time (1995 – 2002). Moving forward with an arts agenda was difficult, but not impossible with many CODE people already in place in positions of trust. Budget cuts hurt most in schools where the arts had little or no support.  In boards where CODE had a good network in place, teachers found ways to survive the downsizing. Sadly, some schools saw their classroom dance and drama programs shrink or disappear at this time.

In 1998-2000, the Ministry revised all of the curricula at once with the purpose of making it more consistent across subject areas, particularly in the area of Expectations and Assessment.  This process began when the Ministry posted Requests for Proposals (RFPs) requiring a group submission, that must include a school board and a business as well as any other stakeholders, to submit joint bids to the Ministry to win leadership in each subject area. There was a firm deadline to submit. President Ron Dodson was at the helm.

CODE, OSEA (now OAEA), and OMEA worked closely together. Wayne Fairhead, former President and Honorary Member, was instrumental in this work as was board member Jane Deluzio who worked closely with him and Ron, and the subject associations. We allied with the Upper Canada DSB through Superintendent Eleanor Newman, a former OMEA president, and with a business in Kingston (name to be added) that provided education for inmates in prisons. After one day of training in the writing of RFPs, generously hosted by and provided for free by KPG in response to a frantic phone call, our group submitted a successful bid for the Arts Curriculum.  CODE was deeply involved in the hiring of writers and reviewers and the feedback process for the many Dance and Drama curriculum drafts. There was much more  involvement by the politicians than typical, and this process was very challenging involving intensive secrecy constraints and many long meetings. 

The ARTS in this new curriculum were defined by the Ministry as Drama, Music and Visual Arts. Dance had been taught successfully as a physical activity in Ontario for many years, but was not also recognized as an art form and taught as such with the creative process in mind.  Dance was finally added to both the elementary and secondary ARTS curriculum after an intensive national advocacy FAX campaign in 1998 led by Jane Deluzio on behalf of CODE and widely supported by dance artists and organizations across Canada. This was reported on in both The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. However, because the elementary curriculum was almost finished, Dance was added to Drama as a single strand, and the Drama expectations were reworded to fit both arts.  Nonetheless, Dance was named by the Ministry as an art, and  Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts secondary curriculum was written separately. The teaching of all of the arts became compulsory in elementary education and all four could be offered for multiple credits in our secondary schools.

1999-2000 were significant steps forward for teachers and for Drama and Dance in Ontario schools. CODE continued to work with the Upper Canada District School Board and OMEA and OAEA to ensure that the ARTS were included in this massive writing project spread over four years. These same RFP groups were awarded the leadership for writing the Secondary ARTS Course Profiles. Under the direction of President Ron Dodson, CODE coordinated the hiring of writers and reviewers, laised with UCDSB and led secondary Drama writing with Vice-President Jane Deluzio leading secondary Dance.

Building on those accomplishments, recent Ministry of Education revisions have intensified the need for classroom teachers to acquire drama and dance skills. CODE saw a shift in membership. In this era, members from the Elementary panel had numbers equal to, then surpassing those from the Secondary panel.  This changed the tone and content of the annual conferences to a broader range of teaching concerns.

In 1987, the CODE conference alternated between a university and a central resort hotel. CODE co-hosted Augusto Boal who was the keynote speaker at our 1991 conference. The 25^th Anniversary was celebrated in Alliston for the our fifth and last time in 1995. CODE partnered with the Teachers-Festival Liaison Council (T.F.L.C.) in Stratford in 1999 and all four arts subjects came together for the millennium conference, ”Arts and Education 2000,” in Markham. Many useful connections came from these partnerships.

In 2003, the need to reach out to the corners of the province resulted in “CODE on the ROAD”, a project where a ‘portable’ conference traveled to at least four locations in Ontario – as a way of stimulating membership and interest in drama and dance education.

In 2003, CODE voted to discontinue “Contact” as plans developed to expand and improve a website presence. Within a year, CODE was responding to a generation of teachers well used to the Internet and on-line communications.

In 2004, it was Canada’s turn to host the IDEA congress in Ottawa, and CODE played a significant role in planning and producing that event with leadership from former Presidents Ron Dodson, Wayne Fairhead, and Michael Wilson among others.

In 2007, CODE, now the Council of Ontario Dance and Drama Educators, changed the logo and came to the conference with new colours and a new look.

The website became interactive, with a discussion forum and an online newsletter combining the best elements of both the old print newsletter and the printed Journal.  By 2010, the online Discussion Forum was replaced with a Blog.

CODE’s partnerships with arts organizations offer a wider range of benefits to members.  CODE posters were created in both English and French as advocacy tools for drama and dance.

CODE now reaches out to pre-service students, offering them special conference rates and free membership, and half price rates for new teachers. Pictures and videos from conferences are featured on the website. Lesson plans and links to many teacher resources are posted and updated regularly.

CODE works to expand the resources available on the website, as that is the ongoing ‘home’ of constant dialogue with drama and dance teachers in the province and beyond. The website allows any member to read minutes and speeches, current or past.  The website keeps the dialogue from the conferences alive all year round. CODE now also has expanded its online presence with an active Facebook group and Twitter account.

Pioneer dance teacher, Carmelina Martin, then CODE Dance Liaison, established “Pulse” – a CODE event where secondary dance teachers and students are able to interact with the finest dancers and choreographers in the country.  “Pulse” was first held at York University in 2006 and again in 2008.  It continues every second year as a pivotal event in Ontario Dance Education, focusing on creating community and always on inclusivity, decolonization and student composition through improvisation.

Pulse Ontario Youth Dance Conference, 2008 Documentary from CODE Resources on Vimeo.

At the same time, other local secondary dance festivals, including the Ontario Secondary Schools DANCEFEST (OSS DF) under the leadership of former CODE board member, Laurel Brown, served local needs beginning in the Western region and spreading across the province. For this event, students share original choreography for adjudication, signing an affadavid that it is their work, not the teachers, and that no choreography was taken from the internet.

CODE also established a stronger relationship with the Sears Drama Festival (now the NTS FestivalOntario) led by former President and Honorary Member, Wayne Fairhead.  

This broad groundswell in many areas has shifted dance events from ‘unusual’ to ‘normal’ activities for all teachers to attend. 

CODE partnered successfully with the Ontario Society for Education through Art (OSEA, now known as OAEA) in 2005 at the Brampton conference. Three of the four arts were featured at that time – a very visual success. In 2006, a powerful Symposium, hosted by CODE and Ontario Arts Educators Teachers Association (OAETA) kicked off the Blue Mountain conference and in 2008, Dorothy Heathcote addressed the London, Ontario conference interactively and live from England.

CODE was active in the curriculum revision led by former CODE President Christine Jackson, culminating in The Arts Grades 1-8, 2009, The Arts Grades 9-10, 2010, and The Arts Grades 11-12, 2010.  Christine was instrumental in having Dance identified as a fourth arts discipline and leading the development of separate Dance and Drama curricula in Grades 1-8. She also initiated and led the work on The Creative Process and Critical Thinking "wheels" that appear in the front matter of the curriculum, establishing THE ARTS as the first to do so.

The outcome of placing Drama and Dance as separate arts in the 2009 Elementary curriculum and on the Elementary Report Card generated a renewed interest in drama and dance skills for elementary teachers.  Across Ontario, current and former CODE members are offering workshops to help teachers ‘catch up’ with the skills that may not have been part of their initial pre-service training. This renewed interest is also reflected in the attendance at recent CODE conferences.

This, combined with Ministry initiatives in Assessment and Evaluation in the Arts, has placed CODE and its members at the forefront of planning and decision-making for the new century in Arts Education.

CODE continues to liaise and advocate with and through various organizations, including the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC), the Ontario Teachers Federation (OTF), the Ontario Teacher Educators in the Arts (OnTEA), and the Ministry of Education, among others.  Community  

In 2010, CODE celebrated its 40^th anniversary at the CODE Conference “Celebrate Drama and Dance: Inspiring the Artist in the Teacher” at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, partnering with the Shaw Festival to provide another excellent conference. It was truly an event to remember, both for veteran CODE members and those new to the organization. Full of stories, memories, inspiration and innovation, the conference looked both to CODE’s unique past and to its exciting future. Here are a few highlights from the conference:

Inspiration: Delegates found inspiration in the conference’s array of workshops and keynote speeches, all pointing to the rich diversity of drama and dance education. Professor Jonothan Neelands told us “tales with a difference” while working with a grade six class from a nearly Niagara school, and keynote speeches from Peggy Baker, Andrew Moodie and Blake Martin gave delegates much to ponder and draw inspiration from.  A matinee performance at the Shaw Festival and workshops from artists and educators kept our minds and bodies buzzing throughout the weekend.

History: 40 years of advocacy for drama and dance education were celebrated with tales of the amazing history of CODE.  Founding members such as Helen Dunlop, Juliana Saxton and many others met for a past presidents’ dinner, sharing anecdotes of conferences gone by and CODE’s many important accomplishments. CODE’s first president, Michael Wilson, was inducted as CODE’s newest honourary member, and David Booth entertained and inspired delegates with tales and video clips documenting 40 years of drama work in Ontario.

Innovation: The 40th conference was an ideal launching pad for new ideas stemming from the revised arts curriculum.  Workshops focusing on the creative process, assessment and evaluation, critical literacy and other timely topics resulted in deep conversations and exciting work from conference delegates. Opportunities to talk, network, laugh and celebrate together resulted in a memorable event that we will look back on fondly for many years to come. Thanks to the conference committee, CODE board, Brock University student volunteers, workshop leaders and speakers, performers and delegates who made it happen!

This CODE Conference, like those before it, truly provided arts educators the opportunity to be inspired and stay connected.

At this time it was decided that CODE’s archives would be relocated to Brock University’s Faculty of Education. 

In May 2011, then CODE President Kim Snider sat on the National Roundtable on Teacher Education in the Arts (NRTEA). This first-ever event, initiated by former President and Honorary Member Michael Wilson, brought together key stakeholders such as Faculty of Education professors from across Canada, subject association representatives, and arts consultants to discuss how to advocate for more time and attention being devoted to the teaching of the arts in pre-service Education programs.

CODE continued to liaise across Ontario, nationally and internationally. Through relationships with IDEA and CODiEs spending time abroad, CODE built relationships with Drama and Dance organizations around the world. Read CODiE Abroad blog posts here.

CODE expanded its digital presence with the creation of an Instagram account featuring content from the Conferences. The website continued to develop, migrating to a new platform that allowed for greater stability. Events can be coordinated entirely through the website. CODE has a searchable database with over 200 resources and its own YouTube channel with links to the “Learning Through the Arts” video podcasts (Drama, Dance), produced by Curriculum Services Canada and funded by the Ministry of Education.

2011 also marked the first writing project of this period, focused on creating Financial Literacy resources. CODE developed resource materials to support teachers with the implementation of the Financial Literacy initiative as it relates to the revised Drama and Dance curriculum supported by the Ministry of Education as part of the Ministry of Education initiative A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools. In 2015, CODE developed resource materials to support Intermediate/Senior teachers with the implementation of the Drama and Dance curriculum in the context of Inquiry learning. Writing teams created resources to support secondary teachers in the facilitation of student-led inquiry in dance and drama.

Critical Literacy writing project (details to come)

In 2013, CODE responded to the remarks of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper about Justin Trudeau's former work as a drama teacher. CODE was contacted by journalists and featured in an article of the Ottawa Citizen defending the work of drama educators.

Secretary Claire Lindley was featured in ETFO magazine: https://www.code.on.ca/blog/dance-elementary-education

Through the leadership of Sarah Papoff, CODE president from 2015-2017, CODE established equity priorities including the addition of an Equity Chair to the CODE Management Board. The Equity Committee worked to forge relationship with the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Association of Ontario, dedicating a Management Board retreat to learning about decolonization and how it relates to our work as educators at Akinomaagaye Gaamik: House of Learning. The CODE Equity Committee and FNMIEAO created the In a Good Way document to support teachers in their understanding of cultural appropriation and in their role as treaty people. CODE created a Call to Action in line with our philosophy, urging drama and dance teachers to act as accomplices in justice for Indigenous peoples. In 2018, CODE responded to the decision of the Ontario government to cancel curriculum writing sessions for Indigenous educators.

In 2017, the Equity Committee extended its work into a comprehensive resource review, updating some well used resources with new ideas and lenses. CODE unpublished a few resources in both Drama and Dance, flagging any resources on the website that needed minor or major revisions in terms of intersecting oppression that educators, students and society may experience. CODE will continue periodic revisions as we learn more about equitable teaching for justice.

In 2016-2017, CODE partnered with the Aga Khan Museum to create appropriate resources for exploration of Islamic Art and Culture through drama and dance. (details to come)

CODE commissioned French translations of key resources and worked to establish relationships with the Association francophone pour l’éducation artistique en Ontario (AFÉAO) by conducting workshops for the CSC Viamonde about process drama and the distinctions between drama and theatre. Resource translation is ongoing. CODE also worked to recruit elementary French Immersion generalist teachers to the Management Board as well as Francophone board members from Northern Ontario.

Under Jane Deluzio's leadership in 2018-2019, CODE's conference went "On the Road" taking place in three different regions: CODE in the County (East/Central East Regional Conference), CODE in the 6ix (Toronto Regional Conference) partnering with UTSC and CODE-upon-Avon (West/Central West Regional Conference) partnering with the Stratford Festival Theatre. CODE emphasized filling the Management Board with local members to represent each region as Regional Coordinator, establishing strong regional voices. This emphasis led to the creation of individual regional groups on Facebook and the search for committees in each region. Regional funding for workshops and webinars was an important part of CODE's budgeting during this period.

On April 29, 2019, CODE and OMEA (The Ontario Music Educators Association) were named in the provincial legislature by Dr. Jill Andrew, MPP for Toronto-St. Paul and NDP Culture Critic.  Jane Deluzio, President, and Sarah Papoff, former President, and our counterparts in OMEA (also President and a former President) were introduced. Dr. Jill Andrew received over 100 emails from CODE members and OMEA members in less than 48 hours speaking up about the importance of creativity and adding the A to STEM, and highlighting drama, dance, music and visual art and their importance. These emails were submitted to the House by Jill who read four of them out loud including one from CODE's Sarah Papoff who was named as the writer.

In 2020, CODE regional coordinators created a video series suggesting adaptations to existing approaches to drama and dance in light of COVID-19 school closures. That summer, CODE Board members and a team of writers led by Jane Deluzio responded to COVID-19 safety protocols for school re-opening by rewriting existing resources for each panel (download the PDF of the document here). The team volunteered to ensure that these resources were ready for students, caregivers, administrators and educators. CODE's 50th anniversary conference was cancelled and CODE undertook a virtual conference called "Unmute!" in addition to a virtual celebration of CODE's history.

CODE celebrated 50 years in 2020:

CODE 50th Anniversary Video

In 2021, CODE financed a writing project titled Grounded in Space and Place which involved developing resource materials to support teachers with the implementation of Drama and Dance resources in both English and French, with a connection to the land. Short units were developed to emphasize a connection to the land, place, space and/or sustainability. Resources centred decolonization as a guiding principle.

In 2022, CODE published the results of a collaboration with Prologue for the Performing Arts, teachers from the Algoma District School Board, and Thinking Rock Community Arts that aimed at articulating relationships between arts educators and artists. The project involved interviewing teachers, conducting workshops, developing drafts with the stakeholders, and determining if the recommendations worked in practice. Best Practices for Teachers and Artists Working Together highlights what teachers and artists can accomplish together, centering sustainability of these working relationships. In the fall of 2020, "The Future of Tomorrow" Conference was held in Hamilton.

Provocations Journal was also launched in 2022. While Provocations is an independent project, CODE is involved with the editorial board (further details to come). https://www.provocationsjournal.com/about-provocations

In 2023, CODE published translations of over 40 resources and the glossary in French for French Immersion and Core French educators in Ontario. Read about the process here. CODE went back 'on the road' to visit Kenora and Windsor.

In 2024, CODE held a one-day conference in Kingston.