Chris Spence (educator)

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Christopher Spence

| honorific-suffix =

| image =

| office1 = Director of Education,
Toronto District School Board

| term_start1 = 2009

| term_end1 = 2013

| predecessor1 = Gerry Connelly

| successor1 = Donna Quan

| office2 = Director of Education,
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

| term_start2 = 2004

| term_end2 = 2009

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 = John Malloy

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1962}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thespec.com/article/281073|title=All-Star educator plays to stay sharp|work=thespec.com|quote=says Spence, 45|date=November 13, 2007|access-date=February 23, 2009}}

| birth_place = England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Canadian

| spouse =

| relations =

| children = 3

| residence = Toronto

| alma_mater = York University
University of Toronto
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Simon Fraser University

| occupation = educator, public servant

| profession = football player

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Christopher M. Spence is a retired former Canadian educator, author, and former Canadian football player. He is the former Director of Education of the Toronto District School Board and former Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.{{cite web|url=http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/media_room/Room.asp?show=allNews&view=detailed&self=17584|title=TDSB Announces New Director of Education|work=Toronto District School Board|access-date=February 23, 2009|archive-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134657/http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/media_room/Room.asp?show=allNews&view=detailed&self=17584|url-status=dead}}

Biography

Born in England to Jamaican parents, Spence has lived in Canada since he was three years old and received his early education in Windsor, Ontario.{{cite web|title=Former B.C. Lion is schools' QB - Education activist named director of Hamilton's public board|author=Christine Cox|work=Hamilton Spectator|url=http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/media/news/details.aspx?id=659&Page=0&year=2004&profiling=3|date=July 13, 2004|access-date=February 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718023634/http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/media/news/details.aspx?id=659&Page=0&year=2004&profiling=3|archivedate=July 18, 2011}} He received a B.A. degree in criminology from Simon Fraser University in 1985.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfu.ca/aq/archives/april02/alumni.html|title=Alumni Watching|date=May 2002|work=Simon Fraser University|access-date=February 23, 2009}} A running back, he was drafted by the BC Lions in the third round of the 1985 CFL Draft, but his CFL career was ended in 1988 by an Achilles tendon injury.

Spence received a B.Ed. degree from York University, an M.Ed. degree from the University of Toronto in 1993, and an Ed.D. degree from the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1996, which was later revoked due to plagiarism.{{cite web|url=http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/In_the_Media.html|title=OISE In the News|publisher=OISE|access-date=January 1, 2013}}

He became Director of Education for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board on September 1, 2004, and served until July 2009, when he became the Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/making-every-head-count/article1276775/ |title=Making every head count|last=Gee |first=Marcus |date=2009-09-04 |newspaper=Globe and Mail |access-date=September 6, 2009 |location=Toronto}}

Plagiarism, resignation and revoking of teaching license

On January 9, 2013, Spence apologized for plagiarizing several passages in an op-ed piece he wrote for the Toronto Star on extracurricular activities. The plagiarism was verified by the Star's public editor. Among the plagiarized material was this paragraph lifted from a 1989 opinion piece in The New York Times: "We are challenged through sport to use our minds in guiding our bodies through the dimensions of time and space on the field of play. Learning the skills of sport provides opportunity to experience success."{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/living/parent/article/1312380--toronto-school-board-director-admits-plagiarism-in-star-article | title=Toronto school board director admits plagiarism in Star article | newspaper=Toronto Star | date=January 9, 2013 | accessdate=January 11, 2013 | author=Rushowy, Kristin}}{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/19/sports/l-an-open-letter-to-president-bush-756789.html | title=An Open Letter to President Bush | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 19, 1989 | accessdate=January 11, 2013 | author=Defrantz, Anita L.}} On January 10, 2013, Spence tendered his resignation as director effective immediately after additional incidents of plagiarism in earlier articles and blog entries were uncovered.{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-school-board-head-resigns-plagiarism-allegations-grow-1.1398446|title=Toronto school board head resigns, plagiarism allegations grow| work=CBC News}}

Passages from his 1996 Ed.D. dissertation were also revealed to have been copied from other sources without attribution: sentences, paragraphs, whole pages were meticulously edited so as to obscure his plagiarism.{{cite news |last1=Gordon |first1=Andrea |title=Tribunal recommends Chris Spence be stripped of doctorate |url=https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2017/06/20/tribunal-recommends-chris-spence-be-stripped-of-doctorate.html |newspaper=The Toronto Star |date=20 June 2017 |publisher=Toronto Star |access-date=12 November 2021}}{{cite news|title=TDSB director resigns over plagiarism, PhD dissertation includes unattributed passages|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/tdsb-director-resigns-over-plagiarism-phd-dissertation-includes-unattributed-passages/article7167752/|accessdate=January 10, 2013|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=January 10, 2013|location=Toronto}} On June 20, 2017, the University of Toronto investigated the allegations, found him guilty of academic dishonesty, and rescinded his degree.{{cite news|title=U of T checking Chris Spence's dissertation for plagiarism|url=https://www.thestar.com/living/parent/article/1313707--u-of-t-reviewing-chris-spence-s-dissertation-for-plagiarism|access-date=February 11, 2013|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=February 11, 2013}}

On December 20, 2016, the Ontario College of Teachers announced that Spence's teaching license had been revoked as a result of the findings of the investigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/19/chris-spence-former-tdsb-education-director-stripped-of-teaching-licence.html|title=Chris Spence, former TDSB education director, stripped of teaching licence|first=Alicja|last=Siekierska|date=December 19, 2016|publisher=|access-date=January 1, 2018|newspaper=Toronto Star}}

In 2018, Spence lost his fight to keep his Ed.D. The appeals tribunal stated that the "nature and extent [of plagiarism] found in Spence's thesis is a very serious offence." The matter, however, is not yet settled. His lawyer, Darryl Singer, wrote in an email that Spence intends to seek judicial review of the decision in Ontario divisional court.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/02/07/chris-spence-loses-appeal-to-keep-phd-amid-plagiarism-findings.html|title=Chris Spence loses appeal to keep PhD amid plagiarism findings|last=Gordon|first=Andrea|date=2018-02-07|work=The Toronto Star|access-date=2018-02-08|language=en-CA|issn=0319-0781}}

Spence successfully appealed the revocation of his teaching licence in 2018 on the grounds that his "'precarious' mental state was not adequately accounted for." A psychiatric report stated that Spence's ability to function had been affected by "depression and suicidal ideation related to the evaporation of his marriage and career."{{cite news | last = Gignac | first = Julien | date = May 30, 2018 | title = Disgraced Former TDSB Executive Chris Spence Successfully Appeals Revocation of Teaching Licence | url = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/30/disgraced-former-tdsb-executive-chris-spence-successfully-appeals-revocation-of-teaching-licence.html | work = Toronto Star}}

Works

Skin I'm in: Racism, Sports and Education (Fernwood Publishing Company, 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-55266-017-1}})
On Time! On Task! On a Mission! (Fernwood Publishing Company, 2002, {{ISBN|978-1-55266-094-2}}).{{cite web|url=http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/author/240|title=Christopher M. Spence|work=Fernwood Publishing Company|access-date=February 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706180415/http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/author/240|archivedate=2011-07-06}}