About Mark

Mark Kissel has taught secondary and adult students guidance, music, and geography for over 20 years with the Toronto District School Board. Most recently he was a Victoria Park CI, and previously taught at the Virtual Secondary School, Burnhamthorpe Adult Learning Centre, Silverthorn CI, Newtonbrook SS, CW Jefferys CI, and Parkdale CI. He has also taught summer school, been an AQ course designer and instructor, an adjunct professor at two universities, as well as an IB Examiner, and wrote curriculum and exemplars for the TDSB and Ontario Music Educators' Association in the arts and guidance. 

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Mark has held multiple positions of responsibility, coached and convened many sports, produced and conducted numerous arts productions, and advised several clubs and councils.

 

Mark has been involved with OSSTF locally for many years. At his schools, he has been a Branch President at two different locations, and was a Staff Workload Representative at many more. He has organized local strike and political action activities, and served as a Health and Safety Representative. With OSSTF Toronto Teachers' Bargaining Unit (TTBU), Mark has sat on all local committees: Cahir of Elections Commission; Chair of Professional Development; Chair of Collective Bargaining; elected Member of Budget, and; Member (Rotating Chair) of Constitution and Steering. With the Toronto District, Mark was an elected District Executive Officer-at-Large; elected member of Finance; Member of Constitution, and; Member of Communications and Political Action. He has attended the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly (AMPA) consistently for over many years as an elected delegate, and was previously a whip.

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Provincially with OSSTF/FEESO, Mark was an Election Organizer, a full-release position focusing on the June 2022 Provincial Election. He is a member of the Speakers Bank, chairing local and district bargaining unit meetings throughout the province, as well as Provincial Council and AMPA. Mark is a presenter for two Educational Services workshops, Cultivating Resilience and Allyship, and is a member of the Faculty of Education Advisory Workgroup, representing OSSTF/FEESO to OISE/UT and the Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF), where he is Chair of both the Teacher Education Liaison Committee at OISE/UT, as well as the Teacher Liaison Committee at OTF. He was a member of the Educational Services Committee, and is presently Chair of the Parliamentary and Constitution Council, where he helps steer AMPA and Provincial Council, reviews constitutions, and delves out parliamentary advice.

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Mark currently serves as the liaison for the TTBU Professional Development Committee, developing educational services opportunities and events for members, and is the Bargaining Unit Educational Services Officer. He is presently the back-up liaison for the TTBU Constitution & Steering Committee, and has previously served as the back-up liaison for both the TTBU Budget and District Finance Committees. He is currently the liaison for the District Constitution Committee,  and organizes all OSSTF District 12 meetings. Along with being a District Executive Officer for OSSTF District 12 Toronto, Mark co-coordinates the TTBU New to our Bargaining Unit Events, and is also the ad-hoc Social Committee coordinator.

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Mark holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours Music Education) degree from The Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University, a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and a Master of Education degree in Administrative and Leadership Education from Brock University, where his thesis focused on mentoring and induction practices for new teachers.

Before he started with the TDSB, Mark served as an organizer and lobbyist within the student movement, as well as a policy writer and director, first as Vice-President of Education with the University Students' Council at Western University, then in Ottawa as National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

In his spare time, Mark plays trombone with both the Oakville & Burlington Symphony Orchestras; enjoys curling, cycling, and running; writes peer reviewed journal articles on a variety of educational topics; volunteers as an elected member on his local provincial and federal riding associations board of directors, and; is a Registered Parliamentarian. 

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​Most importantly, Mark is husband and partner with Tiffany, and father to Zackary, Claire, and Parker, along with cats Nimbus 2000 and Silver Broom.