New teacher conduct czar critic of registry

A high-profile leader in the child protection sector who has been an outspoken critic of Manitoba’s teacher registry has been tapped to run it.

Noni Classen will be the next commissioner of teacher professional conduct, the Free Press has learned.

Classen will assume her new position on May 19 following two decades of research and advocacy for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg.

“(I’ve always) really, really loved working with kids and especially, working for the underdog,” the former resource teacher said Monday.

“It was always just something that was in my DNA — being there to support and help elevate voices.”

The 57-year-old will be in charge of fielding and investigating allegations about teacher misconduct and incompetence across the province.

Classen is anticipated to run the first public hearings organized through Manitoba’s teacher disciplinary system. The first is scheduled for May 20.

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She will be responsible for overseeing the online database, which contains teacher names and certification details.

Manitoba’s online teacher registry shows Classen — listed as Naomi Ann Classen — was certified in 1994. She is a Class 4 teacher in good standing.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said she’s confident the new commissioner will bring “a fresh perspective” and “greater focus on systems-level improvements.”

“I can’t imagine a more qualified and passionate commissioner than Noni Classen. Really, I couldn’t have drawn one up myself,” Schmidt said.

“(I’ve always) really, really loved working with kids and especially, working for the underdog.”

Classen contacted the province last month to inform them she was leaving her current position and available for any education-related projects.

Before any system-wide changes, Classen said she wants to focus on raising awareness and understanding about her office.

“We need to make sure people know how to access it and what that looks like in practice and make it accessible,” she said.

Classen’s appointment comes in the wake of the original commissioner’s tumultuous exit from the publicly funded office.

Bobbi Taillefer said she quit as teacher commissioner earlier this spring after it was revealed she had been working remotely. Premier Wab Kinew later said she’d been fired.

Taillefer, a francophone teacher whose resumé includes multiple union management roles, oversaw the launch of the new disciplinary system and registry in January 2025.

She faced no shortage of criticism — from Classen and others — during her approximately 16-month tenure.

Longtime bureaucrat David Yeo has been serving as interim commissioner.

“I can’t imagine a more qualified and passionate commissioner than Noni Classen. Really, I couldn’t have drawn one up myself.”

The incoming commissioner said she will welcome feedback.

“I want to be aware of blind spots,” Classen added.

Manitoba Teachers’ Society president Lillian Klausen said she hopes the new leader shares a commitment to upholding the status and integrity of teaching.

“A kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education background was non-negotiable for us, and we’re pleased to see that reflected in this appointment,” Klausen said in a statement.

The union, representing 17,000 public school teachers, is looking forward to working collaboratively with the new government appointee to ensure the best interests of teachers and students, she added.

Classen spent the first decade of her career working with students who had mental health challenges, trauma and experience with the justice system in what’s now the Louis Riel School Division.

She played a key role in founding “the alternative classroom,” a program focused on instruction for students who required accommodations.

Since 2004, Classen has worked on initiatives to prevent and combat child sexual exploitation, including the Cybertip.ca tipline and Commit to Kids teacher training program.

(In order to work with children, Manitoba teachers are required to complete either Commit to Kids or Respect in School. Both are online training programs with modules focused on teaching users how to identify and prevent abuse.)

“I feel like everywhere I’ve been has really been to prepare me for this job – for this role, for what I’m going to do now.”

Classen said she was incredibly reluctant to leave the public school system until she realized she could reach more students via Child Find Manitoba, the predecessor of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

“I feel like everywhere I’ve been has really been to prepare me for this job — for this role, for what I’m going to do now,” she said.

That includes everything from babysitting to serving as a special adviser on a national commission that recently undertook an independent review of Canada’s sport system, Classen said.

The education minister’s office is expected to make a formal announcement about Classen’s appointment today.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.