Oksana Levytska

Speaker's Bio

Oksana Levytska has started her teaching career in 1989 in Ukraine. Oksana got a TESL certificate (2006) and is a licensed teacher by OCT in Ontario (2009). She currently works as a guidance counsellor at the Catholic School Board of Education, Dufferin-Peel.

Oksana gained her significant experience and expertise in methodology of teaching Ukrainian for students in the diaspora while teaching secondary level subjects in a Ukrainian school in Toronto and in her current role of a principal of the Ukrainian Saturday School Ridna Shkola.

Oksana has been involved in the activities and projects of a number of Ukrainian community organizations.

She has been serving as a Chair of the UNF Canada Ukrainian School Initiatives Committee since 2010 and tirelessly working on reviving, starting and supporting UNF Ridni shkoly across Canada and providing methodological support to newly established heritage (Ukrainian language) schools, as well as organizing professional development workshops for Ukrainian educators of Ridni shkoly.

While chairing the UCC National Ukrainian Education Council (2016-2019) and the International Educational Coordinating Council of the Ukrainian World Congress (2019-2024), she actively worked on organizing teachers’ conferences, workshops, webinars across Canada and internationally and promoting the development of Ukrainian education in the diaspora. She ably involved Ukrainian teachers globally in the heritage and culture learning and ensured the highest quality in delivering the teaching resources and aids. Developed relevant resources with the start of the current war in Ukraine – educational and those of psychological support.

At the local level, in her role of the UCSB vice-president, she took the leading roles in the professional development group in developing program and learning materials for teachers, organizing teachers’ seminars and presenting the best practices during these educational events, providing support to the novice teachers in their implementation of effective methods of teaching in class and involving students into cultural activities, has successfully co-participated in launching the Leadership Speakers Series sessions for high school students in cooperation with KONTAKT NEXT GEN Youth TV program.
Oksana co-works with the educators in the diaspora and Ukraine, shares novice techniques and her best teaching practices of teaching Ukrainian with her colleagues by presenting at the provincial, national and international forums and writing educational articles for the periodicals in Canada and Ukraine.