Christopher M. Spence is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 educator, author, and former Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

 player. He is the Director of Education of the Toronto District School Board

Toronto District School Board

Toronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...

 and former Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is the public school board in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, which was formed January 1, 1997 via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards. HWDSB teaches approximately 50,000 students in its 114 neighbourhood schools...

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Born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

n parents, Spence has lived in Canada since he was three and received his early education in Windsor, Ontario

Windsor, Ontario

Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

. Spence received a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...

 from Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

 in 1985. A running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

, he was drafted by the BC Lions

BC Lions

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 in the third round of the 1985 CFL Draft. His football career ended in 1988 after he injured his achilles tendon

Achilles tendon

The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...

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He received a Bachelor of education degree from York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

, a master's degree from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 and a doctorate from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto is a teachers' college in Toronto, Ontario.-History:OISE/UT traces its origins to the founding of the Provincial Normal School in 1847...

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He became Director of Education for Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board on September 1, 2004 and became the Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board in September 2009.

He is the author of Skin I'm in: Racism, Sports and Education (Fernwood Publishing Company, 2000, ISBN 9781552660171) and On Time! On Task! On a Mission! (Fernwood Publishing Company, 2002, ISBN 9781552660942).