Education in Ontario
Encyclopedia
Education in Ontario falls under provincial jurisdiction. Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools are administered by the Ontario Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Ontario)
The Ministry of Education is the agency of the Ontario government in the Canadian province of Ontario responsible for government policy, funding, curriculum planning and direction in all levels of public education, including elementary and secondary schools.This Ministry is responsible for...

, while colleges and universities are administered by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

The current Minister of Education is the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, and the current minister of Training, Colleges and Universities is John Milloy.

Ontario operates four publicly funded school systems. An English-language public school system, a French-language public school system, an English language separate school
Separate school
In Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...

 school system and a French language separate school system. The public school system was originally Protestant but is now secular and non-denominational. The Separate School system is Roman Catholic (open to students of all faiths at secondary level, they have the option of refusing non-Catholics at the elementary level) with the exception of the Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board
Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board
Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board has its headquarters in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada. The board consists of a single school, the Burkevale Protestant Separate School....

 which runs a single Protestant school.

Within the public boards, alternative schools have begun to emerge. In 2009 the Africentric School opened in Toronto and in 2011 the DSBN Academy opened its doors. The Africentric school was established in part to address the 40% dropout rate of black students in the Toronto District School Board. the DSBN Academy is a new school aimed at providing additional supports for students who may lack access or the resources to attend post secondary education. These alternative schools are based on social contexts that the individual school boards deem necessary for their constituents and are funded within the publicly funded school systems.

In addition, alternative schools in Ontario have also come to be for religious contexts as in the case of Eden High School in St. Catharines."Eden is a publicly funded secondary school that operates as an alternative secondary school within the District School Board of Niagara. The school offers the prescribed Ontario Ministry of Education’s Secondary School program delivered in the context of a community where the educational objectives of the Ministry of Education and those of Eden's own Spiritual Life Department are respected and regarded as complementary in the training of students."

Finally, Ontario allows private schools that meet provincial standards to offer the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. "According to the Education Act of Ontario, a private school is deemed as any educational institution that is partially or entirely funded by sources other than the government, and that students of appropriate age attend for instruction between 9:00 to 16:00 on a typical school day. Ontario private schools are regulated by the province's Ministry of Education, and must meet, but often exceed, their standards. As a result, it is necessary for each to notify the ministry of their operation annually before or on September 1.

Officers can inspect the records and premises of Ontario private schools to ensure they meet provincial standards. Inspection is also carried out if a private secondary school would like to include subjects in their curriculum that can be counted as credits for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

There are approximately 700 private schools in Ontario, most represented by associations uniting schools of a common goal, view, or philosophy. Instructors are not required to be members of the Ontario College of Teachers, though many often are. More importantly, instructors are commissioned if their credentials satisfy the requirements outlined by their respective private school. As there are several types of private schools from elementary to the secondary school level, experience and training will differ for each."


The UN has cited Ontario for discrimination against non-Catholics because Ontario publicly funds the Catholic School Board but not schools professing any other faith. A CBC poll suggested that 58.2% of Ontarians want a single publicly funded school system with no discrimination.

The Independent Learning Centre
Independent Learning Centre
The Independent Learning Centre is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of distance education and the exclusive provider of General Educational Development Testing in Ontario....

 was founded in 1926 to provide distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...

 services to elementary and secondary school students. Since 2002, the ILC has been operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVOntario).

Levels in education

Typical age (at end of the school year)
Preschool
Daycares  <4
Elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

Junior Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 
4-5
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 
5-6
Grade 1
First grade
First grade is a year of primary education in schools in the United States and English-speaking provinces of Canada. It is the first school year after kindergarten...

 
6–7
Grade 2
Second grade
In the United States, second grade is a year of primary education. Second grade is the second school year after kindergarten. Students are traditionally 7–8 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs....

 
7–8
Grade 3
Third grade
In the United States, third grade is a year of primary education. It is the third school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 8 – 9 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs....

 
8–9
Grade 4
Fourth grade
Fourth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fourth grade is the fourth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 9 or 10 years old, depending on their birthday. It is a part of elementary school. In some parts of the United States, fourth grade...

 
9–10
Grade 5
Fifth grade
Fifth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fifth grade is the fifth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 10 – 11 years old, and are preteens...

 
10–11
Grade 6
Sixth grade
Sixth grade is a year of education in the United States and some other nations. The sixth grade is the sixth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 11 – 12 years old...

 
11–12
Grade 7
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...

 
12–13
Grade 8
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...

 
13–14
Secondary
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

Grade 9
Ninth grade
Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in some school systems. The students are 13 to 15 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. Depending on the school district, ninth grade is usually the first year of high school....

 
14–15
Grade 10
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...

 
15–16
Grade 11
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...

 
16–17
Grade 12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

 
17-18
Victory Lap
Victory lap (academia)
A victory lap is a term used in American & Canadian academics to describe one or more extra years of study needed beyond the traditional four years of undergraduate studies. These added years are generally the result of switching midstream to a different major or program...

 
17+
Post-secondary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...

 
Ages vary
Vocational education
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

 
Ages vary

See also

  • Education in Canada
    Education in Canada
    Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly, funded and overseen by federal, provincial, and local governments. Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province. Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education, followed by...

  • Education Quality and Accountability Office
    Education Quality and Accountability Office
    The Education Quality and Accountability Office is an arm’s-length Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, Canada, legislated into creation in 1996 in response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Learning in February 1995....

  • ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge
    ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge
    ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge is a program to encourage Ontario young people age 14 to 18 to take part in volunteerism. It also helps Ontario high school youth get their 40 hours community service required for graduation....

  • Contact North
    Contact North
    Contact North is Ontario's most extensive distance education network. Contact North provides access to education and training opportunities to secondary and post-secondary students Northern Ontario, Canada through distance education.Through a network of 94 access centres in Northern Ontario and...

  • Higher education in Ontario
    Higher education in Ontario
    Higher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and provided by universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges. The current minister is Glen Murray who assumed the...

  • Ministry of Education (Ontario)
    Ministry of Education (Ontario)
    The Ministry of Education is the agency of the Ontario government in the Canadian province of Ontario responsible for government policy, funding, curriculum planning and direction in all levels of public education, including elementary and secondary schools.This Ministry is responsible for...

  • Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (Ontario)
  • Ontario Academic Credit
    Ontario Academic Credit
    The Ontario Academic Credit or OAC was part of the curriculum codified by the Ontario Ministry of Education in Ontario Schools: Intermediate and Senior and its revisions. In common parlance, the term is used to describe the fifth high school year that used to exist in the province of...

  • Ontario rubric
    Ontario rubric
    The Ontario rubric is a rubric system used to mark students in the Ontario province's school system.The Ontario rubric is typically a chart with five columns. The first defines the category that is being evaluated, and the other four show levels 1 through 4. Level 1 is 50%-60%, Level 2 is 60%-70%,...

  • Ontario Scholar
    Ontario Scholar
    An Ontario Scholar is any high school graduate in the Canadian province of Ontario who attains an average of 80% or higher in their six best grade 12 courses. Prior to the elimination of the Ontario Academic Credit in 2003 the award was limited to OAC courses....

  • Ontario Secondary School Diploma
    Ontario Secondary School Diploma
    The Ontario Secondary School Diploma is a diploma granted to high school graduates in the province of Ontario.-Diploma requirements:The Ontario Academic Credit system applies to students from Grades 9 through 12...

  • Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
    Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
    The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is a compulsory standardized test for high school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. It was established in 2001 by the Conservative government...

  • Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
    Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
    The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation is a trade union which represents 60,000 members across Ontario, Canada.Founded in 1919, its membership includes public high school teachers, occasional teachers, teaching assistants, psychoeducational consultants, social workers, child and youth...

  • Ontario Teachers' Federation
    Ontario Teachers' Federation
    The Ontario Teacher's Federation is a professional organization representing teachers in Ontario, Canada. All teachers in publicly-funded Ontario schools are required by law to be members of the federation...

  • School authority
    School authority
    School authority is a type of school board created by the Ontario government's Ministry of Education to administer to smaller, more isolated school boards and hospital school boards. This definition was created on January 1, 1998 renaming 37 school boards....

  • Values, Influence, and Peers
    Values, Influence, and Peers
    The Values, Influence, and Peers program is available in all of Ontario's public elementary schools to remind them about peer pressure, shoplifting, vandalism, and other crimes committed by young offenders.-Summary:...

  • International Student Exchange
    International Student Exchange, Ontario
    International Student Exchange, Ontario is a non-profit organization based in Ontario, Canada that gives students the opportunity to embark on wide variety of student exchange programs...

  • List of Canada-accredited schools abroad

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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