Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura Rey on July 10, 2009 at 12:10pm

I use this:

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/reportcards/schoolperformance/school...

Or, you can get the same information on the Toronto School Board site.

Permalink Reply by Marlene O'Leary on July 10, 2009 at 12:14pm

Our son attends St. Joseph's school on Leslie Street. We LOVE it. The class sizes are small. The school has about 185 students. The teachers know every child and the children are very comfortable with the teachers, each other, the staff, principal and the parents. We also have a very active Parent Council that organizes and runs a back to school BBQ, Fun Fair, Christmas Bazaar, Youth Nights, finances school trips and much more. We could not be happier. It is great being a part of the St. Joseph's family.
TAKE CARE

Permalink Reply by Gourmet Scum on July 13, 2009 at 7:37am

Thanks Marlene. My husband is Catholic, so he'd be keen to check out St. Joseph's. It's funny though, when we first moved into the neighbourhood this past winter, we learned that many of the people we were meeting were sending their kids out of district, either to a French language school or up to Riverdale... We would prefer to stick close to home to avoid commuting to school and then downtown for wor

Laura, I've looked at those reports, and have never been too sure how much weight to give them. The schools in our neighbourhood rate poorly compared to those closer to the Danforth or in the Beaches. I wonder if more of our residents sent their kids to our neighbourhood schools, their scores would improve? Obviously French immersion would be a factor in influencing parents' decisions to send their kids out of district, and we are exploring that as well...Anyway, I really appreciate both of your insights.

Thanks for sharing!

Permalink Reply by Yishey on July 13, 2009 at 8:55am

I was just comparing Morse Elementary to more "name brand" schools like Jackman and Withrow on the Fraiser Institute site and was pleasantly surprised to find 3rd grade levels were higher at our local school. Furthermore, the standard of the school was declared to be on an upswing. I think as more parents get involved in the schools in our neighbourhood, the better they will get.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Ryder Cohen on June 14, 2010 at 5:37pm

I am trying to find out any information about the Leslieville School. Also, Duke of Connaught. Anyone have any experience with either of these school?

Permalink Reply by Johanna Craig on June 15, 2010 at 8:44am

Just wanted to give my 2 cents as a teacher: take those stats with a grain of salt. They are based on schools' EQAO scores which are not at all an accurate indicator of the overall academic performance of a school. It's three days of testing and it's inevitable that the results get skewed by many factors: the number of students at a school (schools with more students tend to meet the provincial standard while the results of schools with fewer students will vary wildly as one student's performance has much more of an impact), students who are exempt, teachers' preparation of their students (or lack thereof) for the test itself...any number of things. The Fraser Institute also seems to have an agenda.... Just something to keep in mind when looking at their education stats.

Permalink Reply by elliott p. on July 3, 2010 at 12:26am

Yes, re Duke of Connaught. Lots going on, two gyms, great music program, swimming pool, large library, computer room, active parents on school council involved in Greening Day, Fun Fair, movie nights, cultural nights, education issues etc. In the last few years French immersion starting in SK and in Gr. 4. It's a great example of a community hub, with after-school programs at S.H. Armstrong Rec Centre and Applegrove (both attached to Duke) and Woodfield Child Care on the first floor of the main (older) building. Seems to be getting some buzz for French, there's a French summer camp at S.H. this summer. If you go there, you'll find all kind of activities offered for your child on site. Also a very large school yard, front and back.
Best part of Duke for my kids was the diversity, the learning that there are all kinds of people and they can all be your friends. If you want your kids to be exposed to WASPs only, this isn't the place. If, however, you want to encourage them to know all kinds of people, it can provide a very rich experience. Not a snobby place. If you want your child to be only with the elite you may be disappointed. I wasn't.

Permalink Reply by elliott p. on July 3, 2010 at 12:40am

I second that, those rankings are frankly worth zero in my humble opinion (combined 15 years as a parent in the school system).
As a parent you have got to factor in things like: will my child be exposed to only white kids? Sounds odd in a multicultural city like Toronto, but there is a fair bit of separation at the "top notch" schools.
For example, parents from another school came to my school for visits and said, "Wow this is so diverse, it must be so interesting. The only non-white people in our school community are nannies." Seriously.
Those "elite" schools are the schools that the Fraser Institute trumpets. Those are the schools that isolate your child from cultural diversity. But the Fraser Institute doesn't take marks off for that shortcoming.
A few years ago in a survey of top business types in Canada, the number one thing they felt was missing from their own education was lack of exposure to anyone different than themselves. As they got into the wider world they realized it wasn't all white bread, and they didn't have a clue about people from other cultural backgrounds.
Fraser Institute does have an agenda, and it's one of keeping people in enclaves. It's unhealthy frankly in our multicultural society.
Also there's a major flaw in the whole EQAO process. They grade a school based on how many kids are in levels 3 or 4 (the levels of eventually going to university), ignoring all the kids in level 2 who are going to be attending college and apprenticeships, i.e. a large percentage of the population. And those people have a lot to offer the world. They are definitely not "failing" in any way, shape or form. My advice: ignore the rankings, visit your local school and send your kid there. They'll be much happier going locally than being shipped out of district.

Permalink Reply by elliott p. on July 3, 2010 at 12:47am

You're absolutely right. As more parents get involved, the school becomes a more vital part of the community.