Student Success Initiatives
Every student learns differently. Now, in addition to BEST and Cooperative Education, there are exciting new ways for them to participate in high school and earn the credits they need.
- Student Success Teams work with school staff, students, parents and the wider community to ensure that, together, we help more students earn the credit necessary to graduate. A new addition to secondary schools is the Student Success Teacher who advocates and mentors students, monitors students, and develops interventions for struggling students. Such interventions may include credit rescue, credit recovery, and other opportunities.
- The Credit Recovery Program (CRP) is designed for students who are most at risk of falling behind in their credit accumulation and leaving school without an Ontario Secondary School Diploma as a result. The CRP provides a student who has failed a credit a second opportunity to meet grade level expectations to achieve the same credit. Eligibility of a student to participate in CRP will be determined by the factors which impacted on the student’s lack of success the first time through the credit, the student’s program pathway, the student’s overall academic performance, and the principal’s discretion.
- Specialist High Skills Major (coming in 2008-09) offers an opportunity for students who have a career path in mind an opportunity to customize their learning. Students take “bundles” of six to twelve courses that help them prepare for specific employment sectors, such as hospitality and tourism, arts and culture, construction, manufacturing, and primary industries.
- Lighthouse pilot projects help students stay in school, accumulate needed credits, take program linked to colleges and encourage youth who have left school to return. We anticipate offering these programs in our area in the near future.
- Cooperative Education is a great way to learn skills and gain experience from the workplace, and get a “head start” with building a resume. Students can now include two co-op credits within the 18 compulsory credits they need to graduate.
- Dual credit programs offer high school students the opportunity to earn a number of credits by participating in apprenticeship training and postsecondary courses that count towards their high school diploma and their post secondary diploma, degree, or apprenticeship certification. Dual credits are currently offered only through pilot projects in the School/College/Work Initiative.
- Transition programs: Students who have difficulty making the move from elementary to high school will get the support they need through increased individual attention, monitoring, and programming tailored to fit their individual situation. Secondary schools work closely with their elementary counterparts to gather information that will assist them in ensuring a successful transition for students.
- Credit for external credentials will give students recognition for selected learning which they pursue outside their secondary school program. Certification from specific, recognized institutions such as conservatories of music, can count as optional credits towards a high school diploma.