Recently released statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Education show that Catholic schools in the province continue to succeed in creating well-rounded high school graduates.
Both French and English Catholic school boards perform well above average. The Ministry sets its target 5-year graduation rate at 85%, and 27 out of the 35 Catholic school boards with numbers available are at or above that benchmark. In addition, two Catholic school boards are less than 1% away from the province’s goal.
“As someone involved in Catholic education, I’m very proud of what our schools do in Ontario and across the country,” says CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon.
Of course, Catholic education is about more than just math and science. It’s about the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. This is best exemplified in the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGEs) introduced by the Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) in 1998, and still used today across the province. These expectations help form graduates rich in integrity, faith, and love.
Every graduate of an Ontario Catholic school is expected to be:
- A discerning believer formed in the Catholic faith community who celebrates the signs and sacred mysteries of God’s presence through word, sacrament, prayer, forgiveness, reflection and moral living.
- An effective communicator, who speaks, writes, and listens honestly and sensitively, responding critically in light of gospel values.
- A reflective creative and holistic thinker who solves problems and makes responsible decisions with an informed moral conscience for the common good.
- A self-directed responsible life-long learner who develops and demonstrates his/her God-given potential.
- A collaborative contributor who finds meaning, dignity and vocation in work which respects the rights of all and contributes to the common good.
- A caring family member who attends to family, school, parish, and the wider community.
- A responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice, and the sacredness of human life.
These values are the foundation of Catholic education in Ontario and across the country. Our track record of academic success is a by-product of teachers, principals, and students living out their faith on a daily basis.
Mr. Hanlon says it best: “I know that students in our school system get an education that’s second to none.”
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