Ontario private school options

The variety of public schools seems endless, which doesn’t make choosing the right school for your child an easy decision.

Is your youngster confident and outgoing, and therefore will love a big school with lots of potential friends and activities? Or is your child easily overwhelmed and will best respond to a smaller school with clearly defined activities?

SIZE OF THE SCHOOL

Ontario private schools range from very small, with schools that enroll just 24 students, to a school with 1,500 students.

Size also pertains to staffing. A small school will have only a few teachers, but this may be ideal if your child responds best to a familiar teacher. But it may not be challenging enough for a restless child who wants variety and activity. Half of the Ontario private schools have fewer than 10 teachers. Only three Ontario private schools are so large that they have more than 50 teachers.

ENVIRONMENT

Not all schools offer the option of starting in kindergarten and taking the student through to university enrollment.

About 60 percent of Ontario private schools offer only elementary programs. Ten percent offer only secondary programs and about 30 percent offer both.

There are differences in religiously-defined and academically-defined schools. The similarity, however, is that both have one similar goal: to provide a superior education.

The Fraser Institute study of Ontario private schools points out that religiously-defined schools, in addition to promising a superior education, base their curriculum from their religious perspective.

In contrast, academically-defined schools tend to emphasis academic success, character development, self-confidence and self-directed learning.

All Ontario private schools emphasize a sense of community and invite parents to become actively involved. They are encouraged to share their views with other parents as well as with the school.