If you want to learn more about paying for school, join the Oakville Independent Schools and RBC Wealth Management on November 6th, 2012 for a joint presentation on making private school more affordable. Read more…
Site Feature: Find Private School Financial Aid With New Scholarship Finder
Christl Dabu
To help make the search easier, browse thousands of dollars in available funding from private schools and government and private organizations with Our Kids’ new financial aid and scholarships online section. Read more…
Soft Private School Standards? Not According to PISA Tests
Paul W. Bennett
Students who attend private schools tend to perform “significantly better” on international achievement tests, so stories like the recent Toronto Star investigation about the so-called soft standards in some schools should be taken with a grain of salt, says Paul W. Bennett of Schoolhouse Consulting. A new August 2011 report, commissioned by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), confirms this while painting a more complicated picture, factoring in a socio-economic analysis of the results.
Student Reports: Why Independent Schools Retain Grades
Paul W. Bennett
Since the introduction of computerized reports, student reporting has become another contested terrain in public education. Standardized provincial reports, championed by educrats and zealously promoted by student evaluation experts, have been tried several times since the early 1990′s. Yet, somehow, student reports with grades continue to be popular with parents, leaving the “experts” in perpetual turmoil.
Ben Gulak – The Dragon Slayer
Carly Maga
It all started with an idea – an eco-friendly commuter vehicle that city dwellers would feel cool riding. About three years ago, Benjamin Poss Gulak entered the Uno, an electric motorcycle-unicycle cross, in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and went from zero to overnight superstar. Gulak knew that if he were to make an impact at his last science fair, he would need a complicated project and the time to devote to it. So he chose to finish high school at Chisholm Academy in Oakville, Ontario, where he was able to construct his own schedule, work on the Uno and receive one-on-one instruction.
Ruth Milkereit – The Intrepid Scientist
Carly Maga
Think of Ruth Milkereit as an explorer. With the human body as her map and a microscope as her vessel, she is inspired by the idea of making a new discovery – like a protein that resists cancer treatments. When not in the lab, she’s in the classroom as a teaching assistant, working with the Biochemistry Graduate Student Union, volunteering with kids with disabilities or with the Toronto District School Board’s “Tutor’s in the Classroom” program. And it was her education at Toronto French School that gave her the drive to chase so many passions.
