THE OUR KIDS REPORT:
Merrick Preparatory School

Who are you, as a school?

"We foster courage, community & compassion at our international boarding and day high school, with a maximum capacity of 80 students. Offering the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, grades 9 – 12, our students learn to reach beyond their grasp in a safe & inclusive environment. Since 2012 we have maintained a 100% placement rate of our graduates to their 1st-choice university program at their 1st-choice world ranked university. Our robust academics ensures their success in university; our care ensures their success in life."

• Distinctly Canadian - Uniquely Global
• Over 25 countries represented in the student population
• Rigourous Academics
• Diverse co-curriculars
• Weekend Activities
• Your success starts at Merrick Prep
• Boutique style dormitory rooms
• International Recognition/ Awards (2023, 2021)
• Diverse, inclusive, multicultural community
• Personalized attention & preparation for university

What do you do differently and uniquely well?

"We focus on creating courageous, community minded, compassionate global citizens - inquisitive, broad-minded, inclusive, tolerant. We teach courage to overcome adversity and build resilience. We teach how to build community so when one’s courage fails, one’s community will carry them. We teach compassion to allow for courage, community, tolerance and growth. We challenge our students to think critically and analytically; to reach beyond their grasp. With these skills our students rise to the challenge of our demanding academic program, learn the value of hard work and the joy of knowledge well earned. Our robust co-curricular, residential life and weekend programs develop in our students the skills, knowledge and confidence to be successful in university and life. With an average class size of 10 students, our teachers provide exceptional personalized attention to each student, ensuring our continued 100% university placement and exceptional university scholarship opportunities."

What tradeoffs has your school made to serve families in this way?

"With a maximum student population of 80 and a rich diversity of 25-30 countries in the student population, Merrick Preparatory School is known as a world class educational institution and rich in its personalized character development. As educators, we ask ourselves, who do we hope our students become – as people? A very small percent will make a living as an athlete, but all will enjoy being active for life – our sports facilities are functional to this purpose. As teens develop, they have potential in many fields of study, we provide our students the academic framework to gain entry into any program at any university in the world, but do not focus on finite specialities. As a small school our campus is compact versus sprawling, and purposely located in a small, safe and inclusive village. Our resources are allocated to making a difference in each student’s life, allowing for individualized attention with no student being “lost in the middle” or “falling through the cracks”."

What key junctures in your school's history have most shaped its present?

"When founded in 2012 we had little diversity in our student population and only offered grades 11 and 12 to international boarding students. Over the first five years as we began to grow, we saw the impact of one culture dominance and class size on the educational opportunities of our students. We made four conscious strategic decisions. First, limit our boarding program to 60 students, overall school size to 80 and average class size to 10. Second, increase our diversity to a minimum of 25 countries with a goal of no more than 4 students per country. Third, include local “day” students in the student population. Fourth, increase the course offerings to include grades 9 and 10. In 2020, as a result of COVID, we developed a robust live-real-time synchronous learning platform, which now serves our students awaiting their Study Permit; they do not miss any academic time regardless of where they are in the world and join seamlessly when they arrive on campus."

What type of student is a good fit for your school?

"Students that have success at Merrick Preparatory School have the following traits: they are interested in sharing in a community – developing a shared sense of belonging; they are curious about other cultures, value diversity and inclusive; they have strong intellectual abilities that may have not yet been realized or developed and would benefit from a smaller school, small class sizes and more individualized attention. They have an enterprising curiosity and a positive outlook. They are willing to take on responsibilities for their own benefit and the benefit of the group. Families that find success at MPS value education as forum to discover who one might become as a human being and not just an academic or as a career path – the academics are the medium for self-learning and growth; they understand that the first step in learning is feeling safe and secure, self-assured and confident in oneself. Our results prove this is the recipe for success in university and beyond."

Under what conditions would you advise a family against choosing your school?

"Merrick Preparatory School offers a highly rigorous and demanding academic program. However, that is not our starting point. We focus on the person, not the intellect. We focus on community and responsibility, not the individual right. We have high expectations and hold students to account, but do not mete out dire consequences. Families looking for rigid structure for strong academic outcomes or firm discipline to promote responsibility would find the MPS approach frustrating. As a small school our focus is on creating not just successful but fulfilled students. We value physical activity and sport but appreciate a minuscule percentage will pursue this as a career, so families looking for high level sports or sports scholarships will find MPS is not the fit for them. Families looking for highly specialized programs would not see MPS as a good fit, yet our approach ensures 100% of our graduates earn acceptance to their first-choice program, even highly specialized programs."

To your knowledge, why do families choose your school over others?

"Families choose MPS for many reasons, but the most common are: i) Our academic outcomes: a 100% university placement rate for all our graduates since our founding in 2012 to their first choice program at their first choice world ranked university, the return on investment is guaranteed; ii) Our size, diversity & inclusion: maximum school size of 80, average class size of 10, 25+ countries represented in the student body. We are a tight knit inclusive community, a family, each student is seen and heard; iii) Ability to motivate students to reach beyond their grasp: many students are intellectually able yet have mediocre outcomes. At MPS we focus on the person first, ensure a safe, positive environment and then turn to academic outcomes – the result: mediocre students metamorphize into top performing academics, reaching beyond their self-perceived grasp. iv) Safety: MPS is a small safe inclusive school located in a small safe inclusive village, only 45 minutes from the nation’s capital."

How would you characterize your school's image amongst the public?

"Merrick Preparatory School’s imagine in the public is, first: academically rigorous with a perfect record of placing it’s graduates in world ranked universities on significant scholarships; second: internationally diverse and exceptionally inclusive of difference; third: safe and caring – a place that students call home, a tight knit family where pupils are more like brothers and sisters and staff are more like parents and trusted mentors; fourth: a place of deep learning, beyond academics, beyond curriculum … a place where students feel safe and included and as a result they blossom not only academically, but as people, analytical and critical thinkers and conscious contributors to the global good, and; fifth: a small school located in a small, safe and quiet village where villagers know our students by name and where there are few distractions from focused academic study."

What aspect of your school is underappreciated?

"Families interested in Merrick Preparatory School know and understand it is a small school, however, what they fail to see is the power and impact this has on our students. Each student is known by all staff, not just their teachers; from kitchen to maintenance, admissions to administration, residential life to teachers, every staff person at MPS knows and has a relationship with every single student. That emotional connection means each student is “known”, “seen”, “heard”. No student “falls through the cracks” because there are no cracks. Small student population, small class sizes, small village means each student receives the care required to grow as an individual, challenge themselves to reach beyond their grasp and succeed where they did not think possible. We aim to have a big impact on a small number of students, not a small impact on a large number – and this has made all the difference in our students’ success and fulfillment, not only as academics, but as people."

What might families find surprising about your school?

"What families find surprising about MPS is the sincere dedication and deep care every staff person has for each individual student’s success. Unlike larger schools where many positions are “outsourced” and change frequently (cleaning, maintenance, kitchen, even residential life staff), all MPS staff are employees, dedicated individuals who see this as a vocation, not a job. Each staff person has an emotional connection to each student and is dedicated to each students’ success - our whole focus is oriented towards this: fifty-five-minute daily Advisor meetings in which each teacher mentors and guides their eight student advisees; weekly all staff student success meetings in which each student is discussed, and success strategies implemented; every Friday emails sent to every parent from every teacher outlining student success from the previous week; monthly progress reports; 24/7 availability of the Head of School to all students – a true “door’s open” policy, and much more."

What improvements or changes has your school made recently?

"MPS is always looking to increase its impact on student outcomes. For this coming year we have adjusted our daily Advisor groups from single grade to mixed grades to provide mentorship and leadership opportunities for our returning and senior students. We have broadened the responsibilities to our Student Council for greater input and direction from our student body. Our Synchronous Learning Platform, that evolved because of COVID, has been limited to those students awaiting their Study Permit to increase the impact and quality of our on-campus student experience. We have “merged” our English as a Second Language program into the academic day to better integrate our English language learners, increase the pace of the English language acquisition, increase the number of credits they will earn and improve their inclusion in the student body. We have set outcomes for each co-curricular and continue to innovate our Advisor curriculum and tumbling timetable for better academic outcomes."

How will your school change in the next 5 years?

"Our core values of Courage, Community, Compassion, and our mission to reach beyond your grasp, is our north star, it remains our constant focus - unchanged. How we deliver on our core values and mission is a constant evolution of improvement. Small “tweaks” and even larger adjustments are made annually based on student, staff and parent feedback, as evidenced in the answer above. Regular improvements to the program and its delivery are ongoing, including enhancing the robotics opportunities for our students. We continue to evolve our varsity sport offerings with a new additional evening of sports planned this year. The physical plant will be enhanced including a make over and change of paint colours in the dorm hallways to stimulate focus while create a soothing and relaxing home environment. Reaching full capacity over the next five year will create the opportunity for the building of a new gymnasium and science lab on our adjacent vacant property ready for development."