April 1st, 2015

Today, the Ministry of Education released the 2014 secondary school graduation rate for the province, as well as the graduation rates for individual school boards. Our graduation rate of 79% is below the provincial average.

While we appreciate having this data from the Ministry, it does not reflect the accomplishments of all of our students.  Not all students are working towards an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Many of our students are working towards an official certificate, or a certificate of accomplishment. These students are counted as non-graduates by the Ministry in their calculations. We would like to celebrate the accomplishments of all of our students.

For our students working towards their OSSD and those who stayed with us and did not move to another board, we have a graduation rate of 84%, matching the provincial rate.

The rate we received from the province includes students that left our board after they entered Grade 9; this amounts to almost 400 students, or 8%. We do know that of those students that left our board, 45% of them graduated.

The data released today is important because it helps us monitor our effectiveness. We continue to analyze the data and determine where intervention and supports can be put into place to help build on our successes, and improve our rates of secondary school graduation.