Message From The President

By Colleen Schenk

Secondary school graduation rates are on the rise. As we celebrate that, we can also take pride in an equally important and related trend in Ontario schools. Recent years have brought a growing investment in options for our secondary school students, and this is vital to respecting their differing talents, skills, strengths and aspirations, and it is vital to the strength of our society and our economy.

Close to 70 percent of our students will not choose university as their next destination. Their choices, while different, will be equally inspiring, creative, rewarding and meaningful. It is our job to make sure that schools have options that help 100 percent of students make a successful transition to the world they will have a hand in shaping.

Looking around the province, we see abundant evidence of a commitment to providing students with a rich range of options. The Ministry’s policy on Student Success/Learning to 18 provides a framework of broadened opportunities in the form of expanded cooperative education, specialist high-skills majors and programs offering dual credits bridging high school to apprenticeships, college and university.

A small sample of inspiring programs takes us to: Lakehead DSB, where students in grades 11 and 12 can earn up to five college preparation credits in an aviation technology program that involves practical experience at Thunder Bay International Airport;  to Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB’s Norwood District Secondary School, where the Forestry Specialist High Skills Major offers students certification and training opportunities recognized by the forestry industry;  to Upper Canada DSB, where students have learned every aspect of the construction trade while building a house in Almonte; to Toronto DSB, where cosmetology students at Central Technical School move directly from co-op placements into hair stylist apprenticeships; to Avon Maitland DSB’s  Stratford Northwestern Secondary School, where a new Hospitality and Tourism High Skills Major has been developed as a result of the tremendous success of the school’s culinary arts program and the Screaming Avocado Food Services project.

Every school board in the province offers similar opportunities. They are creating and strengthening partnerships with local businesses and industry, with provincial ministries, with conservation authorities and municipalities, with colleges and universities. The result is a range of programs that provide hands-on experience and learning that are relevant to students’ lives, and that build practical bridges to the world of work and to further education. We need to keep building on those successes.

The challenge that remains is one of attitude. A university degree is still seen by many – parents, teachers and students – as the ultimate goal of education. There is no question that a university degree is a valuable achievement. However, it takes much more than university credentials to make a vibrant society and a strong economy. We live in a society that is dependent on the full spectrum of skills – be they intellectual, hi-tech or trades-based. An effective school system embraces all of these skills, whether students are analyzing the causes of the First World War, writing a computer program or repairing a car. The skills imparted to our students in technological subjects are a critical aspect of preparation for all students and equip them, regardless of their chosen destination, to navigate their way with confidence in a multi-faceted, complex society.

This is a message that we have to get behind. We still often fail to present pathways in trades and technological areas as valid, honourable and fulfilling options. Making Bridges Visible, a recent report released by the Canadian Council on Learning, identifies this failure as a barrier to student success. The report calls for strategies to address the social and cultural attitudes of parents, teachers, employers and students towards pathways other than university. It also emphasizes the need for a higher degree of cohesive national collaboration among levels of government and between employers and the education sector, pointing out that, in this regard, we can learn from other OECD countries.

In the member states of the European Union, where education in technology and trades is highly valued, it is a given that education and training institutions and public authorities at large will work in social partnerships. These social partners – the education system, employers and government – participate in tripartite agencies or councils that influence the development of national policy and strategies that will ensure stronger, more practical connections between the education system and the world of work.

It is almost trite to speak of globalization. It is a central fact of life. Ontario is taking its place among the most competitive knowledge-based economies and societies in the world. We have learned from the best and, with our own creative efforts, taken the best many steps further.

The growing wealth of options in our Student Success/Learning to 18 initiatives and the fact that they span grades 7 to 12 put us firmly on a path where student achievement involves destinations that are diverse, positive and rewarding. We have an education system that gives students optimism for the future. As advocates for public education, we will work for stronger collaboration with government, our other education partners, and business and industry to build the bridges our students need. Moreover, we will work to engage parents, teachers and employers in fully valuing the skills, talents and experiences students take with them on their journey from school to the workplace. We have a lot to be proud of.