North Bay's E.T. Carmichael Public School and St. Joseph-Scollard Hall<br>Secondary School, and Lively's St. James Catholic School Profiled by EQAO

NORTHEASTERN ONTARIO, Sept. 17 /CNW/ - Three of the 18 schools profiled in the Education Quality and Accountability Office's (EQAO) Provincial Report, released today, are located in northeastern Ontario. These schools are at various stages in their own journey of learning but all are representative of the dedicated school communities that can be found right across Ontario. They are notable for their leadership, proactive initiatives, data-driven strategies and whole-school approaches to help every child succeed. These are schools that have adopted an action plan based on their unique circumstances and that work toward improved student outcomes using provincial assessment results to support their own improvement planning.

    
    -   E.T. Carmichael Public School, North Bay"

        We at E. T. Carmichael are very fortunate to have full staff
        ownership leading to meaningful and authentic involvement by all
        staff. We are a collaborative culture with shared leadership where
        everyone brings their experience and expertise to the table creating
        a school improvement plan that is specific to our students. Everyone
        is committed as a group to provide opportunities that allow students
        to be the best they can be and they truly believe that all students
        can be successful."
        - Roslyn Bowness, principal

    -   St. James Catholic School, Lively

        "The bond between the school staff, students and parents creates a
        sense of family at St. James Catholic School. The involvement of the
        parents in the school council and (their) support of initiatives have
        helped move the students forward and have contributed to the ongoing
        success of the school."
        - Lucie Cullen, principal

    -   St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Secondary School, North Bay

        "Student success is our objective. We work hard at making sure every
        student has the resources and the opportunities to be successful. The
        measures taken each year to welcome, support, challenge and engage
        incoming Grade 9 students illustrate a level of professionalism and
        caring that is profound. Educating children is a team effort. The
        staff at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall is a dedicated team that truly
        cares about kids."
        - Debbie Piekarski, principal
    

"Ontario's provincial assessment program isn't just about testing; it's about using evidence to create tools to support effective learning," said Marguerite Jackson, EQAO's Chief Executive Officer. "As the data in our Provincial Report show once again, educators regularly use EQAO results to evaluate their delivery of the provincial curriculum. Of the elementary principals surveyed this year, 94% - virtually all of them - said they used the previous year's results to guide school improvement initiatives. The provincial assessments have become a fundamental resource for educators across Ontario."

Some of the common themes that schools identify as factors in addressing the literacy and numeracy needs of students are professional learning communities; data-driven decision making; a whole-school approach to literacy, numeracy and student achievement; small-group learning for literacy and numeracy; differentiated instruction; high-quality teaching; early intervention; tracking of all student progress; parental involvement; the coordination of school and board improvement planning; and implementing Ministry of Education initiatives.

The provincial news release "EQAO Publishes School- and Board-Level Results of Provincial Testing" and a backgrounder are also available.

Results for all publicly funded elementary and secondary schools and their school boards are available at www.eqao.com.

    
    Les résultats des écoles de langue française sont disponibles en
    français.
    

For further information: and to arrange interviews, please contact Katia Collette, Communications Officer, [phone], [email protected]