Four Schools in Eastern Ontario Profiled by EQAO

EASTERN ONTARIO, Sept. 15 /CNW/ - Four of the 27 schools profiled in the Education Quality and Accountability Office's (EQAO's) Provincial Reports, released today, are located in eastern 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, data-driven strategies and whole-school approaches to help every child succeed. Based on their unique circumstances, each one of these schools has adopted an action plan to work toward improved student outcomes using provincial assessment results as a guide.

Elementary Schools:

• Merrickville Public School, Merrickville
  "There are many forms of data. Any meaningful data that helps us support student learning is what we want to pay attention to. It allows us to see what trends we're on and where we're heading. That data can be used in a multitude of ways, but keeping it simple is key."
  —Ray Westendorp, principal
• St. Leonard Catholic School, Manotick
  "Data should drive instruction. Data should drive assessment. If you narrow it down to two key things, you have one key for students and one for teachers: success for staff, success for students."
  —Kimberly Giles, principal

Secondary Schools:

• St. Michael Catholic High School, Kemptville
  "The utilization of data is a journey. Your staff must be engaged in this analysis. Data can provide us with constant feedback in our continuous school improvement process. School improvement plans must be focused, achievable and alive by using relevant data and engaging staff in the process."
  —Donna Koekkoek, principal
• Merivale High School, Nepean
  "The EQAO assessment is set up on those critical fundamental skills. This process is ongoing, embedded in what we do. What we say are priorities and what EQAO says are priorities are not that different."
  —Patrick McCarthy, principal

"EQAO results allow school communities to celebrate their successes and identify areas of student learning requiring further attention and support," said Marguerite Jackson, EQAO's Chief Executive Officer. "Used together with other classroom data, EQAO results help complete the picture of student achievement and, over the years, have become an essential tool that educators across the province rely on for their improvement planning."

Some of the common factors that schools identify 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 Releases School and Board Achievement Results and Profiles 27 Schools" 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
416-212-7047
[email protected]