In Canada, the education system encompasses both publicly-funded and private schools. It is the responsibility of each individual province to manage their own education system, which includes setting standards and drawing up curricula for their region – which is why there are such significant differences throughout the country in the systems.

Canada has always prided herself in maintaining high standards of education and access. This is because Canadians have always placed a high priority on the quality of education available for their children. It is reported that Canada spends more per capita on its education than any other country in the G-7 (group of seven major countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy).

In the past few years, however, parents have voiced their concerns over the quality of public education in provinces around the country. Many parents are becoming increasingly disappointed with the loss of programs and activities that once made Canadian schools outstanding. This has led to an increase in enrollment in private educational facilities, private tutoring and also in-home schooling.

Parents are discovering that in order to ensure their child receives the benefits of a suitable education, they must first do a little research.

Public vs. Private Education
“My daughter attended public school from kindergarten to grade three,” recalls Diane Wolf of Peterborough, Ont. “Then private school from grades three to eight and a Separate School Board high school.”

Wolf, who worked as a French teacher, has three children and has seen the workings of all the school systems available in her area. “My son attended public school, then private school and has been home schooled since grade two,” says Wolf. “I was not particularly happy with the public school system. I felt that they made a lot of decisions for the children without consulting with our values.”

Education in Canada consists of three territorial systems – public schools, private schools and separate (denominational) schools. Mostly Roman Catholic, the separate schools accounted for about one-quarter of Canada’s public school enrollment in 1995. The separate schools offer a complete parochial curriculum from kindergarten through the secondary level in most of the Canadian provinces.

All private schools are registered with the Ministry of Education in their province or territory. Families have the option of choosing schools that are boys only, girls only or co-educational. There are many private schools that offer full boarding programs. As with the separate schools, many of the private schools adhere to a specific religious faith.

“I sent my children to a private Christian school because I knew that they would be taught well academically, as well as being taught our value system, which is based on Christian principles and God’s word,” says Wolf. “The school promoted values such as respect for parents and authority, kindness to other children and a character of honesty and integrity.”

Wolf’s children attended all the various school systems, and in the end, Wolf decided she was the best one to teach her children.

“My children preferred private schools over public schools,” says Wolf. “But as I was teaching other children and giving all my energy to other people’s kids, I decided just to teach my own. My youngest was struggling in grade one and needed individual attention.”

Do Your Homework
Wolf says she noticed during the last two years that programs were suffering in the schools. She has seen schools cancel all their extracurricular programs. This has given parents more reason to do their homework on their school of choice.

“We had our hearts set on private school for our girls,” says Alina Kelly, a mom from Toronto, Ont. “St. Clements Girls School was a prep school we wanted our girls to start their education out in.”

Kelly, like all mothers of young children, wanted to ensure that her children were getting the very best education that they could – from the start. What they soon discovered was that their school of choice came with a very long waiting list.

“St. Clements gets five or six applicants for every one space available for grade one,” says Kelly. “We soon came to realize we might be out in the cold.”

Kelly decided to do some intense research into the public school system in their area to see what it had to offer. She spoke directly with parents, educators and friends who taught in both the public and the private school systems.

“I discovered that there are a number of very fine public schools in Toronto,” says Kelly. “Most are located in the very fine neighbourhoods where houses start at a price of $500,000. The school board strictly adheres to school area boundaries. We don’t currently live in a ‘choice’ school district.”

The local school that was in their district had very low statistics, according to Kelly’s research. She was discouraged at the number of children who did not speak English – as much as 75 percent of the class.

Socially Speaking
Kelly was told by several teachers that it was important, primarily in the early years, to give a child a sense of community around his school experience. This gave Kelly even more reason to consider public education.

“Attending private school, my daughter would miss this opportunity,” says Kelly. “Her friends would all live hither and yon.”

What Kelly did discover in her search was that the French Immersion schools in her district were consistently rated at a higher level. She also discovered that there was a good deal to recommend French Immersion. The statistics have shown that Senior Kindergarten enrollment French Immersion nets a child who “thinks” in French and later nets a child who translates in French. It was then that Kelly learned that entry into the SK French Immersion in the public school system is by lottery.

Lucky for Kelly, they applied and “won the lottery” and are all set for enrollment for their first daughter. She is pleased with their choice, but will have to consider options as she reaches middle school age.

“The main benefit of public school in the early years is stability – being able to go to school in the same neighbourhood that your friends live in,” says Kelly. “The main benefit of private school is that you go to a school with the future captains of industry. One of the educators I spoke with suggested that you can get both by enrolling your child in a private high school.”

Bridging the Gap
Over the past five years, there has been a Canada-wide trend toward supplemental education. Many parents are losing faith in the public school system, but not all are equipped to handle the high costs of a private education for their child. There are supplemental programs available for parents who must rely on the public system. These year-round, individualized programs offer students the opportunity to focus on strengthening important skills such as reading or math skills. This helps children become independent learners and builds their self-esteem.

Many of the programs are reporting a substantial increase in enrollment, including Kumon Math and Reading Centres. At Kumon, the overall enrollment has increased by 42 percent with a total of a 27 percent increase in math enrollment and 104 percent increase in reading enrollment.

In Canada, there are a total of 339 Kumon centres with enrollment reaching as high as 38,000.

Education is a huge decision for parents, and being aware of all the options available to your family is the key to success.

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