OTTAWA – Tuesday marks the start of the school year for thousands of students in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, with the rest of the province following suit a week later on September 3. Beyond the recent change of minister of Education, here are five school facts to know in 2024-2025.
Cell phones and vaping in the closet
The cell phone ban comes into effect this fall. With this measure, the government intends to get students back on the path to concentration. Thus, from kindergarten to grade 6, it will now be mandatory to put your cell phone on silent and put it away for the entire school day. From grades 7 to 12, phones will only be allowed if the teacher gives instructions.
Access to social media via school networks and devices will also be disabled throughout the school year and school reports will include comments on students’ levels of distraction.
Also gone are e-cigarettes. Students who have them will have to hand them over to an educator. The government, which allocated $30 million in its last budget to install smoke detectors, mainly cites health and safety reasons.
New French-speaking schools
Several establishments are opening their doors this fall, starting with a secular school in the Vaughan region, at 200 Aberdeen Avenue in Woodbridge, a secondary establishment dependent on the MonAvanir school board with 400 places from grades 7 to 12 and 49 daycare places.
In the Ottawa region, we note the addition of a secondary school within the Collège catholique Franco-Ouest, which will welcome a cohort of Grade 7 students to begin with, then in the longer term students up to Grade 12, under the umbrella of the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE).
Finally, in the North, the La Vérendrye virtual satellite high school of the Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boréales (CSDCAB) will serve the French-speaking populations of the Northwest, on the outskirts of Thunder Bay.
“Facilitators” in mathematics
The “back to basics” was one of the hobby horses of former Education Minister Stephen Lecce to boost student achievement, particularly in math and reading. Taken up by his successor Jill Dunlop, this plan provides for the addition of 300 math “facilitators” as of this fall, in addition to a leader in this discipline in each school board. The province, which has spent more than $35 million to fund their hiring, expects a return on investment with a significant improvement in students’ math skills.
At the same time, Ontario has injected more than $68 million into reading assistance, including the hiring of more than 600 specialized teachers across all French and English school boards.
Agriculture is also cultivated in the classroom
A food literacy program is also making its debut on Franco-Ontarian shelves in science and technology. Students from grades 1 to 8 will be made aware of food, agriculture and nutrition. They will explore the basic needs of living beings, the impact of climate change on agriculture and sustainable agricultural practices. They will also discover food-related professions, while learning to promote local products and the agricultural traditions of French Ontario.
The objective of the project initiated by the Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens (UCFO) and the government is to promote a better understanding of food and nutritional issues among young people.
Mental health boost
The government is providing more than $117 million to student mental health this year, including $14 million for student health services during the summer months, including access to mental health professionals in schools, as well as targeted programs and supports. This funding is based on recommendations from families and school counsellors, the Ministry of Education says.
