In Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools nothing is more important than preparing our students for a successful future in their chosen life pathway.

One of the most notable things that sets our schools apart, is the foundational role played by the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, as we work to provide a quality, inclusive, faith-based education for learners of all ages, from more than 100 different countries.

We expect a WCDSB graduate to be:

  • A discerning believer formed in the Catholic Faith community who celebrates the signs and sacred mystery of God’s presence through word, sacrament, prayer, forgiveness, reflection and moral living.
  • An effective communicator who speaks, writes and listens honestly and sensitively, responding critically in light of gospel values.
  • A reflective, creative and holistic thinker who solves problems and makes responsible decisions with an informed moral conscience for the common good.
  • A self-directed, responsible, lifelong learner who develops and demonstrates their God-given potential.
  • A collaborative contributor who finds meaning, dignity and vocation in work which respects the rights of all and contributes to the common good.
  • A caring family member who attends to family, school, parish, and the wider community.
  • A responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life.

While this is a noble and highly aspirational goal, we do understand that not everyone learns at the same pace, or in the same ways.

The path to graduation is a process – not a race.

So, our student-focused and often individualized programs and services provide a unique depth and breadth of opportunities to ensure all students can achieve the Graduate Expectations in ways that maximize their personal abilities and capitalize on their individual potential.

The success of this student-centred approach is clearly reflected in our graduation rates.

The Ministry of Education graduation rates often quoted in media focus solely on students who graduate within either four or five years of starting high school.

Unfortunately, this narrow metric does not take into account the success of those students who take more than five years to graduate.

Therefore, Ministry measurements do not accurately reflect the overall success of a school system such as WCDSB, which serves learners from JK to Adult Education.

In fact, students who take more than five years to graduate (obtaining the necessary credits to complete their OSSD via St. Louis) have consistently shown they are able to access post-secondary pathways that would have otherwise not been open to them.

Providing this enhanced opportunity to graduate has helped ensure our graduation rates are consistently higher than the provincial average.

This has always been a great source of pride for the WCDSB and stands as a positive affirmation of our belief in lifelong learning.

Ministry of Education graduation rates (as reflected above) include those students who begin Grade 9 in the WCDSB but may not necessarily graduate with our board (i.e., some students may leave WCDSB before graduation).

Such students are counted in WCDSB’s Ministry-reported totals as having failed to graduate — even if they did ultimately graduate from another school board.

On the flip side, the Ministry does count as a graduates the students who begin with the WCDSB, leave for a period of time, and then return.

The WCDSB’s internal graduation metrics include the students who leave and then return to us, but do not include those students who leave our system as we are not able to track their progress, nor influence it.

The Ministry of Education graduation rates represent lagging data with the most recent graduation rates being from June 2019 (e.g., 2012-2013 cohort).

When we consider only the students that begin with us in Grade 9 and graduate from WCDSB, our graduation rates increase by approximately 4 per cent.

There are two critical points to note here:

First, the data confirms we do exercise positive influence on the students who remain in our system as they move to graduation in four or five years.

Second, it is clear our students who are mobile — either in or out of our system – do require additional support to achieve graduation in four or five years.

A key factor behind the WCDSB’s graduation rate success, is the variety of “Pathways” programs available to our students.

These programs provide students with different learning styles and varied interests, as a supplement to traditional academic pursuits.

The STEAM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) are increasingly emphasized in our menu of learning options.

On March 28, 2022, the Board of Trustees received a comprehensive staff report detailing the work of WCDSB’s Student Success Consultants and the Board’s Student Reengagement Strategy activities, as well as an in depth look at the following programs:

The report begins on page 19 via this link: https://www.wcdsb.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2022/03/2022-03-28_Board-of-Trustee-Agenda.pdf

Of particular note, one of the key contributing factors in overall student success over the last decade has been the Board’s Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program.

With 14 distinct programs, our SHSM “footprint” is consistently among the largest in Ontario.

There is quite literally something for everybody in Waterloo Region’s Catholic schools.

And, as we move forward into a post COVID-19 era, we look forward to continuing to provide the same Quality, Inclusive, Faith-based education the people of Waterloo Region deserve and have come to expect.

Registrations are always open and welcome. Please click here to register: https://www.wcdsb.ca/our-schools/register-for-school/