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McGuinty Government Helping All Students Succeed in Safe, Accepting Schools Ontario continues to build upon its reputation as a world leader in education by helping more students succeed than ever before, while promoting safe and accepting schools. As summer vacation begins, Ontario students have much to celebrate. Over the last school year, students have continued to demonstrate their excellence both in and out of the classroom. Students of all ages are reaching even higher: ?More than 50,000 four-and five-year-olds are successfully completing full-day kindergarten. ?69 per cent of Grade 3 and 6 students master reading, writing and math skills - an increase of 15 percentage points from 54 per cent in 2003. ?82 per cent of students graduated - a jump of 14 percentage points from 68 per cent in 2003-04. Ontario has also been recognized by the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program as the only province in Canada where students achieved first in reading, and above the national average in math, reading and science. And next year, Ontario's schools will be safer, more accepting and inclusive places to learn thanks to the passage of the Accepting Schools Act - giving all students the support they need to grow and reach their full potential. The McGuinty government remains committed to working with its partners in education to eliminate the deficit while continuing to roll out full-day kindergarten, maintaining smaller class sizes and preserving 20,000 teacher and support staff jobs to ensure every student succeeds. QUICK FACTS About 38,000 high school students will be able to participate in Ontario's expanded Specialist High Skills Major program, which tailors their high school diploma to their interests. Ontario continues to support not-for-profit organizations like Frontier College, Free the Children and Kids Help Phone to help them deliver important opportunities and supports for students. Ontario became the first province in Canada to introduce comprehensive legislation on concussions in schools.

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Posted at 2019-02-20