Moving from Texas to Ottawa - need advice about school (job transfer, top schools)

[trippleT]

We are planning to move to Ottawa, Ontario within the next 3 months. OH is getting a job transfer there. I do understand that you are zoned to your school according to your address which is the same here in Texas but my 2 main cincerns are:

1 What is the difference between sending your child to public English school or the Catholic School. The obvious diiference I can imagine is that they will receive some form of religious studies in a Catholic School but is there a difference in the quality of education?

2 And I hope somebody can help me with this one who might have been in a similar position. My oldest DOB is 09-09-04 here in Texas the cut off date is you must be 5 by Aug 31 to start KG. So he is now in 1st Grade. But with the Dec 31 cut off date in Ontario he should be in in 2nd grade. So when we move what will happen. Will the school say he must continue 1st grade once in Ontario or will they place him with his age group which is 2nd grade.

Then I was wondering if anybody can tell me who have moved with elementary aged kids from USA to Canada did they find a big difference in standard of education. Like Canada was either ahead or behind or the same.

Looking forward to hear y'all replies and thank you very much.

[Stokes172]

You mean Public vs Catholic..they both speak English.

The curriculum is basically the same as it is set by the Province of Ontario, with the catholic school there would also be religious studies. You may not be able to get into a Catholic school unless you are a Catholic.

http://www.settlement.org/sys/librar...=1004937#langs

Comparing education quality across borders would be difficult as it would vary from province to province and state to state and school district to school district.

[sunshineleith]

Tripple you may find this helpful - it grades the elementary schools in the Ottawa region.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/pdf/Fra...awa_022809.pdf

[trippleT]

Hiya again

What I am actually still trying to find out from any Americans that moved their kids from the American school system into the Canadian school system is did you find a big difference in the standard of education especially in the elementary schools. Like was the Canadian school ahead or behind compare to what your child was doing in their school here in America. I came across an old thread from 007 where a lady moved from Michigan to a school in Toronto somewhere and she was complaining that the Canadian school was a year behind compare to what her kids was doing and she wasnt very happy about it. So I was just wondering what other peoples impression are about standard of education. Again I Have a friend who moved from Texas to Michigan and she said that Texas was again a year behind what Michigan is doing schoolwise.

My other dilemma is in which grade to put him. According to the Aug 31 cut off date we have here in Texas he is currently in 1st grade but wil the Dec 31 cut off date in Ontario schools he should be in 2nd grade. SO do we keep him with his age group or continue him with 1st grade. I did speak to a very friendly lady from the Ottawa school board on Friday and she explained to me that they usually put kids with their age group ie will place him in 2nd grade. They will monitor him closely and at the end of school year will decide if he should move on to 3rd or repeat 2nd.

You might think that I did get my answer already but would like to hear if anybody else went through the same transition as we will have to go moving your child from America to Canada. As we dont have an excact move date yet it just sound a bit drastic having your child finish 1stgrade here in Texas and start 3rd grade in Ontario.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by trippleT

My other dilemma is in which grade to put him. According to the Aug 31 cut off date we have here in Texas he is currently in 1st grade but wil the Dec 31 cut off date in Ontario schools he should be in 2nd grade. SO do we keep him with his age group or continue him with 1st grade. I did speak to a very friendly lady from the Ottawa school board on Friday and she explained to me that they usually put kids with their age group ie will place him in 2nd grade. They will monitor him closely and at the end of school year will decide if he should move on to 3rd or repeat 2nd.

.

Sounds pretty accurate. Schools make these judgement calls all the time and they have the authority to do so.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by trippleT

1 What is the difference between sending your child to public English school or the Catholic School. The obvious diiference I can imagine is that they will receive some form of religious studies in a Catholic School but is there a difference in the quality of education?

.

I will give you the straight goods on this. If you look at academic results most of the top schools in Ontario are Catholic. One of the main reasons is the Catholic population tends to be more Canadian-born whereas immigrants these days tend to be non-Catholic. So basically you have fewer immigrants in the Catholic schools, and fewer ESL students that can fall behind because of this. A lot of people who are non-Catholics in Ontario send their kids to Catholic schools for this and perhaps other reasons. The willingness to accept non-Catholic children varies from board to board and even school to school.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by trippleT

We are planning to move to Ottawa, Ontario within the next 3 months. OH is getting a job transfer there. I do understand that you are zoned to your school according to your address which is the same here in Texas .

This is the way it is but it is not super-rigid. You can usually send your kid to the school of your choice provided there is space there and you are willing to pay for transportation or take them there yourself.

[Paul56]

Originally Posted by trippleT

Then I was wondering if anybody can tell me who have moved with elementary aged kids from USA to Canada did they find a big difference in standard of education. Like Canada was either ahead or behind or the same.

A few of us Canadians moved from Ottawa to San Antonio a while back
when the company moved.

My married colleagues with kids tell me the education system is more advanced in Texas.

However, all those Canadian kids have achieved success within the
school system in Texas and did not have to repeat a year.

I suspect you will have a bigger issue adjusting to and coping with
the winter weather conditions.

Good luck with your move to Ottawa... I miss the city.

[WindsorDetroit]

I'm a University student in Ontario now, but I moved to Ontario from San Antonio when I was a kid (with a year spent in Detroit Michigan before moving across the river.) What we found was the School's in Texas were a year behind Michigan, and about where Ontario school's were, the jump between states was bigger over-all than the jump between countries. As for public versus catholic I was in a Catholic school from fifth to eighth grade, and then I switched to a public high school, in all honesty, apart from having to take religion and wear a uniform, I didn't notice much of a difference. Something to keep in mind though, we moved back to Canada (I was born here btw) when I was in third grade, being raised bilingual I went to a French Catholic school, and as a whole we found that they were significantly ahead of the schools in either Michigan, or Texas, as well as both the public and catholic boards.

To sum up k-1 Texas (Yeah Behind Michigan)
2 - Michigan (year ahead of Ontario and Texas)
3-4 Ontario French Catholic School (significantly ahead of the rest)
5-8 Ontario Catholic School (Comparable to Texas)
9-12 Ontario Public School (Also Comparable to Texas, no Catholic religion class, World Religions taught though)

The only reason I got out of the French Catholic board was because the commute was long and I was well outside the district. I think they may receive more funding per student, keep in mind the city I was living in is also a French Service Area within Ontario, so that could also play a role.

Boards I attended:

San Antonio ISD
Detroit Public Schools
csdecso.on.ca (Web-Portal System, Open Access, French Catholic Board)
Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board - Learning together in faith and service.
Greater Essex County District School Board


In all honesty the quality of the website sort-of does reflect the quality of education, at least in Canada, although with colleges and universities here the inverse is true. Example University of Windsor One of Canada's lowest rated universities, compared to Home Page | McGill University - McGill University a world leading university and tied for best in Canada with the University of Toronto Saint George (my school, Trinity College), and the University of British Columbia.

[jack hanover]

Welcome to the neigbourhood.

No difference really between public and catholic. I don't believe there is alot of religion in catholic schools if at all.

Your oldest would likely be placed in his age group...grade 2

The education system is about the same just with different areas of studies. Here you would learn more about topics particular to Canada.

Enjoy your Beaver Tails and Poutine.