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Hello,
We recently moved to Toronto, and we are currently looking for permanent housing. Our choice will revolve largely around school district. However, navigating all the schooling choices in the city is really overwhelming for a newbie who doesn't have a local network to tap into. All I have to go by are test scores and the schools' own websites. Test scores and academic performance are not the be-all-and-end-all for us. We are just as concerned with finding a place where our kindergarten-aged child will feel happy and secure and be provided with a more holistic education (not just sit-at-your-desk academics). If you could provide any information about the following schools or suggest others, I would be very appreciative.
1. Island Public School/Harbour front area. This is a big unknown for me. My husband works in the financial district, and we are attracted to the Harbour Square buildings that would allow him to walk to work and our daughter to attend this school. The school seems like a really special place, but it is hard to get much information about it. Are people generally happy with it? Does it have a warm, friendly environment for the little ones? It is hard to imagine my child being so far away each day at this age--and I would need the school to be a real home-away-from-home for her. If the school is as awesome as it sounds, is the harbour front a decent environment for kids? Would she be the only kid in a sea of young professionals? Is it just too busy and touristy?
2. Beaches schools. It seems like all of the schools in this area are fine choices. If anyone could explain why we might really hold out for one school over another, I would love to hear about it. Most of the housing options we have considered are in the Williamson Road district.
3. Roncesvalles schools. Same question as above. All seem good in terms of test scores--are there any differences I should be aware of? Any info to share?
We ideally want to be in a walkable neighborhood with decent transit/commuting options. We like the "urban village" feel, but will trade neighborhood vibrancy for convenience to some extent. We also want to be near the water, and if not the water, then High Park or a really large ravine area. We like to bike, walk, and run and don't want to have to get in the car to do these things.
Thank you. This forum has been very helpful for us in all our moving about!
This is a question we are grappling with too, as we move to Canada with 2 elementary school age kids. Greatly appreciate any insights, or even pointing folks like me to other parents/schools oriented forums.
In particular, we are looking at schools in midtown - Forest Hill, Brown, Deer Park, Rosedale... all of these have good Fraser / EQAO scores. Any personal experiences / insights / anecdotes on academic rigor, parent engagement, or anything related?
Consider the high schools first, even if you have small aged kids as the elementary schools just feed into them. Of course bring your big budget with you to get into the high profile districts.
Island public school is on the island. Essentially a park. No big buildings or anything there. The other schools mentioned are all fine as well and probably similar in area amenities, demographics, etc. All would have high admittance rates into universities.
Food for thought: as someone who is in a position to hire professionals, I never ask what high school they've attended. I don't care. University is the great equalizer.
Food for thought: as someone who is in a position to hire professionals, I never ask what high school they've attended. I don't care. University is the great equalizer.
Success starts at a young age and in a good learning environment.
Success starts at a young age and in a good learning environment.
Yes, there is value in being immersed in a population that values education, scholastic achievement, hard work. But the truly good are able to rise above adverse conditions and gain valuable perspective along the way.
I have been looking for good elementary schools in North York area but find that Fraser Institute's only rank the schools with K-6 and not K-5. So a lot of schools are not evaluated and ranked by them. It does not necessarily mean those schools are not at par (or could be bad too). but in absence of fraser data, what is the other good way to evaluate a school?
Likewise in Mississauga a good number of schools are not evaluated or ranked by Fraser which makes it not so helpful. any thoughts ?
and select either TDSB or TCDSB (catholic) as the school authority.
Consider the high schools first, even if you have small aged kids as the elementary schools just feed into them. Of course bring your big budget with you to get into the high profile districts.
Island public school is on the island. Essentially a park. No big buildings or anything there. The other schools mentioned are all fine as well and probably similar in area amenities, demographics, etc. All would have high admittance rates into universities.
Food for thought: as someone who is in a position to hire professionals, I never ask what high school they've attended. I don't care. University is the great equalizer.
100% agree. As someone who grew up in a working class area of the city I took great pleasure with ease beating out kids that grew up in better neighbourhoods and went to school's which included higher end private schools in the city for jobs and internships. It was done by internal drive, learning how to work with people to come up with mutually beneficial resolutions, learning how to hustle (nothing came that easy so hard work and adversity was no surprise to me). So when I got to university and past that point I was already use to working hard and having a lot on my plate and knew how to handle it.
I get as a parent that you want the best possible options for your kids, but going to the best elementary and high schools does not promise success. There is much more to it than that. I have never ever been asked about anything regarding elementary or high school while in university or after that when looking for internships or work. At that point people want to make sure they are not choosing someone who is going to need them to hold their hands. I went in with a strategic plan to market what I could do to meet there needs with my qualifications. No one cared if I could play piano standing on my head or was able to do ballet as this was not something relevant to the jobs I was looking for !
You seem to have many great options. Try including the kids in the decision making and let them sway your decision.
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