If you are considering alternatives the public or Catholic school systems in Mississauga, the private high schools in the area offer a compelling array of options for you to ponder in your decision-making process. Here are what I consider to be the top five.
1. Enhanced Academic Opportunities An OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma) will take your child a long way after high school graduation, and every graduate of an accredited high school in Ontario receives an OSSD. Ontario public school graduates have attended nearly every prestigious university in the Western world. But most parents aren’t overly concerned about what other students have done in the past, they are more concerned about what opportunities exist for their student in the present. Graduates from private high schools in Mississauga are routinely regarded as being “first among equals” when it comes to the OSSD. Whether an admissions counselor is willing to go on record to admit it or not, you’ll rarely find a university admissions officer that wouldn’t prefer to have a private school graduate at their university over a public school graduate with all other factors being equal.
And that isn’t even factoring in other academic enhancements such as an International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme (which some private and public schools in Mississauga offer.) Well-recognized curriculum enhancements are common among the local private schools. If you’re looking to get your student positioned at the head of the line for university enrollment, having a private school diploma with an enhancement such as IB in hand is perhaps the best way to get there.
2. Parental Involvement When parents are paying Mississauga private high school fees each month, they tend to be reminded that their children’s education is something worth getting involved in. Private schools, in return, are generally much more accepting of the idea of parents being at the school in an active role. The more that parents know about what is actually going on at school, the better they are able to engage their student and encourage them to excel. Parents who are more involved in their child’s high school also tend to have stronger relationships with their teens. They may not always like the idea of Mom or Dad being there, but they can’t help but notice that these parents care.
3. Safe, Community Environment Bullying, fights and political agendas are notorious features of the public school system. Many public high schools today employ security guards or routinely have police presence on hand. An emphasis on school community is rarely encouraged in the public school system, whereas it is quite common to find in private high schools in Mississauga. Schools like St. Jude’s Academy and Holy Name of Mary, for instance, go out of their way to create a sense of community within the school by making use of the “house system” made famous by the Harry Potter books and movies. By seeing other students as part of your community, students are much more inclined to help each other than to bully each other, which makes the school a much safer place. A safe school is the ideal environment for learning. Students struggle to perform when they are also concerned about their safety while at school.
4. Extracurricular Activities In a system where the arts and physical education are being de-emphasized, and teachers are expected to focus exclusively on the core of the curriculum to make sure that students aren’t being left behind, it is a refreshing sight to see the arts and recreation flourish at our local private high schools. In fact, some of the richest and most diverse extracurricular offerings are to be found at private high schools in Mississauga. School culture, staff and parents with exemplary knowledge of a particular hobby, and superior funding can all play into the advantages that private schools have in this regard. When parents ask the question, “How much is private school per month?” they rarely factor in the incredible value of the opportunities afforded to their students through such diverse extracurricular programs.
5. Smaller Class Sizes Private schools have learned long ago that cramming a classroom with students isn’t going to lead to happy parents or happy students. Tuition-paying parents expect their teachers to offer a program of study that caters to the student’s needs. That becomes more difficult with each additional student in the classroom. Private high schools look for that perfect sweet spot between keeping the student-to-teacher ratio low while keeping tuition costs under control.
There are a host of other great reasons to consider a private high school in Mississauga, but these five reasons should at least give you reason to give the idea some serious consideration.
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