Education system in Ontario explained

[uerceg]

Hi everyone,

I found it incredibly hard to get a full picture on how education system in Ontario looks like from various online sources I checked. I did get the basic idea with this explanation:

• Early years learning
• Elementary school
• High school
• Postsecondary

But (since I am father of two under age of 3) I was really eager to try to understand the early years learning part and more importantly figure out the cost for each year of that period. On the road I did understood a bit and got familiar with terms such as junior/senior kindergarten, but to be honest, never got the full picture on how one names which year during child's education time prior to elementary school (in general, system in Canada seems a bit complex for someone who comes from a country where everything before elementary school is simply called kindergarten and is free of charge).

So if someone knowledgable on the topic would be willing to explain upper 4 bullets more in detail (what they internally consist of, especially early years learning part) and give some comment on how much each year costs (I understand that prices may vary from place to place, but some Ontario median should be more than enough and I am not asking about private kindergarten/schools, only public ones where applicable), I'd be more than grateful.

In case this topic is already covered in some thread, feel fee to merge / close this one - I haven't found answer to my question in topics I read in this forum.

Cheers!

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

I found it incredibly hard to get a full picture on how education system in Ontario looks like from various online sources I checked. I did get the basic idea with this explanation:

• Early years learning
• Elementary school
• High school
• Postsecondary

But (since I am father of two under age of 3) I was really eager to try to understand the early years learning part and more importantly figure out the cost for each year of that period. On the road I did understood a bit and got familiar with terms such as junior/senior kindergarten, but to be honest, never got the full picture on how one names which year during child's education time prior to elementary school (in general, system in Canada seems a bit complex for someone who comes from a country where everything before elementary school is simply called kindergarten and is free of charge).

So if someone knowledgable on the topic would be willing to explain upper 4 bullets more in detail (what they internally consist of, especially early years learning part) and give some comment on how much each year costs (I understand that prices may vary from place to place, but some Ontario median should be more than enough and I am not asking about private kindergarten/schools, only public ones where applicable), I'd be more than grateful.

In case this topic is already covered in some thread, feel fee to merge / close this one - I haven't found answer to my question in topics I read in this forum.

Cheers!

You will be responsible for paying for daycare/preschool before your child is eligible for junior kindergarten. The rates vary greatly depending on where you live and whether you go for a home daycare or a licensed daycare or preschool. Some daycares in Toronto can reach up to $2500/month. Non profit daycares in the same are are around $1800/month. The licensed daycares tend to have more teaching and a curriculum. Schooling from kindergarten to high school does not last for the full workday so many parents must pay for after school care and sometime before school care. That adds $500-700/month usually. Childcare is a big expense for a Ontario parents and can be difficult to find so you need to put your name down on a waiting lists months to a year in advance.

 

[uerceg]

@canuck78 Thank you for your reply!

Can you explain me at what age junior and senior kindergarten start? Is junior kindergarten when child is 4 and senior when 5 years old? When you say before is eligible for junior kindergarten - does that mean that once in junior and senior kindergarten years, one doesn't need to pay for that?

 

[canuck78]

@canuck78 Thank you for your reply!

Can you explain me at what age junior and senior kindergarten start? Is junior kindergarten when child is 4 and senior when 5 years old? When you say before is eligible for junior kindergarten - does that mean that once in junior and senior kindergarten years, one doesn't need to pay for that?

When you start junior kindergaten depends on when you turn 4. You can look up a school board and it will explain the cut-off age. Schools have different start and finish times but for example one school may run from 9-3pm but the parents work from 9-5 and must commute. The kindergarten is free but the childcare after school and perhaps before school is not. Any school or daycare before jr. kindergarten is not free.

 

[uerceg]

Amazing, thank you so much for this. Getting a bit clearer picture now. And I assume you meant the same during elementary education when saying this sentence: Schooling from kindergarten to high school does not last for the full workday so many parents must pay for after school care and sometime before school care.

Meaning that also elementary school might last until 3PM and because some parents might not be able to pick up their kids before 5PM, they need to pay for additional services to keep kids in school until 5PM? And one more question on elementary school topic - same as junior and senior kindergarten (in that time frame they operate void additional childcare outside of "working hours" one needs to pay for), elementary school is also free of charge (I assume there might be some tiny fees all the time around, but with free I mean not being between 1.8k-2.5k a month like childcare you mentioned prior to junior kindergarten)?

 

[canuck78]

Amazing, thank you so much for this. Getting a bit clearer picture now. And I assume you meant the same during elementary education when saying this sentence: Schooling from kindergarten to high school does not last for the full workday so many parents must pay for after school care and sometime before school care.

Meaning that also elementary school might last until 3PM and because some parents might not be able to pick up their kids before 5PM, they need to pay for additional services to keep kids in school until 5PM? And one more question on elementary school topic - same as junior and senior kindergarten (in that time frame they operate void additional childcare outside of "working hours" one needs to pay for), elementary school is also free of charge (I assume there might be some tiny fees all the time around, but with free I mean not being between 1.8k-2.5k a month like childcare you mentioned prior to junior kindergarten)?

Yes you got it. Childcare may not be available onsite but there maybe a local community organization that watches children then drops them off and picks them up. There is no tuition at public schools. There are expenses for supplies including things like an iPad or laptop these days, uniforms if required, field trips, etc. By high school and middle school children are often able to get home alone.

 

[uerceg]

Amazing, that's pretty much all I needed to know when it comes to pre elementary school education in Ontario. We're still considering right timing to move to Canada and these answers are super helpful for those plans since it definitely makes huge difference financially if one moves with two kids age 1 and 3 or two kids age 4 and 6. Many thanks one more time!

 

[canuck78]

Amazing, that's pretty much all I needed to know when it comes to pre elementary school education in Ontario. We're still considering right timing to move to Canada and these answers are super helpful for those plans since it definitely makes huge difference financially if one moves with two kids age 1 and 3 or two kids age 4 and 6. Many thanks one more time!

Yes it would make a big difference. Given that we might be going into a recession it is not a good time to move and leave a job.

 

[canuck78]

I believe that all young parents at some point face such difficulties. I know some guys who tried to understand the topic from inside-out. One of them asked for help and I think the easiest way to be on the same page with those units is email. We had over 15 unique letters. I’ve found information on this website. And you know, it worked. We were surprised. I think it’s one of the situations when online advises work.

?

 

[Beepireed]

?

I mean if you want to create a good sample of the letter, make sure you either make it by yourself from scratch or use other correcting and adding something new

 

[canuck78]

I mean if you want to create a good sample of the letter, make sure you either make it by yourself from scratch or use other correcting and adding something new

Sample letter for what. Don’t see how this is related.

 

[veeru5]

Hello All,

I just received an offer from Conestoga College for January 2020 Intake. This is a conditional offer letter with the below comments:


*Successful completion of the Master's degree with a minimum "B" average*


Could someone please shed some light if anyone know what does "B" average is equivalent to as in Indian Grading percentage system?

I am pursuing my masters right now and was expected to be completed by August 2020. However, govt. is still debating if the Universities should conduct exams or not.

Appreciate your time.
Thank you!