Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord (CSCFN) once again has the best graduation rate in 4 years and 5 years among the French and English school boards in this region. That puts it in the top five among Ontario school boards.
CSCFN has a 91.5% 4-year and 95.7% 5-year graduation rate, placing it first in the region. Furthermore, among the 12 French-language school boards in Ontario, the CSCFN ranks fifth for the 4-year rate and 4th for the 5-year rate. Among the 72 school boards in the province, it ranks sixth for the 4-year rate and fifth for the 5-year rate.
"The CSCFN and its partners are extremely proud of this continued performance which demonstrates the various innovative programs and dynamic services offered in all schools in the Franco-North, as evidenced by its recently unveiled 2022-2023 Annual Report," says a news release.
“It is thanks to the fervent ambassadors of our great systemic values of welcome, helpfulness and excellence that our elementary and secondary schools truly offer dynamic, stimulating, accessible and inclusive learning environments," declares Serge Levac, director of education. "Our results and the projects presented in our annual report demonstrate the invaluable commitment and dedication of our students and staff.
However, data released by the Ontario Ministry of Education representing students who started Grade 9 in 2017-18 shows that the Near North District School Board and Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic School Board results sit much lower in the Province's 72 school boards list.
See all Ontario school board's five-year graduation rates here.
The Near North Board sits 63rd out of 72 provincial boards with a five-year graduation rate of 80 per cent and trending down. Last year's five-year graduation rate was 89.1 per cent.
Superintendent Mel Gray told BayToday that graduation rates are extremely meaningful to the Board.
"Absolutely. We spend a lot of time tracking students and doing deep dives into data collection. We are looking at a new student achievement plan and one of the goals within the plan, which will be made public in April and which is exciting for us, is to track and monitor graduation rates. In 2022, 80 per cent of our students graduated within five years and we're really proud of that percentage.
"And when we look at the four-year graduation rate, we're we're consistently one of the highest rates within the northeastern region."
One of the obstacles faced by northern school boards is student attendance and that is one of the Near North's main goals this year.
"Kindergarten to grade 12 research definitely demonstrates that attendance is a huge factor in student achievement and so we are really watching that," explains Gray.
Part of that is cultural, for example, some Indigenous students will miss school due to a fall hunt with their family.
"We support that 100 per cent alongside the indigenous communities that we serve. We have other measures in place to support those students upon their return or in their absence. We have graduation coaches in four of our six secondary schools and they work alongside Indigenous students, communities, and families. So we do have additional pieces in place to support absenteeism, whatever that looks like. It's very important for those students to be able to attend their cultural ceremonies and activities. So we recognized that we had to come up with a way to support them upon their return or when they're away. We are very cognizant of that."
Another factor that had a major impact on graduation rates was COVID.
"When we think about COVID, and our remoteness, these factors contributed to our students not being able to access learning for significant periods of time," says Gray. "We were handing out technology right, left and centre, trying to help support students. But many communities didn't have access to connectivity, no Internet services. So when we compare rates right across the province of those 72 boards, we did have some pretty unique circumstances.
"I remember driving up to Britt on Hwy. 69 to drop off a little hub so we could collect some Internet connectivity for a family. It worked maybe 10 per cent of the time and that was the best that we could do to help support them. I think there are a lot of families in situations like that. So I do think COVID is a big contributor and now that we recognize those factors we're really working closely with our school teams to better understand which students were most extremely affected and how can we now help to catch them up."
BayToday reached out to Board Chair Erika Lougheed for her reaction to the graduation rates but got no response.
The five-year graduation rate for the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic School Board isn't much better, sitting at 80.6 per cent.
The French Public CSD du Nord-Est sits at 87.3 per cent.
A student is considered a five-year graduate if they receive an OSSD within five years of starting Grade 9.
Province-wide, as of August 31, 2022, 83.9 per cent of students who started grade 9 in the 2017-2018 academic year graduated within four years.
As of August 31, 2022, 84.9 per cent of students who began grade 9 in the 2018-2019 academic year graduated within four years, and of students who began grade 9 in the 2017-2018 academic year graduated within five years.
