St. Francis de Sales awarded for academic improvement
Mar 25, 2008 - 10:54 AM
By Josie Newman
AJAX -- When St. Francis de Sales principal David Malleau attended the Garfield Weston awards banquet this week, he already knew his school would receive an award of distinction.
"We received a letter in January that we were one of 30 schools in the province to be short-listed for the award. To the best of my knowledge, this is a first for our school," said Mr. Malleau.
St. Francis de Sales was nominated for an award in the improvement in academics category, after a steady increase in its academic rating over the past five years. The school had an overall rating of 9.5 in 2007 after receiving a 5.5 rating in 2003. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Toronto won first prize, while Denlow Public School in Toronto and St. Justin Martyr Catholic School of Unionville were runners-up.
There are two other categories -- academic achievement in excess of expectations, and overall academic achievement. Winning schools received $3,000, while the two runners-up in each category received $1,000.
"Academic achievement in excess of expectations challenges the notion that only schools in rich areas do well. In this category, you might find schools with breakfast or lunch programs that aren't in other areas," said Lisa-Diane Fortier, co-ordinator of outreach programs for the Fraser Institute.
The awards are co-ordinated by the Fraser Institute, the think tank that produces the Fraser report on schools' academic successes. Awards are based on Economic Quality Assessment Office (EQAO) ratings and other factors, said Ms. Fortier.
"We look at the academic improvement of each school over the past five years in all three categories. We started the awards because schools should be recognized for their hard work on a provincial level, then the public becomes aware of what schools in their area are doing. Other schools which aren't doing as well may get some ideas from the winning school," she said.
"From our perspective, it's a nice confirmation that what we're doing is recognized. It's good news for our kids that their hard work is being acknowledged and a confirmation to our staff that they're on track," said Mr. Malleau.
The Garfield Weston awards, which began in 2005 in Ontario, exist in three other provinces -- Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Award nominations and ceremonies occur at different times throughout the year in each province, said Ms. Fortier.
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