Stronger Starts, Better Futures For Sault Ste. Marie Students
McGuinty Government Helping All Students Succeed
Ontario is giving Sault Ste. Marie children more opportunities to learn and succeed in school and beyond.
This year, nearly 400 children are benefiting from the province’s full-day kindergarten program at nine schools in Sault Ste. Marie. By the start of the 2014 school year, every four- and five-year-old will be able to go to full-day kindergarten in every school in Sault Ste. Marie.
The province is also helping high school students achieve greater success through the Specialist High Skills Majors programs. In Sault Ste. Marie, more than 170 students are participating in high skills majors in sectors such as Hospitality and Tourism, Health and Wellness, and Construction. Specialist High Skills Majors allow students to focus their learning on a specific job sector while meeting the requirements to earn their high school diploma.
Giving students of all ages more opportunities to succeed is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to build a well-educated workforce and prepare Ontario for a more prosperous future.
QUICK FACTS
- This year, about 35,000 children in almost 600 schools across the province are participating in full-day kindergarten.
- By 2014, about 250,000 four- and five-year-olds will benefit from the full-day kindergarten and its emphasis on play-based learning.
- In 2009-10, Ontario’s graduation rate increased to 81 per cent. This represents an increase of 13 percentage points since 2003-04.
- Since 2003, the number of students meeting the provincial standards for literacy and numeracy has increased from 54 per cent to 68 per cent.
LEARN MORE
- Find out more about full-day kindergarten, and which schools offer it.
- Meet some families who are benefiting from full-day kindergarten.
- See how Ontario is helping Sault Ste. Marie students succeed.
