It is my understanding that Catholic high schools have been open to non-Catholics since Ontario began funding the secondary level, but elementary schools until recently were open only to Catholics. About half of the boards have begun admitting non-Catholics because of declining enrollment, yet most continue to make religious education mandatory. This raises serious questions about why Ontario should continue to fund Catholic education and also about what values the Catholic boards themselves are really putting forward - how are they weighing funding versus faith?.
Not everyone has choices about where their children attend schools. And in my opinion, a good school will not turn a poor student into a good one, nor will a school rated lower turn a good student into a bad one. A lot of this is up to the parents, their values, the home atmosphere and the quality of the time they spend with their young students. Also, the rating itself can be questioned - some schools have more resources because they are located in areas where residents are wealthier, have only 1 working parent, and have a lot of parent volunteers as well as parent fund raising for extra learning resources. There are many other reasons to question the results a school receives in these ratings. Some schools attract better teachers because they are in popular areas that offer better life style choices to residents.
Young minds are shaped by what they are taught. If you have such a stand against all religions, ask yourself why you would set this aside in order to "get" something for your children. You either are or are not Christian, and if you find the whole idea so distasteful, why would your daughter benefit in any way from attending religious classes? How will you be able to discuss what she learns there about Catholic religion with her? What are you getting in return? What will your daughter gain?
Re: french education: Is this a French Immersion, or a French Language school - huge difference. French-language education serves students whose parents are “French-language rights-holders", according to section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Does your family qualify? If it's French Immersion, that is a different matter. Not everyone in Immersion has French-speaking parents, and the system was set up for anglophones, so I don't see any barriers there.
And what do you know about the recent sex charge? Have other victims been identified? Where did the abuse occur? How does the administration in this school help or hinder would-be abusers? Have there been other charges against other teachers in the fairly recent past? What about in the public school? How do you feel about this?
zW2Ig~~60_7.JPG "brandeentertainment"){kind=avatar}
w!eBJ+cc,cpsw~~_7.JPG?set_id=81 "dove3ducks"){kind=avatar}
