Making the case for independent schools
Switching from public system isn’t cheap, but some parents and educators say it’s worth it
Allison Jelley’s oldest son, Ethan, went to his local elementary school for kindergarten. The problem: His teacher was managing a class of 32 (with the help of a teaching assistant) and Jelley simply didn’t believe he was being challenged. “He’s bright, but no one was giving him additional work,” she says. “They just didn’t have time.”
So Jelley began to explore independent schools as an alternative. “I talked to a lot of other parents about where their kids went and what they liked and didn’t like,” she says. “And I noticed the parents at Montcrest (a private K-8 co-ed school in Toronto) got a twinkle in their eye when they talked about the school.”
A tour confirmed her feeling that it was the right place for her son. “I felt like they were really invested in the character of their students as much as the academics,” she says. “And I liked that they were co-ed. I got such a good feeling there.” Jelley now has three children at Montcrest, and a fourth starting kindergarten soon.
She admits, opting for a school outside the public system doesn’t come cheap, but she believes it’s worth it. And she’s not alone. Here’s what educators and parents see as the primary benefits of an independent school education:
You have choices
“Each independent school has a unique mission and value proposition,” says Patti MacDonald, executive director of Canadian Accredited Independent Schools. They might offer academic rigour, faithbased education, high-level athletics or a focus on the “whole child.” But as a family, she says, “you get to choose what fits with your own values.”
Class sizes tend to be smaller
According to the Education Act, the class size limit for kindergarten is 29. Classes with mixed Grades of 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, must have 23 or fewer, and secondary school classes should not exceed 23. Yet last fall, in the middle of the pandemic, parents were reporting class sizes as high as 30 or 40 kids.
You can opt for single-sex education
Advocates say there are good reasons to choose single-sex classrooms. “In a co-ed classroom, often boys dominate the discussion because they’re louder and they talk over people,” says Carrie HughesGrant, head of school for Holy Name of Mary College School, a Catholic Grades 5 to 12 school for girls in Mississauga. “The atmosphere here is very different. You get these really collaborative discussions happening. And girls don’t feel the need to hide their light under a bushel in the presence of the boys.”
In contrast, Dave Shaw, director of Enrolment and Student Financial Aid for Crescent School, a Grades 3 to 12 all-boys school in Toronto, contends boys have the freedom to be themselves in a single-sex environment.
“For a lot of boys, co-ed schools are the place they go to be corrected,” Shaw says, whether it’s for having “ants in their pants,” running in the halls or being too loud. “You need to set up schools where boys can succeed and feel good about themselves,” he says.
They might have a better chance at making it into university
Private schools frequently point to academic excellence as a key selling point. “At our school, 100 per cent of the girls went on to university last year,” says Hughes-Grant. That’s no accident, she adds.
“I always ask the girls, ‘What problem do you want to solve in life?’ ” Using those individual dreams and aspirations as a base, girls begin work with a guidance counsellor to craft a personalized academic plan “long before it’s time to think about university.”
Independent schools can pivot quickly in the face of a crisis (like the pandemic)
“Independent schools are quite nimble,” says MacDonald. “When the pandemic happened, our schools were able to shift online and back quickly, to ensure continuity of learning.” Most schools far exceeded public health requirements, as well.
Crescent School, for example, hired new teachers to reduce class size to 15 and installed state-of-art ventilation equipment and touchless sinks, soap dispensers and hand driers. “Our students’ safety is of primary concern,” says Shaw.
They offer values-based education
Whether you’re considering a faithbased school, or simply one that focuses on nurturing the caring side of your kids, advocates of independent schools say they go the extra mile. During the pandemic, even as volunteer opportunities dried up, Sarah Currie’s son Wilf (a boarding student at Trinity College School) helped out in the surrounding community of Port Hope by shovelling snow and decorating store windows.
“I expect that any independent school will provide a very good education,” she says. “But this school focuses on developing kids who are kind, empathetic and well-rounded too.”
They have facilities to die for
Trinity College School offers indoor and outdoor skating rinks, an impressive theatre, and “incredible arts facilities,” says Currie. At Branksome Hall, a K-12 girls school, there’s a rowing centre, two salt water swimming pools and a STEAM studio (Science, Technology,
Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) with 3D printers and robotics. And Crescent School offers a ropes course and a giant year-round sports facility (complete with a track, tennis and volleyball courts), as well as a state-ofthe-art manufacturing studio.
They offer connections to the big wide world
Independent schools tend to excel at nurturing globally minded kids. Dejana Dua’s daughter, for example, attends Branksome Hall where the International Baccalaureate (IB) program shapes the curriculum from Day One.
“A sense of community and inclusiveness is woven into the fabric of the IB curriculum, particularly when it comes to critical thinking and deep understanding of global issues,” says Dua. In Grade 9, girls have the opportunity to visit Branksome Hall Asia, a sister school in Korea, she adds, “giving them a chance to meet likeminded students from around the world and be immersed in their culture.”
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I felt like they were really invested in the character of their students as much as the academics.
They include many things you’d think would be extra
Independent school tuition often includes additional tutoring and access to book clubs, study groups, free lunch (Crescent School’s chef used to work for the Rolling Stones) and a rich array of extracurriculars that open doors for kids.
“My son is a joiner,” says Currie. “He wants to experience everything. But we are a blended family with four kids and two working parents.” Trinity College School, she says, “put a tremendous selection of electives and extracurriculars at Wilf’s doorstep,” and then provided the structure that let him enjoy them all without negatively impacting his school work or time with friends. “The school has given him a tremendous chance to grow,” she says.
ALLISON JELLEY PARENT