FAQ on
Partnership with WCDSB
1. Why partners
with WCDSB?
For serving more students with higher
quality and in a more sustainable mode of operation. Grand
River Chinese School intended in the very beginning to
establish the Chinese programs under the public
funded system, for some reason, it took two years of hard
work to make it happen. We appreciate the trust and support
given by our teachers, parents and the community, and would
like to express our special thanks to Lincoln Road Chapel for
their help in the most critical period of time.
2. Are you able
to offer credit courses beginning in September? Will the
credit be recognized by schools of other school
boards?
Yes, beginning in September, credit courses
for students of grade 9 and above will be offered. Yes, the
credit courses are set forth according to the standard of
Ontario Ministry of Education, and the credit is recognized by
all schools in Ontario.
3. After
partnering with WCDSB, will the school have religious contents
in the education?
No. The Adult Learning and
Continuing Education Center (St. Luis) of WCDSB is
non-religious, and Grand River Chinese School will also stick
to the non-religious principle.
4. What is the
relation of Grand River Chinese School with the Chinese School
located at WCI?
Both Chinese programs are government
funded, and they are under the leadership of two different
school boards. Therefore, they are independent both
financially and administratively. Both schools serve the
community, just like both the school boards serve the
community, and they are not competitors. With the increase of
the Chinese population, two schools in the region are
necessary to offer Chinese program, so that parents can have
choices in their convenience and other factors.
5. After
partnering with WCDSB, will the school continue to offer
extracurricular interest courses and the 3-year-old class? Any
changes in the Chinese classes? What is the class
time?
After converting the Chinese programs (JK and
above) into WCDSB program, we will continue to offer
extracurricular interest courses and the 3-year-old class
under the current system. Courses of JK and above will change
to 2.5-hour programs, and the new credit courses will be
3-hour programs. All Chinese courses will be in the morning of
Saturdays starting at 9:30 am; the elementary courses finish
at 12:00 pm; and the secondary credit courses finish at 12:30
pm. Most extracurricular interest courses are offered after
the Chinese courses.
6. Will the small
class policy continue? How about the
fees?
Conventional international language courses
offered by WCDSB are free. The government funding is
determined based on the 23 students ratio.
For JK through Grade 8
classes, in order to achieve the high quality of education
that parents demanded, we will continue the small class
policy. The additional funding needed to support the small
class has to be raised from parents by the Parent Association.
The fund raising contribution is not mandatory, families who
need financial aid can get waiver for the contribution.
For the first year, the Parent Association recommend parents
to pay $50 per school year for each student, and in the
future, depending on the balance level we may make
adjustments.
For Grades 9 to 12, the school board will charge
$20 counseling fee.
Fees for the 3-year-old class and extracurricular
interest class will be determined according market price, and
ensure fair competition. The extracurricular interest courses
are based on community needs, we will offer whatever courses
that the community need as long as we have the
resources.
7. Why the
location is chosen at Resurrection CSS？
Due
to the number of classes we have, only secondary schools can
accommodate our school, and in the region, there are only two
choices. We originally suggested St. David CSS because it is
located in the center of the region, but WCDSB suggested
Resurrection CSS after they investigated the both sites. We
also went to see both sites and feel that WCDSB has its
reasons to recommend the Resurrection CSS: Safety, learning
environment, etc. -- Resurrection CSS indeed is more suitable
for our student age range and our school size. We hope that
parents who live in the east part of the city would understand
and for the best learning environment of their kids, make
their efforts to bring their kids to Resurrection CSS. I
believe parents will agree with and like this choice once we
move into the new site.
8. Will the
special Chinese class be offered again?
The special
Chinese class was offered for students who were dropped off
from Chinese programs in their earlier ages for various
reasons. It was a result of history. Whether we will offer it
again will be dependent on the
demand.