Back row: Marguerite Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of EQAO, Réjeanne Lebeau-Groulx, Lise Duhaime, Danielle Pagé, Lise Cahill, Natalie Aiken, Dr. Brian L. Desbiens, Chair of the Board of Directors of EQAO.
Back row: Marguerite Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of EQAO, Réjeanne Lebeau-Groulx, Lise Duhaime, Danielle Pagé, Lise Cahill, Natalie Aiken, Dr. Brian L. Desbiens, Chair of the Board of Directors of EQAO. Front row: Cynthia Roveda, Dre-Bette-M- Stephenson, Daniel VilleneuvePhoto: Kristof Borkowski /Pinpoint National.
Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord is proud to announce that École St-Thomas d’Aquin school in Astorville is one of four French-language elementary schools in Ontario that have received the prestigious Dr. Bette M. Stephenson Recognition of Achievement from the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in 2011. The award is given to schools whose staffs demonstrate outstanding leadership, data-driven strategies and whole-school approaches to helping every child succeed.
Daniel Villeneuve, principal of the school, attributes the success of its students to many factors including the climate of respect and collaboration which reigns amongst school staff, students and parents at École St-Thomas d’Aquin. The other notable factor is the use of available data, including the results of provincial testing, to draw up an action plan targeting specific objectives for the classroom or small groups of students experiencing the same difficulties. The approach used by the school over the past few years is so successful that, in 2011, one hundred percent (100%) of the Grades 3 and 6 students met or exceeded expectations in the EQAO test in Mathematics. According to Mr. Villeneuve, “These results are the product of a culture of learning which starts in Junior Kindergarten and develops as the student progresses in his or her studies. Learning takes place in a stimulating environment where students participate in enjoyable activities that foster learning.”
Cynthia Roveda, Director of Education at Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord points out that “All of the Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord schools are deployed extra hours of staff to allow for regular meetings of the Professional Learning Community (PLC). These meetings facilitate sharing of best practices, alignment of teaching strategies, networking and collaboration between colleagues. We are very proud of what the staff at École St-Thomas d’Aquin has accomplished with the support received.”
