Monday was the Ontario Ministry of Education’s inspection of the OSSD at Académie de la Capitale. We aced it!
For the principal to maintain the authority to grant credits towards the OSSD, private and independent schools in Ontario undergo, every two years, an inspection of their record keeping system and of their documentation pertaining to course of study outlines; schedules; daily, unit and full year course planning; and assessment, including student evidence of learning. Every document has to demonstrate implementation and compliance with ministry policies, subject curriculum guides, subject learning expectations and to Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario’s Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2010.
Though we have done very well in the six previous inspections, one or two recommendations only, this one was exceptional. It received an exemplary evaluation in each category. At the end of the 2.5 hours virtual meeting with Mrs. H., Dr. B.; Mme Christine and I, Ms. McGuire congratulated us and said: “Perfect inspection! Not even one recommendation to be given.” She commented that she appreciated the productive professional exchange on teaching and the ministry guidelines she had had with us. And, then again she commented very positively on our ability to get to know the students really well over the course of several years, which allows the teachers to hone in on the needs of each student, in terms of development of skills.
She complemented Mme Christine, many times, on her meticulous record keeping, and was very impressed! Record-keeping is a priority for EDU as it is essential to maintain the value of the diploma recognized world wide. For current students, accurate record-keeping is a priority for post-secondary education admission. Alumni access to their transcripts is also indispensable; culled OSRs are kept by the school for 55 years.

Linda was praised for her learning goals and success criteria being written in student friendly language. She loved that Linda’s rubrics were specific for each task and learning goal. She praised Linda’s feedback to the students as being descriptive and specific. Linda has a very good mix of assignments and learning tasks. Ms. McGuire was impressed with the scope and depth of the material. The material was advanced and students rose to the challenge to achieve the expectations beyond what may be offered in ENG4U at other schools.
Ms. McGuire commended Bruno for the depth of his course material. Bruno had an excellent observation/conversation rubric which needed only minor tweaking. He had excellent descriptive feedback on the student marked assignments. In International Business Fundamentals, the course material and resources selected by Bruno were current ones. The assignments were imbued in present-day usefulness and once again the students were stretched to achieve the expectations beyond what may be offered in BBM4U at other schools.
She was also pleased with her interaction with the teachers in terms of the open discussion.
Overall, our main objective is for our students not only to obtain admission to the post-secondary programmes of choice, but to gain conceptual understanding and to master the content knowledge and approaches to learning, to remain in their programme of choice.
Inspection preparedness is long-term collaborative work. Back in September, 2020, to meet the pre-inspection material deadline upload, the PSSP/OSSD team worked together, online with Mr. Talha, to format, “à la Académie de la Capitale,” all the outlines of course of study, and to align the Planning Considerations for each course to reflect the character and needs of our student population. During the school year, each subject teacher had to develop: unit, assessment, and lesson plans; rubrics and assessment tools; and newsletters.
For this inspection success, their professionalism, and most caring nature, I wish to thank each and every teacher at the PSSP and OSSD.
Best regards,
Lucie Lalonde

Source:: PSSP & OSSD