| FutureSkills High School | |
| Address | |
| 5635 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario, M2M 3S9, Canada |
|
| Public transit access | Subway: Finch Station (TTC), Bus: VIVA, YRT, GO |
| Information | |
| Principal | Hassan Mirzai |
| School type | Private Ministry Number: 666114 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Motto | Learning, Discovery, Achievement |
| Colours | |
| Established | 1997 |
| Enrolment | 160 (as of February 2011) |
| Homepage | http://www.futureskills.com |
FutureSkills High School[1] is a co-educational independent school[2] in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school offers courses for students in grades 9 to 12 who seek their OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma). The school is also an accredited TOEFL test center. International students can prepare for and take their TOEFL exam at their premises.
Contents |
The school was established in 1997 in Toronto, under the name Netskills College. The focus was on computer courses. In 2002 the name was changed to FutureSkills High School, to reflect the addition of high school credit courses to the curriculum. Private schools have sometimes been controversial, with some in the media[3] claiming that a private education gives students an unfair advantage.
The school is a credit-granting institution. It is certified by the Ontario Ministry of Education. School has no age limit policy. This enables adult students to join FutureSkills and complete their high school diploma. Students have the option of attending full-time or part-time through day school, night school and summer school programs. Mature students[4] who are unable to attend all the classes are offered fast track classes through a variety of one on one lessons[5] and online courses. A combination of one on one lessons and Internet based courses allows these students to complete accredited high school credits, without attending all the regular classes. Their major exams must be supervised.
Approximately, one third of FutureSkills population are international students, who can choose from a range of ESL courses (ESLAO, ESLBO, ESLCO, ESLDO, ESLEO)[6] to prepare them for linguistic integration into the English speaking communities.
FutureSkills has some on-line interactivity on its website. Teachers and administrators update the website on a regular basis, providing information that is relevant to students and parents. Enrolled students are urged to access teachers' notes, assignments, and their marks as soon as they are produced by the teachers. This information is shared with parents or guardians if the students are under the age of 18. The site is kept up-to-date on a range of issues associated with parenting teens.
For those students who are unable to attend (live too far from school, or have medical issues), or prefer to study on their own, i.e, at their own speed, the school is offering online distance learning version of most programs (e-learning) . This would be taken in conjunction with, and driven by the in-class curriculum as defined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. It is supported by regular student-teacher meetings via internet.
For those students who need to finish a course faster, or are unable to attend the regular classes, FutureSkills offers Fast Track courses. Fast Track courses allow students to complete accredited high school courses, usually faster than the normal term. Where feasible, the course can be fitted to their own schedule. Fast Tracking does not mean taking short cuts. The logistics of Fast Track studies is to cover all the material of a given course in a shorter time frame, using the following parameters:
The FutureSkills' teachers’ set schedules for regularly monitoring and evaluating progress through quizzes, chapter tests, unit tests, projects, assignments and a final exam. These evaluations will be used towards the students’ final mark. Upon successful completion of each Fast Track course, the student will be awarded one credit.