Hello,

I thought this was a silly question, but now I'm not so sure. My kids are 5 and 6 and we will be moving to Toronto this summer. We've found two great houses in different locations (East York and Etobicoke). The school in Etobicoke is better than the school in East York, but the area isn't as good.

I've looked at both EQAO and Fraser ratings, but they don't seem to start showing results until Grade 3. This would be a good few years from now and would seem like a bit of a waste if very little was happening before that. I read a BBC report (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40708421) on how Canada has become an education superpower, but I'm struggling to understand how you gauge a good school from a bad school for JK and Grade 1 students if the results don't start until Grade 3.

Any thoughts would be great to hear.

Thanks!

So I'm not a parent nor currently living in Canada but I will be moving to Toronto soon.

I would say, if it starts at Grade 3, then the lower grades are about social interaction, play and creating a foundation to build on through schooling.

Personally, if I was in your situation and unsure which school to send my kids to, I would do a few trail days at both, as part of a pre-moving holiday. That way, your kids can see if they make friends with other kids there, you can also understand potential differences in the 2 school such as more play time in one school than the other. I really believe that schools should have more of an emphasis on socialising and play, especially in early years; learn through play.

But if I had to chose depending on the area to live, I'd chose the nicer area, providing that the next stages of schooling (like our secondary schools in the UK) are at a high standard also or there are good bus services for the kids to get safely to school and back.

You need to be prepared for 'very little to happen before that' tbh. Usually there just isn't the same focus on academics and achievements in Canada at primary that there is in the UK and lots of threads are around saying how people were worried about it being too relaxed after starting in a UK primary. But of course, lots of people prefer a more laid back system. It will really depend on your child as to which system works best, and of course it all evens out in the end.

Personally, I wouldn't say you need to worry about a 'good school' at age 5, but then I'd say the same about schools in the UK. For me primary school was just about my kids learning the basics and I was more worried about them learning how to interact with their peers, etc - choosing a secondary school was when a 'good school' suddenly became important to me.

The Fraser Institute bombards Facebook with adverts saying that Trudeau, the Younger, is a bad Prime Minister because his government raises more in tax revenue than previous governments. Their argument is nonsense, the economy is bigger now than it was before so any government would raise more in taxes and, anyway, it doesn't follow that a Prime Minister is doing a bad job because there's a lot of tax about. That the argument is nonsense doesn't really matter, they're a lobby group, they can no more admit that a Liberal might be doing an ok job than the NRA can denounce school shootings. Bearing that in mind, I look askance whenever someone cites them as a source for school selection information; they're an interested party, you may as well ask Nigel Farage which is the best way for the UK to remain in Europe.

Two good options might be:

- find an IB high school that's referenced in real estate adverts, make that the target, ask that school for advice
- buy a house in an established posh neighborhood; more money generally means better schools

There's not the same emphasis on 'good schools' here - they pretty much all offer the same - and a more relaxed 'all round' education, rather than the UK system. You can read more in our Wiki https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canadian_Schooling
If you still wanted some comparison websites (Fraser Institute isn't worth looking at) then you could try these two. There's lots of threads on schooling in our Canada forum too.
Best Etobicoke Schools | SUSI Rankings
https://www.zoocasa.com/search?longitude=-79.38318429999998
(click on the mortar board hat for the school reviews within the area of the houses.. rather than the houses for sale )

This is great information, thanks everybody.

dbd33's totally irrelevant and teary-eyed sermon about Trudeau aside, no it doesn't matter, unless it's a disorderly school environment at which point I would look elsewhere.

Lots of issues with "school rankings."

It's directly relevant. The Fraser Institute purports to be a body independently ranking schools. It's not, it's a lobby group that uses misleading school rankings to further political positions. Whether or not one favours those positions the organisation is disreputable and its numbers cannot be trusted.

It isn't relevant. Your criticism is not about their methodology etc, your position is that they don't like Trudeau and so therefore they are not credible. OP is not looking for an ideology litmus test of the kind you are advocating. The Fraser Institute provides some information with their rankings. It shouldn't be viewed in isolation but can fit into a larger puzzle in some circumstances, especially if OP gives a good read of what they are measuring and if that is important to her. Not liking Trudeau is not justification to dismiss their work out of hand.

I don't think it's relevant whether they like Trudeau or not. I think their conservatism is peripherally relevant as conservative organisations, e.g. the NRA, the GOP, the Leva campaign tend to be lax with the truth but my point is that, by publishing adverts they know to be misleading they undermine any claim they may have made to statistical credibility. One cannot trust them. Of course, posters here haven't trusted them since Confederation (see many previous posts) but people new to the country may be taken in.

As far as assuring a successful educational outcome one ideal needs to know if the children are expected to remain in Canada. If so, and if they're WASPs, then the ideal approach is to enroll them at UCC or Branksome Hall so that they build establishment connections.

One thing to bare in mind is Toronto seems to improve going West much faster than going East. I think Etobicoke is due quite a bit of development in the next 5 years with a brand spanking new Loblaws at the epicentre by Kipling. Having Kipling also puts it on the subway line. Now I don't know where your house is in Etobicoke but it might be worth a punt from an investment standpoint as well as the fact that you think it is a better school.

Too much time in Hooters?