UPPER CANADA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
UCDSB Celebrates Improved Graduation Rates

The Upper Canada District School Board is excited to share that for a third consecutive year, students are graduating from UCDSB schools at a higher rate than ever before.

The Ministry of Education recently released the 2023-24 graduation rates, with the UCDSB seeing 86.1 per cent for the four-year rate and 89.2 per cent for the five-year rate.

These numbers are calculated based on the number of students who began Grade 9 in the 2019-2020 academic year and graduated within four years, and the cohort that started Grade 9 in the 2018-2019 academic year and graduated in five years.

This continuous and progressive growth underscores the effectiveness of our focus on modern teaching practices, attention to credit attainment, and our commitment to ensuring students are getting the support they need to be successful.

In the 2023-24 school year, the UCDSB implemented several strategies, as outlined in our Director's Work Plan, to help us achieve our graduation rate and student success goals, including: tracking student progress and evaluating effective strategies to increase credit attainment; enhancing course offerings for Indigenous students in order to support graduation and post-secondary pathways; early identification and active engagement of students on the path to graduate in five year; and continuing to provide staff with professional development around new and effective reading practices and Real-World Learning.

The UCDSB also made a $500,000 investment in additional intensive reading resources in the 2023-24 school year. Each school received these resources and professional development to support the new programming. The UCDSB has been recognized by the Ontario Human Rights Commission more than once in the area of reading. Most recently, the UCDSB was highlighted in the 2 Year Update Right to Read Inquiry Report.

"Over the last three academic years, we have seen our graduation rate move upwards and draw closer to our overall goal of achieving, and maintaining, 90 per cent," explains Board Chair Jamie Schoular. "The steady improvement we've seen is a testament to our strategic direction of putting reading, writing and math at the centre of our work and ensuring our students engage in purposeful learning. We are connecting better with our students and ensuring the meaning of the work is more than just passing to move on to the next grade. We will continue to strive towards reaching our 90 per cent grade rate goal, but I am proud of how far we have come."

"This increase in graduation rates is a reflection of the unwavering commitment to our students we see from our educators and from those who guide our system," adds Director of Education Ron Ferguson. "It's motivating to see our students reaching new heights and I'm excited to see what this year will bring."