Page 5 - Creating Pathways to Success

Preface
T his document, in combination with section 2.4 of Ontario Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Program Requirements, 2011 (often referred to as OS), supersedes Choices Into Action: Guidance and Career
Education Program Policy for Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1999. The policy set out here complements the policies related to guidance and career education outlined in section 2.4 of OS and in the various Ontario elementary and secondary school curriculum policy documents.
Ontario schools will begin to implement the policy outlined in this document in September 2013. Full implementation will begin in September 2014.
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Creating Pathways to Success sets out the new career development policy for Ontario schools, which involves the implementation of a comprehensive Kindergarten to Grade 12 education and career/life planning program designed to help students achieve their personal goals and become competent, successful, and contributing members of society. This is a whole-school program delivered through classroom instruction linked to the curriculum and through broader school programs and activities.
To promote success in school and life, it is essential for Ontario schools to provide opportunities and support for all students to plan their individual pathways through school and for each to make a successful transition to his or her initial postsecondary destination. As reflected in the ministry resource document School Effectiveness Framework (SEF), K–12: A Support for School Improvement and Student Success,1 schools that adopt “pathways thinking” enhance every student’s outlook for success by:
• supporting students in identifying their personal interests, strengths, needs, and aspirations and in using this knowledge of themselves to inform their choices of programs and learning opportunities;
• providing a range of diverse and engaging learning opportunities, courses, and programs, both in and outside the classroom, that meet the interests,
1. The education and career/life planning program described in this document is congruent with, and supports, current board and school improvement planning processes. It is aligned with section 5, “Pathways Planning and Programming”, of the School Effectiveness Framework, the self-assessment tool currently being used by schools and school boards to promote school improvement and student success (see section 6.5 in this document, “Measuring Program Effectiveness to Ensure Student Success”).
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