Ontario's Rural Plan Update 2006 (200K)
Ontario's Rural Plan (404K)
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Link to Rural Plan Update Table of Contents

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Our plan for rural Ontario recognizes that when young people have access to good education in local schools, our communities can grow stronger.

The role of the school in rural communities is larger than providing essential education. More often than not, the school is the heart of the community - offering classes by day and community activities by night.

That's why we are working so hard to address the special challenges facing rural schools - staffing, programming and infrastructure. The Rural Student Success Program will improve the viability of rural high schools, increase graduation rates and encourage more rural students to pursue postsecondary education. We're putting rural high schools on an equal footing with their urban counterparts. Our goal is not only to ensure the viability of rural schools but also to improve access to the tools and resources that make learning a life-long experience.

Quality Education

Through the Rural Plan, we are successfully meeting those challenges. We are investing in rural schools. We are making sure that our 300,000 rural students have an equal opportunity for a quality education. We are keeping more doors open for community needs. And we are increasing the opportunities for skills training to help build a stronger future.

Goal

Quality education close to home

Strategies

• Respond to the needs of rural schools
• Provide opportunities for access to education and information resources
• Develop a comprehensive early learning and child care plan
• Increase access to schools for community groups.

Our Progress

• Strengthening the viability of rural schools and allowing school boards the flexibility to use funding in ways they believe will best enhance programs and services through the Keeping Good Schools Open Initiative. Building on the $31-million commitment in 2004-05 for Keeping Good Schools Open, funding will be provided in 2005-06 in recognition of the costs of operating rural schools. These enhancements total $20 million, bringing the government's investment in this initiative to more than $50 million. This initiative will provide funding to 1,139 rural schools.

There are 144 rural high schools serving more than 75,000 students

Rural Student Success Program The Rural Student Success Program customizes Ontario's high school strategy for rural students. It will improve the viability of rural high schools, increase graduation rates and encourage more rural students to pursue postsecondary education. "The Rural Student Success Program released by Education Minister Gerard Kennedy demonstrates fresh thinking and flexible strategies that enhance and expand the educational programming offered in small, rural high schools, ensuring the students' well-being. Grace McGartland, Chair, Coalition for Small Schools.

• Committed, through the Rural Student Success Program, to provide $10 million in additional funding to 25 to 50 rural high schools for a two year period to increase their viability, to adapt the high school curriculum to emphasize the rural experience and deliver a $3.5-million provincial e-learning platform and pilot program to provide rural students access to a range of courses and resources that were previously unavailable.
  

• Recognized the renewal needs of Ontario's schools through the Good Places to Learn program. This initiative has given rural schools funding to address $170 million worth of renewal needs, including new roofs, boilers, windows and other enhancements.
  

• Assisted rural schools to become more energy efficient with $6.3 million in grants.
  

• Adjusted the funding formula to recognize the higher costs of building new additions and schools in rural and remote areas. More than $2 million is allocated annually, leveraging more than $30 million worth of repairs, renewal and school additions.
  

• Improved student transportation with additional funding. In 2004-05 and 2005-06, we allocated an additional total amount of $21 million for rural student transportation.

More than 60 per cent of rural students take a school bus every day.

• Provided $700,000 in start-up funding to support the public library component of the Ontario Digital Library (ODL) initiative. Once implemented, the ODL will be a province-wide library of electronic resources and services, which will enable better access to information and resources to libraries including those in rural and remote communities, including First Nations communities.
  

• Worked with the Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario and First Nation librarians to assist 50 First Nation public libraries acquire books on topics of interest for First Nation communities. The government provided $20,000.
  

• Provided funding directly to school libraries to replenish their resources and allocated $4 million of that funding to ensure that small schools receive the same amount as their larger counterparts.

The Best Start Plan provides for the healthy development, early learning and child care of children in their first years.

The Best Start Plan Lambton/Chatham-Kent is one of three demonstration sites to implement the Best Start vision. This program integrates and improves access to local services and supports for children and their parents, which helps build stronger communities.

• Extended relief from cost-sharing requirements to municipalities on $1.1 billion worth of federal funding for Ontario's Best Start Plan. This is especially important in rural communities where funding their share of program and administration costs can be challenging. In 2005-06, the provincial government announced it would waive the cost-share provisions on the new funding for the life of the federal agreements.

Community Use of Schools in Trillium Lakelands In January, 2005, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board signed a Community Use of Schools Agreement to receive $185,802 to help make school facilities more accessible to not-for-profit groups at reduced rates. Improvements made from this funding included: Rental fees for not-for-profit groups serving children and youth were reduced to zero Hourly fees for school facilities such as classrooms and gyms were reduced to zero The hourly custodian fee that had been charged on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays was reduced for all community not-for-profit groups Single and mulit-use administration fees were waived for all community not-for-profit groups Facilities were made available to community not-for-profit groups for an additional 5,000 hours a year.

The Community Use of Schools program provides District School Boards with up to $20 million to cover the incremental costs of community use of school facilities. The current program is continuing in 2005-06.)

• In the 2004-05 school year, all of Ontario's 72 district school boards signed Community Recreation and Use Agreements.

Link to Rural Plan Update Table of Contents

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