bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The Delia School of Canada has a reputation to uphold. Permitted to operate by virtue of an agreement with the Ontario minister of education, the school carries the well-known name and standing of the Canadian province and the educational values with which it is associated.

Established 17 years ago, Delia School faithfully follows the Ontario curriculum. The 900 students who attend the school have the same curriculum, transcripts and courses as their counterparts in  Toronto.

Assistant principal Jack Saddler said the province held the Hong Kong school to an even higher standard than schools in Ontario.

Annual inspections by Ontario's minister of education ensure the quality of the school surpasses provincial benchmarks.

'This keep us on our toes,' Mr Saddler said.

Ontario's sophisticated education initiatives place Delia School on the cutting edge of education. In 1999, following an overhaul of the education system, Ontario introduced a highly standardised approach to curriculum and evaluation.

Under the system, teachers grade students according to levels one through to four. The curriculum spells out what students should be able to achieve at each stage, shifting accountability to teachers to help students attain these goals.

Perhaps most revolutionary is that teachers must demonstrate precisely how they arrive at students' marks. Gone are the days when teachers seemed to pluck magical numbers from the air.

Mr Saddler said the new system eliminated this element of surprise, and that students, teachers and parents had welcomed it.

Teachers know what they have to achieve in the classroom, parents consider teachers better organised and students see justification for their marks and know how to improve them.

Norman Noor, a Grade 12 student at the school who will be attending Illinois Wesleyan University next year, said: '[The grading system] tells us what areas we have to improve. It's much easier when it's divided like that.'

Mr Saddler said: 'The Ontario model is like a business model based on improving student performance.'

Delia School's philosophy echoes the precepts of the Ontario model. 'We want to prepare students to be independent, life-long learners ready for the international world,' he said.

To this end, the school places emphasis on four assets identified by the business community in Ontario as essential for graduates: literacy in English, proficiency in numeracy, problem-solving skills and the ability to work well with others. Students must pass a literacy test at the end of Grade 9 and assessments in reading, writing and maths after Grades 3, 6 and 9 will be instituted next year to match the Ontario curriculum.

In a school in which non-native English speakers account for roughly a third of the student population, the school places strong emphasis on its English as a Second Language programme.

Momoka Hamada, a Grade 11 student who could not speak a word of English when she arrived in Hong Kong from Japan about 10 years ago, speaks English fluently, and was recently one of two students chosen to take part in a youth peace conference in Bangkok.

A unique aspect of the curriculum is that students must complete 40 hours of community service between Grades 9 and 12 to graduate.

'This is more of a challenge to accomplish here since volunteerism is lesser known in Hong Kong,' Mr Saddler said.

Hong Kong can learn lessons from Ontario's education system. Unlike in Hong Kong, where students with learning disabilities often suffer for years unnoticed, the province boasts a solid support network for special-needs students ranging from in-class help and withdrawal programmes to special-needs schools.

Delia School does its best to fill the gap here. An in-school team handles special needs cases under the direction of Mr Saddler and his colleague, both of whom hold degrees in special education.



Delia School follows winning Ontario model