Frequently Asked Questions

What's Different About Elmwood?

Our educators are passionate, lifelong learners in their fields but are equally as passionate about helping launch young people into their futures. We strive to help each individual attain their highest ability and we celebrate that each of us is unique and learns and grows on a unique trajectory. We believe every student is capable of achieving success and we are committed to helping and supporting each one on their individual journey.

We offer a close knit group with very small class sizes. giving our educators ample ability to help each student as much as they need.

As a community school, we are fostering a synergistic approach between educators, families, students, and our community on a whole. As such, we strive to find local business owners and members of our community to support our students in their education and in trades programs, summer programs and part time jobs, apprenticeship programs, and practical skills of all kinds.

We seek opportunities for our students to experience volunteering and giving back to their community. We want to foster an intrinsic responsibility to building and growing and helping in our own backyard.

Who Is Elwood For?

We are an alternative to the mainstream classroom model. Elmwood is suited to families who wish to avoid Public education for various reasons. Our staff are highly qualified in their fields of study, and our programs offer high level education to your child's school experience. We can offer one on one help from experienced tutors when needed as well as classroom experience and a social outlet in a safe, loving, supportive environment.

We strive to help each and every student personally explore who they are and what mark they wish to leave on the world. We are committed to helping every child obtain the skills necessary for success beyond high school. Whether your child needs help with a resume, learning to budget, practical math, finding an apprenticeship or summer job in their field of interest; the Elmwood staff will do everything we can to set them up for success.

Is Elmwood A School Or A Tutoring Business?

In the interests of getting off the ground for the students we currently have, we decided to begin as a tutoring business that offers full day programming from September to June following the same schedule as a private school would. The beauty of this is we can also offer A La Cart programming to homeschooling families that may not require full day programming but are interested in joining us for specific classes. We can also offer summer programming that any family can join.

In the future we will be working towards becoming a recognised private school that can offer OSSD Credits towards a Secondary School Diploma

Can My Child Obtain A High School Diploma At Elmwood?

Unless a high school in Ontario has a BNID number and is registered with the Ministry of Education, they can not give out OSSD credits or a diploma. While we do offer curriculum that meets or exceeds the Ontario Curriculum Requirements, we are not inspected by the ministry of education to ensure adherence to the OSSD program.

This does not effect our grade 7 / 8 students in any way.

What we can currently do is prep students to enter grade 12 in public school and obtain 6 grade 12 credits and write the OSSD exams to achieve their diploma. This is the same outcome of any home school, pod school, or private school that does not have a BNID # and is not inspected by the Ministry of Education.

Our Sr. High School students also have the opportunity to prep to write their CAEC (High School Diploma Equivalent) Which is the program that has recently replaced the GED.

Feel free to call or email if you would like more information regarding this topic.

Do We Accept Special Needs Students?

Our Educators all have some experience working with students with ADHD, ASD level 1, Anxiety disorders, and various minor learning challenges in math and literacy. While we will keep learning and growing in how we can best serve our special needs community, we are currently not capable of giving the best to a student who's needs exceed the above stated diagnosis.

That said, if you have a student that you feel would benefit from some of our one time events or field trips, or even selected programming or one on one tutoring please don't hesitate to reach out! We would love to meet your student and find out how we can support them in their education.