A group of Ottawa elementary students is spending its Saturday mornings on a university campus this fall, learning alongside volunteer university mentors through a program new to the city's English-language school system.
Students from Assumption School are taking part in the Ottawa launch of School of the Greats, an extracurricular mentoring initiative that pairs elementary pupils with university student mentors for academic support and hands-on science activities, according to the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
The board is partnering with the University of Ottawa and Foundation W. to run the program locally. The board describes the launch as the first expansion of the School of the Greats model into an English-language education system.
What the program offers
On Saturday mornings, participating Assumption students travel to the University of Ottawa campus. Transportation and breakfast are provided, and the program is offered to families at no cost.
Once there, students work with volunteer university mentors, receiving academic help and taking part in science enrichment activities the board says are designed to build skills, confidence and curiosity.
The program's approach is built around relationships. The School of the Greats model points to caring relationships, positive expectations, problem-solving, autonomy and student engagement as factors that can strengthen academic resilience.
Organizers describe the arrangement as a "double impact." Younger students build skills, confidence, resilience and greater awareness of postsecondary education, while university mentors develop leadership, community engagement and a sense of purpose.
Program with Quebec roots
School of the Greats began in Quebec in 2015 under the name L'École des Grands, according to the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Since then it has supported more than 5,000 elementary and postsecondary participants in Quebec and Ontario.
The program's mission is centred on creating greater access to educational success by drawing on the resources, expertise and engagement of the education community.
For the board, the value of the partnership lies in extending the community of adults and experiences surrounding its students. The board says student success depends not only on schools but also on families, community organizations and postsecondary partners opening doors for young people.
The launch also connects to the board's spiritual theme for the year, which it calls "Nourish New Beginnings." The board points to moments such as a student trying something for the first time, a mentor offering encouragement, or a difficult problem finally making sense.
For Assumption students, the Saturday sessions at the University of Ottawa are meant to make a campus that might once have seemed distant feel familiar — a place they have walked through, learned in, and can begin to picture themselves attending one day.
