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Courses at BCI

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Course Pathways

Academic Courses (D)

Academic Courses are suited to students who are comfortable with theoretical concepts and enjoy solving problems by applying what they have learned.

Academic Courses:

  • Focus on the essential concepts of a subject and explore related concepts
  • Develop students’ knowledge and skills through the study of theory and abstract problems
  • Incorporate practical applications as appropriate
  • Present and evaluate curriculum at a measured/brisk pace according to students’ needs
  • Often lead to post-secondary education, including College, University, and Apprenticeship, or to Workplace.

Special Education Courses (K):

Special Education Courses allow students to focus on functional life skills and/or job readiness skills within schools that have a self-contained special education setting. Expectations are individualized for students who have a variety of strengths and needs. In some cases, these courses can be preparation for participation in Locally Developed Compulsory Courses.

Special Education Courses:

May lead to a Certificate of Accomplishment, support work/ living, and in some cases, an Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC).

Locally Developed Courses (L):

Locally Developed Courses are designed for students who have specific learning needs and require more direction in the classroom. Students will learn essential and practical concepts of a subject.

Locally Developed Courses:

  • Are intended for students who require a measure of flexibility and support in order to meet the compulsory credit requirements in English, mathematics and science for the OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma) or (OSSC).
  • May lead directly to the Workplace.

Open Courses:

Open Courses allow students to learn concepts and skills designed to prepare them for further study in the subject area. Generally, in Grade 9, optional courses are offered as open courses, for example music, art, drama, business studies, family studies, physical education and technological studies. Expectations are created for all students and these students can have a variety of learning skills.

Applied Courses (P):

Applied Courses teach students using real-life ideas and offer the chance to apply what they have learned to the work around them.

These Courses:

  • Focus on the essential concepts of a subject
  • Develop students’ knowledge and skills through practical applications and concrete examples
  • Use familiar situations to illustrate ideas
  • Present and evaluate curriculum at a gradual pace according to students’ needs
  • May lead to post-secondary education, including College or Apprenticeship; or to Workplace

Do I choose Applied, Academic, or Locally Developed?

It is important students select Grade 9 courses based on their strengths and interests. Being successful in all Grade 9 courses will give students more pathway choices as they progress through secondary school.

Withdrawing from a course

If a student (including a student with a completed Individual Education Plan) withdraws from a Grade 11 or 12 course within five instructional days following the issue of the first provincial report card in a semestered or non-semestered school, the withdrawal is not recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript (OST). If a student withdraws from a course after five instructional days following the issue of the first provincial report card in a semestered or non-semestered school, the withdrawal is recorded on the OST by entering a ‘W’ in the ‘Credit’ column. The student’s percentage grade at the time of the withdrawal is recorded in the ‘Percentage Grade’ column.

Credit Recovery

Our provincially-recognized Credit Recovery program is an in-school program for students who have not successfully completed some of their courses. In a credit recovery classroom, students work on recovering previously failed courses and have the opportunity to get their credit accumulation back on track. Credit Recovery offers students a supportive environment that focuses on the key expectations of a course and also assists students with pathway planning and developing improved learning skills that will help them in earning their Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Dual Credits

Grand Erie District School Board has partnered with Conestoga College, Fanshawe College and Mohawk College to allow students to earn college credits before they graduate secondary school. These credits are delivered in three different ways within the Board:

School Within a College (SWAC)

Is offered by Conestoga in Brantford, Fanshawe in Simcoe and Mohawk in Ohsweken. If you are between the ages of 17 and 20 years old and need 5 – 10 credits to graduate, speak to your guidance counsellor about this program.

Team Taught

Is taught in combination with a college instructor and secondary school teacher during a student’s regularly scheduled class.

After School

Is taught by a college instructor (and supported by a secondary school teacher) after school in one of the local secondary schools. Students from other schools are welcome to enrol. Speak with your guidance counsellor for further information.

eLearning

eLearning courses use a virtual classroom and are accessed by an electronic device. The teacher may be from a school in the Grand Erie District School Board, or from another school board in Ontario. In eLearning courses, students will not be face-to-face with their teachers. Students enrolled in eLearning courses are required to attend and engage in their eLearning courses regularly and consistently, as they do for their face-to-face classes.

There is an Orientation Module available within Grand Erie eLearning courses, to support students’ success in their online learning. Students will require access to a device to complete their learning. Grand Erie students have access to a device within their home school so that they can work on their course during the regular school day. Students may want to have access to a device and the internet outside of regular school hours. Please check the technical requirements for eLearning courses by selecting the link at the top of this page.

eLearning courses are typically taken by senior students to fulfil missing graduation requirements. This provides opportunities for students to be able to access courses that they might not otherwise be able to take in a face-to-face class. As well, eLearning is now commonly found at the post-secondary level (apprenticeships, college, or university), and is often used in workplace training. All students must be registered in a school in their home board before accessing eLearning opportunities. For this reason, schools may receive registration requests from students who are currently considered as home-schooled students.

To register for an eLearning course, students should see their guidance counsellors. Principals, in collaboration with the student and parent(s) and a guidance counselor, consider the best interests of the student when making decisions around facilitating access to eLearning.

Grand Erie Learning Alternatives (GELA)

GELA provides an alternate opportunity for secondary school students who, for various reasons, are not experiencing success in a regular school setting or who want to re-enter school after leaving.

Scheduled day programs, booklet and e-Learning are available.

For more information, contact your school’s Guidance Counsellor.

Night School

Night school classes are offered in Brantford, Haldimand and Norfolk. They are offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings. A wide variety of compulsory courses are offered. For additional information call Grand Erie Learning Alternatives (GELA) 519 753-6079.

Summer School

Grand Erie District School Board will be offering summer school for grades 9 - 12 credits during the month of July. Locations will be sent to each school in the spring. For additional information call 519-753-6079.

Indigenous Education Advisory Committee (IEAC)

IEAC is an advisory committee mandated by the Ministry of Education in September of 2017. The mandate of the committee is to enhance and improve Indigenous Education for all students. The committee reports to the board on the Board Action Plan and programming for both Elementary and Secondary panels. The committee is comprised of board personnel, community members and organizations with an interest in Indigenous Education, including parents.

myBlueprint

At Grand Erie, we have a vision that all students leaving our secondary schools have a clear postsecondary plan. We support students with the tools they require to become the architects of their future.   

As part of our commitment to Career Education and supporting the ministry mandate for Creating Pathways to Success, we have moved forward with a board license of the myBlueprint Education Planner. Our license provides access to all students 7-12, their families, and all 7-12 staff in Grand Erie. 

myBlueprint has been supporting Ontario school boards for 13+ years. The service supports teachers, empowers students, and engages parents with their child’s education, career, and life planning. Accessible via the website on any browser, myBlueprint captures current progress in the classroom and offers a complete representation of a child’s unique pathway. 

myBlueprint’s Education Planner is mobile-friendly, and ever-evolving to support the needs of Grand Erie students. The program allows students to view their graduation requirements and over 12,000 post-secondary programs across the country based on their Ontario specific courses. 

Grand Erie and myBlueprint work together to create an Individual Pathway Plan (IPP) for all students. This plan becomes a valuable archive of student learning and a catalogue of resources they will need as they continue to plan. Visit myblueprint.ca for more information.

Ontario Student Record (OSR)

The OSR is the official, on-going educational record for each student and is stored in the school most recently attended by the student. Teaching staff, each student, and the parent(s) or guardian(s) of a student are entitled to have access to the student’s OSR. Supervised access can be arranged by appointment during normal business hours. Transcripts of marks are issued on written or personal request.

Once a student reaches the age of 18, by law, they control access to the OSR by anyone not mentioned above. Parents of adult students will only have access to a student’s academic records upon written authorization from the student. All senior level courses remaining on a student’s timetable five days after the first provincial report will be recorded on the transcript.

Transcripts requested after a student has graduated and is no longer attending secondary school are subject to a charge of $5.00 per copy.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

PLAR is the formal evaluation and credit-granting process whereby students may obtain credits for prior learning. Prior learning includes the knowledge and skills that students have acquired, in both formal and informal ways, outside secondary school. Students may have their knowledge and skills evaluated against the expectations outlined in provincial curriculum policy documents in order to earn credits toward the secondary school diploma. The PLAR process involves two components: “equivalency” and “challenge”.

Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)

SEAC is an advisory committee mandated through the Education Act as a standing committee of each school Board. The committee reports to the school Board and makes recommendations to the board on special education programs and services. The committee is comprised of Trustees, Board personnel, community members, and associations representing a wide variety of interests related to students with exceptional needs.

Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)

Grand Erie District School Board, in conjunction with the Ontario Ministry of Education, offers SHSM programs to secondary school students.

Students enrolled in a SHSM program are required to complete a bundle of classroom courses, workplace experiences and sector certifications to receive a special designation on their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).

Participation in an SHSM program can help students prepare for apprenticeships, college, university or transition to work.

Grand Erie District School Board has programs in the following sectors:

  • Arts & Culture – Performance and Production, Journalism and Media
  • Construction
  • Environment
  • Health & Wellness – Fitness, Healthy Living, Health Care, Hairstyling
  • Horticulture & Landscaping
  • Hospitality & Tourism
  • Information & Communications Technology
  • Manufacturing
  • Sports
  • Transportation

Special Education

Grand Erie District School Board special education programs and services are delivered in safe and enabling environments in order to promote success for students with special education needs. An enabling environment is positive, inclusive and fosters student independence and well-being. Each one of our Secondary schools has a Special Education department with Learning Resource teachers that can support the development and implementation of Individual Education Plans.

Some of our schools have Self-Contained programs to support the learning needs of individual students for which the most enabling environment for them to meet their program goals is in a smaller class setting with higher staff to student ratio. In addition, system Student Support Services are available to support students and programming in the areas of Speech and Language Services, Psychological Services, Social Services and Behavioural Services.