Recently released statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Education show that Catholic schools in the province continue to succeed in creating well-rounded high school graduates.

Both French and English Catholic school boards perform well above average. The Ministry sets its target 5-year graduation rate at 85%, and 27 out of the 35 Catholic school boards with numbers available are at or above that benchmark. In addition, two Catholic school boards are less than 1% away from the province’s goal.

“As someone involved in Catholic education, I’m very proud of what our schools do in Ontario and across the country,” says CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon.

Of course, Catholic education is about more than just math and science. It’s about the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. This is best exemplified in the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGEs) introduced by the Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) in 1998, and still used today across the province. These expectations help form graduates rich in integrity, faith, and love.

Read more: Ontario Catholic schools continue to flourish

The recently formed Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education (GrACE) is an Alberta-based organization that seeks to celebrate Catholic education in the province.

The Chair of GrACE, Michael Ouellette, says that the founding of a group like this has been talked about for a while, but it’s now finally being acted upon.

“It’s something we’ve always wanted to do,” he says. “Our mission is to tell the story of Catholic education in the province of Alberta.”

With a new campaign being run seeking a unified school board, now seemed like a perfect time to organize and promote the value of Catholic education in the province.

Read more: GrACE forms to promote Catholic education in Alberta

François Bazinet, chair of the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien (CSDCEO), will be inducted into the Order of the Pleiades for the year 2019.

He will be receiving the Order of the Pleiades of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie. He’s one of six recipients of the order within the Ontario Chapter of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), the medal recognizing dedication and outstanding contribution to the vitality of Ontario’s Francophonie.

“Contributing to the promotion of the French language across Ontario and (CSDCEO) schools is for me a cause that is enormously rewarding,” said Mr. Bazinet in a news release issued by the CSDCEO. “You could also say that it is a life mission.”

Bazinet has worked in Francophone education for over 40 years. He is a retired teacher who, after a long career at L’École secondaire catholique La Citadelle, became chair of the CSDCEO two years ago. He serves as the trustee for North Stormont, North Dundas and Russell.

Read more: CSDCEO Chair Receives Honour