School Effectiveness

The LNS is partnering with schools and boards to develop goals and action plans for improving student learning and achievement. LNS also works directly with board leaders who are involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring of their school and board improvement plans.

Ontario Focused Intervention Partnership

The Ontario Focused Intervention Partnership (OFIP) initiative focuses on reducing gaps in student achievement by providing funding and targeted support to all boards based on local needs. There are two components to OFIP: Schools in the Middle and OFIP: Lower-performing schools.

OFIP: Schools in the Middle

The Schools in the Middle strategy helps all boards across the province develop system improvement teams and board-based networks of schools in order to improve teaching, assessment and instructional leadership.

Networks of middle-performing schools work together with their system improvement team to complete school self-assessments, construct school improvement plans and implement teaching and learning strategies to improve student learning and achievement.

Strategies implemented included:

Networked professional learning focused on system, school and classroom leadership
Examining learning and leading in literacy and mathematics by analyzing student work and developing learning goals, success criteria and descriptive feedback for the purpose of moving student thinking to reach the provincial standard.

OFIP: Lower-performing Schools

Schools and boards participating in OFIP benefit from:

Direct support from the LNS to assess, monitor and evaluate school improvement
Direct support from the LNS for financial and human resources
Capacity-building, including networking within and across boards, and sharing of current research knowledge.

LNS regional teams support the program by:

Facilitating and supporting collaborative inquiry, through a number of LNS initiatives
Supporting growth of school leadership.

Tutoring

Research shows that with the appropriate support, all students can be successful learners. Some students face more challenges than others as they learn to read, write and do mathematics.

The LNS supports two tutoring initiatives:

Tutors in the Classroom – The LNS continues to support school boards hire post-secondary students, enrolled in Ontario colleges and universities, to work as tutors in JK to Grade 6 classrooms during the school day.
OFIP Tutoring – The LNS continues to support school boards initiate or extend programs that support JK to Grade 6 students in strengthening their literacy and numeracy skills outside the classroom and beyond the regular school day.