Pathways and Transitions
WRDSB is preparing students for the next step in their elementary and secondary education and their postsecondary pathway.
Students are demonstrating leadership in their schools and communities. WRDSB provides engaging experiential opportunities and extracurricular activities to encourage students to extend their learning.
The WRDSB aims to ensure more students have broader options available to them as they prepare for success after graduation. Through implementation of high-impact strategies focused on credit accumulation, including providing transition supports; offering credit rescue and credit recovery interventions in secondary schools; and eLearning options for students, we are able to differentiate based on students’ needs and support students to achieve the necessary credits to achieve graduation. We also offer System Navigator support for students, staff and families to help students progress towards graduation.
Secondary students are able to access programs to support different pathways, including “Build a Credit” program; co-operative education; participation in Dual Credit (College) programs; Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programs (OYAP); and School Within a College (SWAC) program with Conestoga College; and Specialist High School Majors (SHSM).
We believe in the power of experiential learning to transform students’ educational journeys. Programs such as the SHSM allow students to engage in real-world learning, explore diverse sectors, develop essential skills and personalize their education. Students from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in the SHSM program had the opportunity to venture offsite and tour a local manufacturing facility to engage in experiential learning. Throughout the day, students took part in widget making with a robotic arm, running simulators, viewed a probing demonstration and had their resumes reviewed by industry professionals.
Students from Grand River Collegiate Institute, Eastwood Collegiate Institute and Forest Heights Collegiate Institute collaborated during a Sector Partnership Experience workshop focused on the transportation industry. They designed and built working prototypes, created business cases, and pitched their solutions to a panel of judges.
It is important to provide students opportunities to explore potential postsecondary pathways. In 2024-25, WRDSB hosted the inaugural Black Brilliance Pathways to Post-Secondary Fair where hundreds of African, Caribbean and Black students in Grades 10 to 12, alongside their families and caregivers, learn more about post-secondary pathways. The event was organized by the Indigenous, Equity and Human Rights Department.
This event is one of the many ways WRDSB is providing opportunities for students to achieve their chosen pathways and support academic achievement and well-being, in alignment with the Ontario Human Rights Commission Report: Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System.
We are proud of the many ways WRDSB students are making an impact on their community and their commitment to improving the lives of those around them. Gurnoor, a Grade 10 WRDSB student, participated in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, representing Canada on the world stage. Chosen by Youth Science Canada Gurnoor presented her invention, SynaptiQ. The invention aims to detect and treat hospital induced delirium. As well, Charlotte, a graduate of Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School, received the 2024-25 Laurier Scholars Award for academic achievement and demonstrated leadership in extracurricular activities and accomplishments.
WRDSB students are also leading conversations about the future of Artificial Intelligence. Youth Tech Labs is a youth-driven community for AI literacy, founded by WRDSB students. It is building a movement that equips students and youth with the skills, mindset, and tools to not only understand AI, but also to be able to build with it, shape it, and lead its future. This student-led initiative builds connections between education, community and innovation and is designed to make AI education hands-on, accessible, and impactful.
We continue to partner with students, staff, parents, families, caregivers and community members to build a school system where all students are able to succeed academically and feel a sense of belonging.
Read more about how we’re supporting Pathways and Transitions:
