Agate Private School is an alternative private school specializing in designing, developing and engaging individualized programs for our autodidactic students. Borders, distance learners and day students collaborate to make a unique learning experience. Founded in 1983 by the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training, expressly for home educators, alternative needs and like-minded families. Agate private school strives to offer spontaneous diversity of choice with students stimulating an open-ended curriculum.
Agate Private School was created to reflect the Sudbury Model of education, which gets its name from the Sudbury Valley School founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts. An experimental school at the time, there are now more than 60 schools around the world that identify as Sudbury schools, all reflecting a core belief in educational freedom within a democratic learning environment. It’s an example of the free school movement, established in Europe in the 1920s, and perhaps peaking in the US in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a response to regimented learning of the kind that we still think of as stereotypically "school": students in rows of desks, learning a set curriculum in consort with their peers, and following a set schedule. In a sense, some of the core concepts of free schooling—instruction that is personal, student-directed, unregimented—have filtered their way into even the most traditional school settings today. Classrooms furniture is varied, with areas for quiet reading, group collaboration, etc. But Agate is an example of all of that and then some. Students guide their learning, choose how to spend their time, and follow their personal instincts. And, just as the Sudbury Valley School, or the Summerhill School in the UK—and indeed Agate itself—the model has proven itself effective. Perhaps it’s not the school for every student, though, indeed, there’s no school that is. The families that turn to Agate find a place where students are challenged to grow and learn in new ways. And they do.
Additional notes: We can arrange necessary pick up and drop off.
Gallery showcasing school life and general photos of Agate Private School.
Archery
Equestrian
Gallery showcasing specific locations and facilities found at Agate Private School.
Focus |
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Nature-based |
DIBELS Testing: This school does not use DIBELS testing to assess reading progress.
Subject | offered |
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Evolution as consensus theory | |
Evolution as one of many equally viable theories | |
Evolution is not taught |
Subject | offered |
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Biology | |
Chemistry | |
Ecology | |
Geology | |
Meteorology | |
Physics | |
Physiology | |
Zoology |
Subject | offered |
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Acting | |
Dance | |
Drama/Theatre | |
Graphic Design | |
Music | |
Visual Arts |
Expressive | |
Disciplined |
Subject | offered |
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Computer science | |
Robotics | |
Web design |
Flexible pacing style | offered |
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Subject-streaming (tracking) | |
Multi-age classrooms as standard | |
Ability-grouping (in-class) as common | |
Frequent use of cyber-learning (at-their-own-pace) | |
Regular guided independent study opportunities | |
Differentiated assessment |
Students remain in a regular classroom for the whole day, and periodically receive break-out support (individually or in small groups) within the classroom from a qualified special education teacher.
Subject Ttype | offered |
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Learning strategy and study counselling; habit formation | |
Extra support and minor accommodations for children experiencing subclinical difficulties |
Subject Ttype | offered |
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Accommodations | |
Modifications | |
Extra support |
Read our guide to special needs schools and special education
Curriculum delivery: Acceleration and enrichment (There is an equal emphasis on acceleration and enrichment.)
Program | offered |
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Custom subject enrichment (special arrangement) | |
Custom curriculum compacting (special arrangement) | |
Guided independent study (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Cyber-learning opportunities (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Formalized peer coaching opportunities (specifically for gifted learners to coach others) | |
Custom subject acceleration (special arrangement) | |
Career exploration (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Project-based learning (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Mentorships (custom gifted arrangement) |
In grade Gr. 12, Agate Private School students perform an average of No homework of homework per night.
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agate Private School | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins | 0 mins |
Site Average | 16 mins | 23 mins | 28 mins | 33 mins | 39 mins | 51 mins | 55 mins | 69 mins | 80 mins | 97 mins | 106 mins |
This school frequently "flips the classroom": asks students to learn material at home and do the "homework" in-class (with teacher support).
Competitive sports: N/A
Recreational sports: 14
Agate Private School offers 24 clubs and extracurricular programs.
NS | PS | JK | SK | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
Day (Domestic: in province) | $350 | |||||||||||||||
Boarding | $9,158 | |||||||||||||||
Homestay (International) | $3,000 / program |
Grades | Gender | Living Arrangement | Enrolment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Group 1 | Nursery/Toddler to Gr. 12 | Coed | eSchool | 30 |
Group 2 | Gr. 8 to Gr. 12 | Coed | Homestay | 100 |
Group 3 | Gr. 3 to Gr. 12 | All girls | Boarding | 2 |
Group 4 | Gr. 6 to Gr. 12 | Coed | eSchool | 100 |
Group 5 | Gr. 2 to Gr. 12 | Coed | Day | 5 |
Total enrolment | 237 |
Average class size | Varies |
% of international students (total enrolment) | 80% |
Number of different nationalities within student population | 4 |
Five-day boarding program offered | Yes |
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day Enrollment | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Boarding Enrollment | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Homestay Enrollment | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Class Size | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Assessment | Required | Grades |
---|---|---|
Interview | N/A | |
SSAT | N/A | |
SSAT (out of province) | N/A | |
Entrance Exam(s) | N/A | |
Entrance Essay | N/A |
Day students: Rolling
Boarding students: Rolling
Homestay students: February 01, 2022
Offer mid-year entry: Yes
Application fee: $300
Registration fee: $50
Deposit: $50
Parents who are wanting to take responsibility for their children's education can fill out our application. Then there is an interview about the parent's values and student goals.
This is the percentage of applicants typically accepted into the school. So if 50 students are admitted out of 100 applicants, the school has an overall acceptance rate of 50%.
Student Entry Points
This shows approximately how many openings there are likely to be in each grade in a typical year, as well as the estimated acceptance rate for each grade level.
Student Type | NS | PS | JK | SK | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day Acceptance (Acceptance rate) | 0 | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | 1 (88%) | |||||
Boarding Acceptance (Acceptance rate) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (92%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
ESchool Acceptance (Acceptance rate) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (98%) | 1 - 10 (95%) | |||||||||
Homestay Acceptance (Acceptance rate) | 1 - 25 (98%) | 1 - 25 (98%) | 1 - 25 (98%) | 1 - 25 (98%) |
Average graduating class size | 3 |
Students accepted into post-secondary studies upon graduation | N/A |
Percentage of students who attend post-secondary institutions outside of Canada | N/A |
Students who attended a Ivy+ school Number of students in the past 5 years that that attended one of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, University of Chicago, Oxford or Cambridge (UK) | 2 |
Western University | 2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University of Toronto | 2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
York University | 1% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carleton University | 1% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brock University | 1% |
Agate Private School Graduates’ Post-Secondary Studies:
This information is not currently available.Aggregate of All Schools’ Post-Secondary Studies:
Career planning | |
Internships |
Mentorship Program | |
University counseling |
What Agate Private School says:
In 1996, I became the owner and principal of Agate Private School. I was blessed with the opportunity to give families and children
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