A private school for Durham Region families
Most families across Durham have two choices, and both of them are large. The Galt Academy is being built as a third: an independent day school for Kindergarten through Grade 6, small enough that every teacher knows every child by the end of September.
It's not open yet. It opens when the founding cohort is full, and the families on that list choose the site with us.
What an independent school lets us do
A private elementary school in Ontario chooses its own curriculum. That's the law, and it's the reason this school can exist at all: the timetable isn't inherited, so money, building things, fitness and the outdoors are subjects in their own right instead of whatever survives after the mandated hours are counted.
We teach reading, writing and mathematics to a high standard, and each student works along their own path. Around that sit seven strands: character, health and fitness, thinking and problem solving, communication and working with people, money and business, how things work, and the outdoors.
What it costs
We're aiming at $8,000 to $12,000 a year for full time, with part-time places likely. That sits below most independent options in the region, and well below what the same education costs in Toronto once you've added the drive.
The exact figure is set before anybody enrols, and founding families keep the rate they join at for as long as their child is here.
How you can check what we teach
Families read each unit before it is taught, and the whole curriculum stays available all year. Nobody has to take a prospectus on trust or wait for a parent evening to find out what happened in March.
That openness is the whole accountability structure here. Ontario doesn't accredit, licence or inspect private elementary schools, so a school that asks you to trust it is asking for something it hasn't earned. We'd rather hand you the material.
For families in
- WhitbyAn independent K-6 day school opening in Durham Region, for Whitby families who want small small classes and a curriculum published to parents in advance.
- OshawaA small independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Oshawa families who want small classes, strong academics and a lot more time outdoors.
- AjaxAn independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Ajax families who want small classes, real academics and a school without politics in the classroom.
- PickeringA K-6 independent school opening in Durham Region, for Pickering families who want small small classes and part-time as well as full-time places.
- Bowmanville and ClaringtonAn independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Bowmanville and Clarington families who want small classes and a published curriculum.
- BrooklinA small independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Brooklin families who want small classes and a curriculum published to parents in advance.
- UxbridgeAn independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Uxbridge families who want small small classes and a school that teaches outdoors year-round.
- Port Perry and ScugogA small independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Port Perry and Scugog families who want small classes and days spent largely outdoors.
- UxbridgeAn independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Uxbridge families who want small classes and a school that teaches outdoors on the moraine.
- Port Perry and ScugogA small independent K-6 school opening in Durham Region, for Port Perry and Scugog families who want small classes and days spent largely outdoors.
Join the founding families list
The Academy opens when the founding cohort is full. Families on the list get first places, help set the first year's calendar, and keep the founding rate for as long as their child is enrolled.