Overcoming educational barriers: Creativity for success beyond grades and graduation rates

Another school year has ended with graduates setting off on new journeys. The Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) commends all students, teachers, and supporters for their hard work and contributions to their communities.

Ideally, children start school on even footing, guided by hard work, passion, and support from caring adults. Unfortunately, this is not universal, especially in educational systems with insufficient funding and resources. Students face barriers, such as unsafe home lives, mental illness, and limited access to existing resources.

While GPAs and graduation rates can measure academic success, true achievements are also reflected in other ways, such as a student’s well-being and confidence in learning.

This perspective underscores that creativity can address educational challenges, as demonstrated by organizations like Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa and the Boundless School. Both have been supported with grants from the OCF and offer innovative approaches to education. Similarly, the Education Foundation of Ottawa, which created an OCF fund in 2001 to support its work, is also committed to providing specialized aid to students in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).

“The expectations are the same for every student, but some kids are coming in with a backpack of trauma.”

The Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa’s Pod Model for Learning, created in March 2020 amid pandemic closures, is a wrap-around support system for vulnerable youth in care. Jill Bennett, Education Liaison for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO), noted that youth living in group homes, semi-independently, or in foster care, already struggling in school, faced disproportionate academic challenges under new pass/fail requirements.

Bennett explains, “Kids feeling alienation from their life experiences struggle to feel like they belong in the classroom, causing a disconnect with learning.”

“The expectations are the same for every student, but some kids are coming in with a backpack of trauma.”

The Pod model surrounds students with resources and a dedicated support network of qualified teachers and teacher candidates, CAS workers, caregivers, and school boards. Supported by an OCF multi-year grant paid in 2022 and 2024, the program expanded significantly to provide sustained academic and personal support.

Serving 186 14–18-year-olds in care and receiving kinship services, the Pod model offers personalized support such as tutoring, mental health support, and career planning, emphasizing creative approaches to learning.

The Pod team collaborates with school boards for students to achieve credits in unconventional ways by acknowledging practical knowledge and life experience.

The program builds relationships with youth, allowing trust and excitement for learning to grow. One student reflected, “We connected not just on education… but on a personal level too. She genuinely cares about me and my well-being.”

Fostering an environment where students feel safe and encouraged to excel, Bennett describes the Pod as a cocoon, providing essential support until students are ready to transition into broader educational and professional settings. She adds, “I’ve attended two graduation lunches this year, and seeing how it has changed the trajectory of their lives is second to none.”

Despite the program’s success, Bennett emphasizes the ongoing need for funding because the Pod model offers dual benefits: providing essential training for teacher candidates and ensuring marginalized students receive the support needed to thrive.

Learn more about the Children’s Aid Foundation and the Pod model by visiting their website. The Ottawa Community Foundation’s grant to support the work of the CAF was made possible by an anonymous donor-advised fund.

The Boundless School, an independent school integrating wilderness adventure and mental health treatment redefines the student experience by focusing on youths grappling with mental health and learning challenges through unique nature-based learning experiences. They operate as a boarding school during the school year and offer five-day summer partnership programs with organizations like CAS and Inuuqatigiit, inviting students in need to return during the school year.

With smaller classes, Boundless provides closer attention, peer support, and one-on-one learning. When appropriate, traditional teaching methods are replaced with hands-on activities. Students engage in outdoor novel studies, audiobook sessions, and immersive activities like digging trenches for a World War One module or a 24-hour zombie apocalypse simulation for an English module.

In 2023, the Boundless School received a Community Grants Program (CGP) grant to support its work with Ottawa-area organizations, focusing on building trust and relationships with Indigenous organizations to help Indigenous students to engage with their education in traditional and culturally relevant ways.

Boundless Deputy Director, Nicholas Arsenault, describes their partnership with Inuuqatigiit, an organization serving Inuit children and families, as transformative. “We are handing over the reins for them to run programming because we don’t know culturally how to teach them, but we have the space they can use as their land, prepare multi-generational programming, and encircle their youth with their elders and culture.”

Boundless aims to help students transition into healthy and meaningful adulthoods, tailored to their aspirations—whether in further education, meaningful employment, or other paths. Arsenault recalls one student’s testimonial: “I now have hope. I haven’t had this much hope in a long time about my future. When I’m here I can see myself doing things as an adult, instead of just fading away.”

“I now have hope. I haven’t had this much hope in a long time about my future. When I’m here I can see myself doing things as an adult, instead of just fading away.”

Arsenault highlights another student with a temper who, after punching a wall, was asked to learn and teach drywall repair in his class, which led him to a successful career in drywalling. “Success doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone, but living safe, meaningful, and healthy lives as themselves is the goal, and education is a piece of that,” says Arsenault.

The school integrates everyday tasks like cooking and cleaning into learning, focusing on social and interpersonal skills. Arsenault believes education should shift from obtaining credits to “learning how to learn” and acquiring tools for adulthood. He recalls a pivotal moment in his own studies when a trusted adult advised him, “Don’t let your schooling get in the way of your education.”

He encourages funders and donors to visit the school in person. “It’s so much more real and beautiful in the flesh, in the ups and downs, in the community, in the triumphs, and in the failure,” he says. “Everything about it is amazing and you can see everyone working hard to create that community.”

Learn more about the Boundless School on their website. The Ottawa Community Foundation’s Grant to support Boundless’ work was made possible by an anonymous donor-advised fund.

Recognizing barriers many students face, donors through individual funds at the OCF focus their support on education-focused organizations like CAFO and Boundless, to address these challenges. Organizations can also set up funds at the OCF to facilitate donor support for their work. Organizational funds often incorporate endowments and allow registered charities to benefit from the OCF’s investment management and reduce their administrative burden.

The Education Foundation of Ottawa (EFO) established an organizational fund in 2001 to help reduce barriers to learning for Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) students. The Fund is administered by the OCF, facilitating donor-distributed awards to students across OCDSB schools. EFO Executive Director, Clarissa Arthur, notes, “Having this partnership with the OCF allows us to do more in a better way.”

“Having this partnership with the OCF allows us to do more in a better way.”

For example, when approached with a significant donation to invest in an award, Arthur explained that EFO could have managed the funds, but it made more sense for OCF to handle it to alleviate the more complex aspects of fund management and allow for more large-scale donations.

Arthur views the education system as a hub and the EFO’s work reflects that. “It’s not just a place for academics; there’s a lot of other life skills acquired during those years.” Through philanthropy, the EFO provides opportunities to build skills they can carry into adulthood. “Youth are learning to create meaningful relationships, social skills, a sense of community, and civic engagement.”

Community impact starts with principals, vice principals, and school social workers applying to EFO programs to help student academic success and well-being. This often begins with ensuring students have some of their most basic needs met, like access to food, school supplies, appropriate clothing, and glasses. Through donations, the EFO also allows students to participate in extracurricular activities designed to enhance their learning, such as their Autism Swim Program.

EFO awards, made possible with donor support, play a significant role in education by offering students the freedom to explore new activities and develop their confidence and sense of self all while allowing donors to support a student’s potential, providing opportunities to succeed within the framework of the education system. Arthur recalls a student who participated in track and field through EFO funding, saying, “They had never done it before, and if they weren’t given that opportunity, they would never have known they liked it or were even good at it.”

EFO emphasizes the need for community collaboration to ensure the sustainability of high-demand education initiatives city-wide.

Learn more about the work supported through the Education Foundation of Ottawa Fund by visiting the EFO website. To find out more about organizational funds at the Ottawa Community Foundation, click here.

Joining the fight for equitable access: Supporting Education Initiatives

As we celebrate our graduates’ achievements, it’s crucial to remember the ongoing need for support in our education system. We can join the effort to support student success by championing education-focused funds like the Education Foundation of Ottawa Fund or empowering supportive organizations such as the Boundless School and Children’s Aid Foundation — examples of the many organizations and initiatives making a significant impact for students across our community.

The Ottawa Community Foundation is proud to connect donors with causes dear to their hearts, helping them reach their philanthropic goals for almost four decades.

Contact us to learn more about working with the Ottawa Community Foundation.