Who We Are
Our mission
Virtual Elementary School (VES) offers flexible online courses that adapt to individual learner needs. We support students, parents, and learning coaches with courses fully aligned with the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum. Our course content reflects the cultural diversity of Canadian communities, and we are committed to upholding a culture that champions respect, integrity, perseverance, growth, and joyful learning.
A love of learning
Students deserve to enjoy their education. A love of learning leads to future success. That’s why we aim to spark curiosity and celebrate the pleasure of pursuing new skills and knowledge. In our experience, students enjoy their education more fully when given the opportunity to work at whatever pace suits their needs and abilities. We believe this student-centred approach to education can not only unlock the tremendous potential in every student, but also inspire a love of learning that propels young students through secondary education and beyond.
Peaceful, easy teaching
Learners thrive that much more when parents and learning coaches enjoy the experience of teaching. VES courses support you in the planning, teaching, and tracking of your learner’s progress. Our comprehensive lessons, assessments, and assessment tools allow those enrolled in independent courses to seamlessly teach and track progress. That means you are free to enjoy the special experience of guiding a child through the early and intermediate steps of their learning journey.
Facilitated learning
We offer support beyond outstanding content and tracking tools. Those who register for a facilitated course enjoy the added support of a certified teacher. The course itself is no different, but we provide a teacher who answers course-related questions, marks activities and assignments, provides detailed feedback, and submits progress, midterm, and final reports. For many VES families, certified support means greater peace of mind.
Intrinsic motivation
Our courses are designed to spark curiosity and motivate students in their own learning. In our experience, if teaching is relevant to the student and if we can inspire confidence, the student will be ready for future success. To this end, we promote equity among students, nurture feelings of accomplishment, and provide opportunities to apply newly acquired skills in meaningful ways.
Growth mindset
Never a failure, always a lesson—that’s what we believe. Throughout our courses, we encourage learners to view mistakes as opportunities to learn and as natural parts of the problem-solving process. By modelling self-monitoring skills and an overall positive attitude when mistakes are made, we aim to instill in our students the belief that they can improve and succeed at any task.