School Counselors

The Ontario College of Teachers Act 1996 and the Ontario Education Act guide the curriculum and certification of teachers who wish to become school counsellors.

Counsellors in our school all fulfill the Ministry’s conditions and requirements, including:

  • Applicants must meet and obtain certification as a teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) prior to applying as a school counsellor.

  • Teachers must have completed a minimum three-year post-secondary degree from an acceptable post-secondary institution, or have completed an acceptable one-year post-grad teacher education program.

  • Applicants must have completed either an Additional Qualifications Course (Guidance and Career Education, Part One, Part Two and Specialist); or a Master’s degree with a focus on counseling and/or psychotherapy.

Parent Involvement

The Ontario Ministry of Education offers various guidelines on how parents and the school community can help students to become the best individuals they can be, including making room for parent involvement committees (PICs) in the ministry’s guidelines.

In accordance with these guidelines, Sophio has set up this a PIC channel to ensure that all students get the best form of counselling we are able to provide. We believe that this counselling does not necessarily always need to come from a school body, and that teachers, school counsellors and parents all have valuable expertise and insights to offer.

In an online e-school such as ours, making provision for student counselling gives parents and guardians an even more significant role in ensuring students are counselled towards making the best decisions for their future. Our goal is to ensure that students are given the tools and guidance needed to become esteemed and valuable members of society.

For the purposes of running an effective PIC, all parents are required to be in constant communication with the school when it comes to the continued improvement of students. Parents are also given a number of activities to help support their children’s learning at home.