Community Involvement Graduation Requirement
The Ontario Ministry of Education is working to motivate service, active citizenship and volunteering in our local communities. The community involvement graduation requirement of 40 hours is restored for students graduating in the 2022-23 school year and beyond.
For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, the Ministry provided flexible ways for students to obtain community involvement hours. At the principal’s discretion, students could earn hours during the time allotted for the instructional program on a school day, and through duties normally performed in the home. This can include helping an elderly relative with an errand or a sibling with homework. Additionally, students could count a maximum of 10 hours from paid employment for students aged 14 years and older. These flexible measures will continue to be available for the 2022-23 school year for all students.
In addition, school boards continue to be permitted to develop their own processes for collecting, recording and validating community involvement hours.
Students, families and community organizations can contact their GECDSB secondary school’s Guidance department for more information on community involvement opportunities.
Community Hours Reflection: Request to Count Paid Employment
Students aged 14 years and older can count up to a maximum of 10 hours from paid employment towards their earned hours at the discretion of the principal. Students counting paid employment towards their graduation requirement will be required to complete a reflection exercise indicating how their work contributed to the service for others.