A.Y. Jackson Secondary School

The OCDSB International Certificate Program at A.Y. Jackson is truly a whole school initiative. The program promotes cross-cultural understanding and encourages the active participation of students and staff in global community issues. The program is an integral part of AYJ's school culture, based on the belief that today’s students ought to have a keen awareness of their global citizenship responsibilities both within and beyond Canada’s borders.

AYJ has been widely recognized for its involvement in global citizenship initiatives. In 2007, AYJ was designated an accredited “Global Learning Centre” ...the first in the world... at an international conference in Beijing, China. Locally, AYJ has been recognized in the OCDSB as a recipient of the Isis Officer Ethnocultural Award more often than any other high school in the Ottawa area. Since 2005, AYJ has organized an annual conference entitled “Beyond Our Walls” which has grown to now host over 250 students and teachers from across the Ottawa area. The conference focuses on themes such as social justice, volunteering internationally, fair trade, among many other issues. As a school there are numerous humanitarian initiatives, such as sponsoring the tuition of female students in Kenya through the annual Kenya Run, or fundraising to support the people of Haiti following the devastation of recent earthquakes.

For more information or to receive an application for the OCDSB International Certificate: Contact Mr. Barter, Head of the Canadian & World Studies Department at AYJ.