We’ll supplement this page with expert insight into the FIT between HERITAGE ACADEMY and YOUR CHILD. Just answer a few short questions. It takes only 5 minutes.
Or, dive right into our insights on HERITAGE ACADEMY:
To customize this school profile (and others), answer a few questions about your child’s needs.
Go to child profileHeritage Academy was founded in 1989 and is a private not-for-profit, non-denominational school located in Ottawa, Ontario. Our school provides a multisensory learning environment and supports students with Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and Anxiety. Our primary focus is to provide an educational environment where students Grades 1 – 12 are excited about learning and can discover and meet their full potential, while studying at their own rate on an enriched curriculum.
Schools are founded for a range of reasons, though a few are founded out of a very acute need, and that’s the case with Heritage. Louise Brazeau-Ward’s son had dyslexia, and she had watched him struggle in traditional academic settings, something which inspired her to make a difference in his life and the lives of others like him. Today she’s a world renowned expert in dyslexia, and a proponent of the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory approach to instruction which she then adapted. All of that forms the foundation of Heritage Academy, the school that Brazeau-Ward created in 1989. Today the school is run by her daughter, and the program, though having grown over the years, remains consistent to its founding mission. The school provides support for students with dyslexia as well as other challenges. The environment—one that is created to address the needs of the students—can itself be transformative. For many students, that’s what Heritage principally offers.
Focus | Special needs |
---|---|
Academic | Special needs |
DIBELS Testing: This school does not use DIBELS testing to assess reading progress.
Subject | offered |
---|---|
Evolution as consensus theory | |
Evolution as one of many equally viable theories | |
Evolution is not taught |
Subject | offered |
---|---|
Biology | |
Chemistry | |
Ecology | |
Geology | |
Meteorology | |
Physics | |
Physiology | |
Zoology |
Subject | offered |
---|---|
Acting | |
Dance | |
Drama/Theatre | |
Graphic Design | |
Music | |
Visual Arts |
Expressive | |
Disciplined |
Subject | offered |
---|---|
Computer science | |
Robotics | |
Web design |
Flexible pacing style | offered |
---|---|
Subject-streaming (tracking) | |
Multi-age classrooms as standard | |
Ability-grouping (in-class) as common | |
Frequent use of cyber-learning (at-their-own-pace) | |
Regular guided independent study opportunities | |
Differentiated assessment |
Full-time programming is offered for all students which is exclusively focused on one or more special needs.
Subject Type | offered |
---|---|
Learning strategy and study counselling; habit formation | |
Extra support and minor accommodations for children experiencing subclinical difficulties |
Subject Type | offered |
---|---|
Accommodations | |
Modifications | |
Extra support |
Read our guide to special needs schools and special education
Program | offered |
---|---|
Full-time gifted program (parallel to rest of school) | |
Part-time gifted program (pull-out; parallel to rest of class) |
Curriculum delivery: Acceleration and enrichment (There is an equal emphasis on acceleration and enrichment.)
Program | offered |
---|---|
Custom subject enrichment (special arrangement) | |
Custom curriculum compacting (special arrangement) | |
Guided independent study (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Cyber-learning opportunities (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Formalized peer coaching opportunities (specifically for gifted learners to coach others) | |
Custom subject acceleration (special arrangement) | |
Career exploration (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Project-based learning (custom gifted arrangement) | |
Mentorships (custom gifted arrangement) |
Academic achievement reporting | Gr. 1 to Gr. 12 |
Habits and behaviour reporting | Gr. 1 to Gr. 12 |
Parent-teacher meetings | Gr. 1 to Gr. 12 |
Competitive sports: 9
Recreational sports: 9
Heritage Academy of Learning Excellence offers 17 clubs and extracurricular programs.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
Day | $16,000 |
Discounts
Discount Type | Enrolment Type | Amount |
---|---|---|
2nd child (sibling) | all students | 15% |
3rd child (sibling) | all students | 15% |
4th child (sibling) | all students | 15% |
This information is not currently available.
Grades | Gender | Living Arrangement | Enrolment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Group 1 | Gr. 1 to Gr. 12 | Coed | Day | 120 |
Total enrolment | 120 |
Average class size | 6 to 12 |
% of international students (total enrolment) | 8% |
Number of different nationalities within student population | 5 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day Enrollment | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 6 |
Class Size | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Assessment | Required | Grades |
---|---|---|
Interview | 1 - 12 | |
SSAT | ||
SSAT (out of province) | ||
Entrance Exam(s) | ||
Entrance Essay |
Day students: Rolling
Offer mid-year entry:
Yes
Application fee: N/A
Registration fee: N/A
Deposit:
N/A
Late applicants may be accepted depending on available space. In this instance an individual pay schedule will be created on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us at 613-722-0133 with any questions regarding our admissions process. We also encourage you to visit Heritage Academy and see for yourself how our unique program works.
This is the percentage of applicants typically accepted into the school. So if 50 students are admitted out of 100 applicants, the school has an overall acceptance rate of 50%.
Student Entry Points
This shows approximately how many openings there are likely to be in each grade in a typical year, as well as the estimated acceptance rate for each grade level.
Student Type | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day Acceptance (Acceptance rate) | 6 - 12 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 2 - 3 (75%) | 5 - 8 (75%) | 3 - 6 (75%) | 3 - 6 (75%) | 3 - 6 (75%) |
Average graduating class size | 8 |
Students accepted into post-secondary studies upon graduation | N/A |
Percentage of students who attend post-secondary institutions outside of Canada | N/A |
Students who attended a Ivy+ school Number of students in the past 5 years that that attended one of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, University of Chicago, Oxford or Cambridge (UK) | 7 |
Algonquin College | 50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carleton University | 23% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University of Ottawa | 18% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
McGill University | 6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University of San Diego | 3% |
Heritage Academy of Learning Excellence Graduates’ Post-Secondary Studies:
This information is not currently available.Aggregate of All Schools’ Post-Secondary Studies:
Career planning | |
Internships | N/A |
Mentorship Program | |
University counseling |
Heritage Academy of Learning Excellence, founded by Louise Brazeau-Ward, has come a long way since its inception. In the early 1980s, Louise (as she is known at the school) was a frustrated parent tired of watching her dyslexic son continually struggle in school. This compelled her to focus her time and energy towards dyslexia research in order to help her son and other children struggling with this learning exceptionality. Through her involvement in this issue, Louise became an internationally recognized expert in the field of dyslexia research and therapy. With the goal of providing an academic environment that met the unique needs of students with dyslexia and other learning exceptionalities, Louise opened Heritage Academy in 1989.
As Louise began to train new teachers, she recognized the necessity for a specialized system to support the development and strengthening of written language skills in dyslexic students. To meet this need, she developed the Simultaneous Multisensory Teaching method (SMT), a unique learning system available in both English and French. Since its introduction, teachers, students and parents alike have found this system to be a highly effective way of improving and enhancing reading, writing and spelling skills in dyslexic students. SMT is still taught at Heritage Academy, with the concepts being integrated into all aspects of the curriculum. SMT is also utilized in schools and homes throughout Canada and abroad.
With Louise Ward’s retirement in 2006, Heritage Academy is now under the watchful eye of Cheryl Ward, Louise’s daughter. The school has grown larger, but remains true to its original purpose. We continue to specialize in supporting dyslexic students, and have expanded our expertise to provide additional comprehensive support to students with a variety of learning exceptionalities. By promoting the values of honesty, perseverance and respect, Heritage Academy fosters acceptance and growth amongst our students, and enables them to reach their full academic potential.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998
Interested in Heritage Academy of Learning Excellence?
Visit WebsiteJoin the Our Kids roundtable discussion about [School Name]. Alumni and current parents are answering questions and sharing their insights—about the school’s culture, strengths, and weaknesses.
Oct
ZOOM MEETING