Why this matters
Under Ontario's English Language Learners (ELL) policy, every publicly-funded English-language school board must provide language support to students whose first language is not English, or who speak a variety of English that's substantially different from school English. Support is free and included in regular tuition. Your child does not need a certain visa, level, or test score to qualify.
Researchers estimate it takes 5 to 7 years for a newcomer child to reach grade-level academic English. Conversational English usually comes within 1–2 years — but academic English (reading textbooks, writing essays, sitting EQAO) takes much longer. Knowing this helps families avoid pulling support too early.
The two streams of support: ESL vs ELD
At registration, the school assesses your child's English, math, and first-language literacy to decide whether ESL or ELD fits best. Many boards run a dedicated assessment centre for this — your local school office will tell you where to go.
What support looks like in practice
- Pull-out classes — your child leaves the regular classroom for one or more periods a day to work in a small group with an ESL/ELD teacher.
- Push-in / co-teaching — the ESL teacher comes into the regular classroom and works alongside the homeroom teacher.
- Newcomer reception programs — some boards have dedicated rooms or short-term welcome programs for the first few months. Lakehead Public Schools, for example, runs newcomer programming centred at specific schools — ask the board which school is the entry point in your area.
- Modified curriculum — for ELD students, content is simplified and grade-level expectations are adapted until the student catches up.
- Adapted assessments — students are usually exempt from EQAO testing in their first year of ELL support, and accommodations apply afterward.
What to ask the school at registration
Most schools won't volunteer all of this. Ask directly:
- Will my child be assessed for ESL or ELD? Ask which one you should expect, given their schooling history.
- How many ESL/ELD hours per week will my child get? This varies by school and grade level.
- Who is the ELL contact teacher or coordinator? Get their name and email.
- Does this school have a SWIS worker? (See below — many schools do but don't advertise it.)
- Is there a Parents in Partnership (or similar) program? Several Northern boards run parent groups or workshops for newcomer families.
- Will my child be exempt from EQAO this year? First-year ELL students normally are.
SWIS — Settlement Workers in Schools (free, multilingual)
SWIS is a federally-funded program that places settlement workers inside schools. They are not employed by the school board — they're hosted by local settlement agencies (in Northwestern Ontario, that's the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association; in Sudbury, the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario; in Sault, the Sault Community Career Centre, and so on). SWIS workers help newcomer families with:
- Registering kids and choosing the right school
- Understanding report cards and Ontario grading
- Attending parent–teacher meetings (with interpretation)
- Connecting to community services (housing, food, health, language classes)
- Filling out forms, permission slips, and bursary applications
SWIS is free, confidential, and doesn't ask about immigration status. Many parents never meet the SWIS worker because the school doesn't always advertise the role — so always ask. If your school doesn't have one on site, the local settlement agency can still send one to meet you.
Northern Ontario school boards — ELL contacts
Each board lists ELL information differently — some have dedicated pages, others tuck it into Special Education or Newcomer Services. When in doubt, call the board's main office and ask for the ELL coordinator.
| Region | Board | Main contact |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay / NWO | Lakehead DSB (English public) | 807-625-5100 |
| Thunder Bay / NWO | Thunder Bay Catholic DSB | 807-625-1555 |
| Sudbury | Rainbow DSB (English public) | 705-522-7100 |
| Sudbury | Sudbury Catholic DSB | 705-673-5620 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | Algoma DSB (English public) | 705-945-7111 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | Huron-Superior Catholic DSB | 705-945-5610 |
| North Bay | Near North DSB (English public) | 705-472-8170 |
| North Bay | Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic DSB | 705-472-1201 |
| Timmins / NEO | DSB Ontario North East (English public) | 705-268-7777 |
| Timmins / NEO | Northeastern Catholic DSB | 705-268-7443 |
| French (NWO) | Conseil scolaire catholique des Aurores boréales | 807-475-9911 |
| French (NEO + Grand Nord) | CSPGNO (French public) | 705-671-1533 |
French-language schools deliver newcomer support through ALF (Actualisation linguistique en français) and PANA (Programme d'appui aux nouveaux arrivants) — see our Francophone services guide.
For high-school newcomers (ages 14–21)
Older newcomer teens have a few paths depending on age and prior schooling:
- Regular high school + ELD — for 14–18 year-olds with interrupted schooling, your local English public or Catholic board can place them in a regular high school with intensive ELD support, or run a dedicated newcomer program. Ask the board's secondary-school placement office.
- Mature Student route (18+) — community college bridging programs (Confederation, Cambrian, Sault, Canadore, Northern) accept mature students into upgrading streams.
- Adult LINC + Get SET (21+) — see our adult education guide for free federally-funded English classes for adults.
What parents can do at home
- Talk to your child in your first language at home. Research consistently shows that strong first-language skills support English acquisition — they don't compete with it. Multilingualism builds language muscles.
- Read in your first language. Same reason. A child who reads well in one language transfers those skills to English faster.
- Get library cards — they're free. Every Ontario public library lends books in many languages, and most have free homework help and English-conversation circles. Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault, North Bay, and Timmins libraries all stock multilingual collections.
- EarlyON Centres for younger siblings — free drop-in play and learning for kids 0–6. See our youth opportunities page.
- Practice alongside your kids. Settlement.org, CBC Learning English, and free ESL podcasts let parents build their own English while their kids do homework.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Switching to English-only at home. Counterproductive — weakens both languages and slows learning.
- Assuming your child has caught up after 2 years. Conversational fluency comes fast; academic English takes 5–7 years. Don't drop ELL support based on playground English alone.
- Not asking for ELD when schooling was interrupted. ESL and ELD are different programs — if your child missed years of school, ELD is the right fit.
- Missing the SWIS worker. They could be advocating for your family. Always ask.
- Skipping report-card meetings because of language. SWIS workers and school interpreters are free — use them.
DON'T LIVE NEAR A SETTLEMENT OFFICE?
Call the regional org for your area.
Settlement workers will register you by phone or video and help you find local supports. There's no requirement to live in the same town as the office — these services are funded for all of Northern Ontario.
- NW Ontario — Thunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Marathon Thunder Bay Multicultural Association
- Greater Sudbury, Manitoulin, Espanola SMFAA — Sudbury Multicultural & Folk Arts Association
- Algoma — Sault Ste. Marie Sault Community Career Centre
- Nipissing — North Bay, Parry Sound, Timiskaming NOMC — Northeastern Ontario Multicultural Centre
- Cochrane District — Timmins Timmins & District Multicultural Centre
- Hearst, Kapuskasing — French-language services SÉO — Settlement services (Northeast)
Last reviewed: April 2026. Board-level ELL details change yearly — confirm with your local school before registration. Provincial policy reference: ontario.ca/english-language-learners.