A.Y. Jackson was opened in 1970 under the North York Board of Education, as a grades 10 to 13 school. However, as part of the 1998 amalgamation of North York into the City of Toronto, the Toronto District School Board now operates A.Y. Jackson. In 2016, as part of a TDSB board decision, the school underwent more changes, with the school now supporting grade nine students and the Gifted program.[2]
Student life
Academics
The school offers three Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM) in the fields of Biotechnology, Business, and Information Communications Technology.[3] It also offers three dual credit courses in Forensic Science, Introduction to Marketing, and Composition & Creativity, in collaboration with Seneca College. The school also serves as the giftedness program secondary school for much of east North York, as well as parts of Scarborough.[4] In the 2018–2019 school year, 90% of grade 9 students achieved the provincial standard in academic math and 50% achieved the provincial standard in applied math.[5] In addition, in the 2018–2019 school year, 87% of grade 10 students achieved the provincial standard for Literacy on their first attempt.[6] More recently, in the 2021-2022 school year, A Y Jackson ranked 1st among all TDSB schools on the EQAO math assessment with 93.2% of students achieving the provincial standard.[7]
Sports
Currently, A.Y. Jackson has the following sports teams:[8]
Aquatics
Badminton
Basketball
Cross country
Curling
Flag football
Table tennis
Soccer
Ultimate frisbee
Track and Field
Volleyball
Ice hockey
Slo-Pitch
Clubs
In the 2021–2022 school year, A.Y. Jackson has 52 different clubs, councils and ensembles, including 5 related to the arts, and 13 related to the STEM fields.[9]
Student demographics
The student population of A.Y Jackson is diverse, with a large component of students living in Canada for five years or less (about 14%), and around 92% of the population speaking a primary language other than English. As of 2020, 14% of the students are enrolled in the gifted program[10] and 25% of students live in lower-income households.[11] There were 263 females and 290 males in the school in 2020, making A.Y. Jackson's total student body 653 as of June 30, 2021.[12]