Educational Programs

The Door puts a great deal of emphasis on encouraging success in education. We recognize that education provides opportunities for youth, as well as being important in itself by encouraging personal growth. Through education programs, The Door encourages youth to develop strong study habits and personal responsibility that are needed for success. With the help of staff and volunteers we also seek to help youth develop confidence in their potential, which may carry over into other aspects of life. To this end, The Door has implemented several programs and positions to give youth as many opportunities to be proactive about their education as possible.

Homework Room

The Door has a Homework Room which serves several purposes. First, it provides a quiet place for the youth to do their homework, and is equipped with computers for homework use and resource books for research. Second, dedicated staff and volunteers offer homework and research help to those who need assistance daily.
The Homework Room also serves as an educational resource room. It holds course calendars for the colleges and universities in Ontario and some of the major ones throughout Canada, along with information on local trade schools and adult high schools. These resource materials strengthen options for decision-making about post-secondary education and encourage continued education.

Education Coordinator

The Education Coordinator focuses on two main goals: to understand and provide for the unique educational and social needs of new Canadians and to provide overall educational support to all the youth at The Door. One of the groups which we have been putting focus on is The Karen youth who are a group of new Canadians who began arriving in Ottawa in 2006. Like many other new Canadian youth, they face unique challenges both educationally, by learning both English and other subjects at the same time, and socially, as they try to acclimatize and integrate successfully into Canadian culture.
The Education Coordinator also offers educational support to all the youth at The Door by assisting with homework and providing positive learning and studying strategies. The Coordinator also researches and presents the youth with many education-related opportunities, such as international exchanges. This assists youth in gaining confidence about their education and helps them realize their full potentials as young adults.