School Completion Certificate Program

The School Completion (“Evergreen”) Certificate is intended to celebrate success in learning that is not recognized in a Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma).

It is used to recognize the accomplishments of students with special needs and an Individual Education Plan, who have met the goals of their education program, other than graduation (and not all students with special needs should be in an Evergreen Certificate Program.) 

The Evergreen Certificate is not a graduation credential; students who receive an Evergreen have not graduated. It is important that students and their parents clearly understand that the Evergreen represents the completion of personal learning goals but does not represent graduation.

Some students may be unable to meet graduation requirements due to their special needs. However, the decision to put a student in an Evergreen Program should not be made prior to Grade 10, and should include the informed consent of the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s).

All students of school age are entitled to an education program, whether or not that program leads to graduation. For students pursuing an Evergreen Certificate, their education program should enable them to meet their individual learning goals. Accordingly, they should have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that indicates their personal education goals, how the goals will be achieved, and on-going monitoring and assessment to know when the goals have been met and an Evergreen Certificate should be issued. Parents and, wherever appropriate, the student are to be provided an opportunity to be consulted about the preparation of the IEP.

Descriptive Transcripts

In addition to receiving  an Evergreen Certificate, students on an Evergreen path are also entitled to a Ministry transcript of successfully completed Grades 10-12 courses, both for-credit and non-credit, including Ministry-authorized, Board/Authority Authorized (BAA), and Locally Developed (LD) courses (e.g. IEP courses).

As with graduation program students, the Transcript of Grades should provide prospective employers and post-secondary institutions with relevant information concerning the student’s education program accomplishments. As such, it should include meaningful information. For that reason, course titles should be (re)titled to meaningfully represent course content (e.g. for XSIEP courses) before submission to the Ministry’s Transcript and Examinations (TRAX) system. Course titles can be customized for every student.

Note that it is up to Boards of Education to request a transcript for an Evergreen Certificate student. If it is not in the best interest of the student to receive a transcript (e.g., students with limited awareness of their surroundings, students with fragile mental/physical health, students medically and cognitively/multiply challenged), schools may apply for the Evergreen Certificate only.