School FAQ

Questions about learning with Agate? Here is an overview of our school, enrolment and member tools. To talk about your own learner, get in touch.

Choosing Agate · Enrolment and accounts · Learning and next steps

Agate is a private school supporting self-directed learning and families who choose to homeschool. We begin with each learner’s strengths, interests and goals, and work with families to find suitable resources and support.

Read our story or explore whether Agate is a good fit for your family.

Agate supports an individual learning path rather than one fixed curriculum for every learner. We help families find and curate resources that suit their goals. Projects, practical activities, reading, courses and conversations can all contribute to learning.

Deconstructing Subjects explains how learning connects across everyday activities.

Support includes learning assessments, resource and curriculum curation, advocacy, mentoring, record keeping and student activities. Talk with us about the support you need and which services are included in enrolment or carry an additional fee.

Explore our support and read the prospectus.

Annual enrolment is $450 for the first student in a family and $75 for each additional student. Enrolment covers a full year (365 days), and families can enrol throughout the year. Contact us to discuss your start date.

Additional services have separate fees. The enrolment page explains the annual fees, and the prospectus lists service charges and enrolment terms.

Explore the school, complete the Education Responsibility Survey and talk with Agate about your questions. When you are ready, submit the application form. We review your application and contact you about the outcome and next steps.

See the enrolment steps for the full process.

No. Creating a LearnFree.ca account is separate from applying to and enrolling in Agate. School enrolment follows the application and acceptance process.

Yes. A parent account manages the family dashboard, learners and shop orders. You can invite a second parent. Learners have their own accounts and learning pages, without access to the family dashboard or shop.

New learner accounts use a school-issued @ms.learnfree.ca Microsoft email address. If your learner does not yet have that address, contact Agate before setting up their account.

The learner’s family and authorised Agate staff can see their learning entries, attachments and activity. Learners can record what they explore, share examples of their work and reflect on what they learned. Parents can follow those updates through the family dashboard, and staff can add feedback.

Yes. The application form, Education Responsibility Survey and Document Upload form work on phones, tablets and computers. Each form page also provides a link to open the form in a new tab.

For Document Upload, follow the login instructions on the page when submitting your enrolment records.

Learners are free to follow any learning path they choose. They are not limited to Agate’s programs or content. This can include courses from other providers, independent projects, practical experiences or interests they want to explore.

They can document learning from any source in the portfolio on their learner pages, using learning entries, links, photos, work samples and reflections. For learning outside the listed programs, choose Other learning / no program when recording an entry.

Agate can offer guidance in finding alternatives that fit a learner’s interests, including MIT OpenCourseWare’s free course materials, Coursera and other resources. For Agate’s Khan Academy classroom, use code WQBE8T with your school-issued Microsoft account.

Student activities include Zoom homeroom and gaming sessions. Check the calendar for current schedules and the member activity pages for joining details. Participation counts show who has joined, rather than attendance at a particular session.

Agate is registered with Ontario’s Ministry of Education as a non-inspected private school. We support self-directed learning and offer equivalency assessment, including Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), rather than OSSD credits.

When a learner chooses post-secondary education, we work with them and the institution’s admissions staff to document prerequisites. Depending on the program, this may involve PLAR, admission testing or other evidence of learning. Requirements and decisions rest with the receiving institution.

Over a 30-year period, every Agate student who wanted to pursue post-secondary education was able to do so. See our learning assessment overview for more about documenting learning and PLAR.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition looks at knowledge and skills gained through formal and informal learning. Evidence might include projects, completed work, demonstrations, conversations and records of experience. The purpose and requirements of the assessment guide the evidence needed.

Agate’s PLAR assessment is $350. Talk with us about your learner’s goals, the assessment and the requirements of any institution they plan to apply to.