Schools in Toronto for American families: a guide

Most American kids in Toronto go to public school, and it's free if a parent holds a work permit. The bigger choices are which board, whether to try French immersion, and how to keep a path open to colleges back home.

The short version

Toronto has four publicly funded school boards: English public (TDSB), English Catholic (TCDSB), and two French-language boards. You pay nothing in tuition if you're eligible.
Children of parents with a valid work permit are fee-exempt at the TDSB for as long as the permit is valid [1]. Kids here on a visitor record or eTA pay international tuition.
TDSB's Early French Immersion starts in Junior Kindergarten. For fall 2027 entry, applications run November 2 to November 27, 2026 [2].
Private schools teach the Ontario curriculum or the International Baccalaureate. Several Toronto schools offer the IB Diploma [3].
Your teen can apply to US colleges from Ontario. Expect to explain the Ontario diploma, and plan SAT dates at international test centers [4][5].

How the public system is set up

Back home, your ZIP code mostly decides your school district. In Toronto, your address decides your local school, but you also pick which board. Ontario funds four kinds of systems, and Toronto has all of them:

Board	Language	Who it's for
Toronto District School Board (TDSB)	English	Open to all residents
Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB)	English	Publicly funded Catholic schools
Conseil scolaire Viamonde	French	French-language public schools
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir	French	French-language Catholic schools

A few US-to-Ontario translations:

Grades run from Junior Kindergarten (JK, age 4) and Senior Kindergarten (SK, age 5) through Grade 12. There's no separate middle school system everywhere; many TDSB elementary schools run JK to Grade 8.
High school is Grades 9 to 12 and ends with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
School buses exist but mostly for kids who live far from school; plenty of Toronto kids walk or take the TTC.
The school year runs from early September to late June, with a winter break and a March break instead of a spring break.

Catholic boards

Publicly funded Catholic schools are a big Ontario difference from the US, where a Catholic school means tuition. TCDSB schools are free for eligible students, but elementary admission is tied to the family's Catholic faith. Secondary schools are generally more open. Check TCDSB's current admission policy before you lean on it.

The French-language boards

Viamonde and MonAvenir are for French-speaking families. Ontario has rules on who's eligible, generally based on a parent's French-language background. If nobody in the family speaks French, French immersion at the TDSB or TCDSB is the more realistic route.

Registering as a newcomer

How you register depends on your status. At the TDSB [1]:

Parent on a work permit: register directly at your local school. The student is fee-exempt for as long as the permit is valid.
Parent waiting on a work permit, on a study permit, awaiting a PR decision, and several other categories: you first get an admission letter from the TDSB's International Students and Admissions Office (ISAO).
Child here on a visitor record or eTA: apply through ISAO and pay international tuition.

Have these ready, as originals [1]:

Parent's and child's passports
Parent's work permit or other immigration document
Child's birth certificate
Proof of arrival in Canada
Two proofs of your Toronto address, under the board's admission procedure

US birth certificates are in English, so no translation needed. Bring report cards from the last year or two and your child's immunization records too; Ontario schools track vaccinations, and you'll save time with records in hand. TDSB's ISAO is reachable at 416-395-8120 [1].

French immersion

French immersion is the Toronto parent obsession you didn't know you'd have. Your kid learns most subjects in French, even though nobody at home speaks it.

At the TDSB, Early French Immersion starts in Junior Kindergarten [2]. For the 2027–28 school year, it's open to Toronto children born in 2023:

Apply online between 9 a.m. November 2 and 4 p.m. November 27, 2026 [2].
Watch your email from January 4, 2027, when offers to on-time applicants go out [2].
Expect placement by address. On-time eligible applicants are guaranteed a spot in the program, but not at a specific school [2].

Late applications are taken until May 31, 2027, with no guarantee [2]. If you arrive after that, TDSB also has a Middle French Immersion entry point; check the board's site for the grade and dates.

Is it worth it for an American family who might move back in three years? It can be. Kids pick up a second language fast, and US colleges like it. But if your child is starting in Grade 3 with no French, immersion usually isn't an option anyway.

Private and international schools

Toronto doesn't have a big American-curriculum school the way some world capitals do. Its private schools mostly teach the Ontario curriculum, the IB, or both. Schools listed as offering the IB Diploma in Toronto include [3]:

TFS – Canada's International School (bilingual French–English)
Upper Canada College (boys)
Branksome Hall (girls)
The York School
German International School Toronto
La Citadelle International Academy of Arts & Science
Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

The city also has other well-known independent schools, including single-sex schools and religious schools. Fees vary widely, from moderate to well into private-day-school territory. Get the current fee schedule straight from each school rather than relying on old lists. Application windows are often in the fall for the following September, with testing and interviews over the winter, so a mid-year move can make admission tricky.

High school credits and US college applications

The Ontario diploma

To earn the OSSD, students need [6]:

30 credits (17 compulsory and 13 optional for students who entered Grade 9 in 2024–25 or later)
at least 2 credits earned online
the literacy requirement, usually by passing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
40 hours of community involvement
a new financial literacy requirement, completed in the Grade 10 Career Studies course, for students who entered Grade 9 in 2025–26 or later [6]

US admissions offices see Ontario transcripts all the time. Ontario uses percentage grades, not a 4.0 GPA, and there's no AP program in many public schools, though some offer AP or IB. Ask your school's guidance office for a school profile to send with applications.

Testing and the paperwork

SAT: For testing outside the US, College Board charges USD 68 plus a USD 43 international fee, USD 111 total through June 2027, and some centers add a USD 24 test center fee [5]. Toronto-area centers fill up, so register early.
FAFSA: US citizen students can apply for federal student aid from Canada. You need a valid SSN and a high school diploma or recognized equivalent [4]. Your Canadian income still goes on the form.
In-state tuition: Most public universities base in-state rates on where the family actually lives. After a few years in Toronto, you may no longer qualify, even if you kept a house in Michigan. Check each school's residency rules.

Canadian universities are also an option. Universities like the University of Toronto and McGill take plenty of US applicants, and some Canadian schools participate in US federal loan programs. Our guide to university in Canada covers that path.

Want to know which local school other American parents picked? Ask in our community group for Americans in Canada.

A school-move checklist

Confirm your permit status and whether your kids are fee-exempt.
Pick a neighborhood with the school in mind. Your address sets your local school.
Gather passports, birth certificates, records and two proofs of address.
Note French immersion deadlines if you're arriving with a 3- or 4-year-old.
Talk to guidance about credits, the OSSLT and how transcripts will look to US colleges.
Register for SAT dates a season ahead.

Schools in Toronto: public boards, French immersion, private schools and the road to US colleges