MFS National Education Services

Frequently Asked Questions

• What services does the MFS Education Team provide?
  We are a complementary service to the guidance counselling and academic support offered at a child's school. The MFS Education Team provides mobile military families with knowledge, coaching, and tools to navigate educational transitions, while fostering community awareness and advocacy about the unique CAF reality amongst all stakeholders.
• Who will support me with educational screenings and benefits/claims?
  Children's Educational Management (CEM) offers services related to educational benefits/claims, OUTCAN educational screenings and the operation of CAF Overseas Schools. For any information and/or access to forms related to the services offered by CEM, please connect directly.
• Who will be helping me?
  The MFS Education Team is made up of experienced, Ontario College of Teachers certified educators, who are Guidance Specialists. Our guidance counsellors have many years of experience supporting mobile students from diverse educational backgrounds.
• How can I connect with a member of the Education Team?
  Connect a member of the Education Team.
• Will the MFS Education Team contact a school on a member's behalf?
  A family's first point of contact is with their child's school. We will work to provide resources to assist with system navigations and ease transitions.
• How do I find local educational programming?
  As education inside of Canada is largely managed under provincial/territorial ministries of education, each jurisdiction has its own curriculum and graduation requirements. 
• Who is responsible for conducting credit equivalencies?
  Ordinarily, students returning to Canada or changing provinces/territories at the Elementary level are placed in a grade according to their age by their new school. This process generally occurs at the time of registration.
  
  Students returning to Canada or changing provinces/territories at the Secondary level will ordinarily have equivalent credits for the courses completed at the previous post determined by the receiving school. Parents will want to confirm any specific course requirements that cannot be granted as equivalencies and any supplementary graduation requirements with the receiving school. 
  
  Students returning to Canada for Post-Secondary studies may be asked by the receiving institution to provide an Equivalency Report for international studies by an accredited service. If this is the case, please connect with the staff at Children’s Education Management for information on next steps.
• Where can I access information about special needs supports?
  While the interruption of learning due to relocation may present significant challenges generally, for a child with special learning needs, challenges may be more amplified.  To this end, the MFS Education Team is working to assemble and update information to assist families as they navigate and transition from one place of duty to another.
• Do you run information clinics?
  Yes. We will be running various information clinics to share resources with members. Our goal is to offer topical information relative to the tempo of the school year and APS cycle.
• Is my child eligible for tutoring?
  There are existing tutoring benefits for dependent children, both INCAN and OUTCAN. To learn about eligibility through existing policies, please connect with the Children’s Education Management (CEM) staff.
  
  Families with students who have identified learning exceptionalities (IEP/ILP) may be eligible to access financial support for tutoring in their first year at a new posting location. Please contact the MFS education team for information.