Thousand Islands Secondary School

Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) is a public high school in the city of Brockville, Ontario and one of the most populous high school managed by the Upper Canada District School Board. Built in 1965, the school has been a part of the Brockville community for over 50 years

TISS has an enrollment of approximately 1500 students and offers a wide range of programs. The school offers a full complement of academic, technical and arts courses in addition to skilled trades programs and many Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs. The school also has many other unique programs such as Integrated Math/Science and Technology (MST), an online education program, co-operative education and the International Studies Program which allows students each year to travel to locations such as Nicaragua, Germany, Greece, and Italy.

Academics
The school performs well in academics with opportunities to compete in mathematics such as the Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests (grades 9, 10, and 11) along with Euclid Contest (grade 12 along with eager grade 11s) each year along with and Canadian Computing Competition.

The school offers French immersion and extended core French programs. Bilingual and international studies.

Through its cooperative education courses, 90–125 students have work-study placements or partnerships in the community. The High-Performance Athlete (HPA) Co-Op programme is offered as a specialised opportunity available to students in grades 9-12. The purpose of the HPA programme is to give exceptional student-athletes the opportunity to reach maximum academic potential while actively pursuing athletic training for her level athletics. Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program (OYAP) allows students to learn a skilled trade while at the same time, competing the requirements of the OSSD.

Thousand Islands Secondary School offers a Ministry of Education approved programs or Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM). This specialized program allowing students to gain credit towards their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and focus their learning on a specific economic sector at the same time. The SHSM program assists students in their transition from secondary school to apprenticeship training, college, university, or the workplace. This program enables students to gain sector-specific skills and knowledge in engaging, career-related learning environments and to prepare in a focused way for graduation and postsecondary education, training, or employment.

Paired with experiential learning usually gained through community partnerships and cooperative education placements students also receive important WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) training, which teaches them how to stay safe in the workplace, Standard First Aid and CPR, along with other sector specific training. This program is extremely beneficial for interested students as they will be graduating with certification that is recognized in the economic and apprenticeship sector and helps them be a “step ahead” of others once their schooling is completed. TISS currently offers 4 SHSMs: arts and culture, health and wellness, hospitality and tourism, and manufacturing.

Teachers
The school has over 50 teachers. Many have been acknowledged for teaching excellence at the local Board and provincial level. The school is also part of a unique partnership with Queen's University as an associate school and trains dozens of teacher candidates every year.

The school also has several clubs that operate annually, an amphitheatre, 3 gyms, and an 8-lane Mondo track and field complex.

Athletics program
The athletics program at TISS is arguably the best in Eastern Ontario and one of the best in the country. The school has captured an incredible 110+ EOSSAA championships and many OFSAA championship banners. Several past TISS Pirates have represented Canada in track and field, basketball, football, and cross country.

TISS held the 2012 OFSAA track and field event at their facility.

Track and field/cross country
The track and field/cross country program at the school is one of the most known facets of Brockville and is known across Canada. The team has won 11 OFSAA team titles since 2002, captured over 50 individual OFSAA medals, and seen over 20 of their athletes to NCAA schools on full athletic scholarships. In 2004 the school sent a record setting 6 track stars to the U.S. on NCAA track scholarships. The scholarships totaled over $275,000 (USD) combined. It saw the athletes to schools in New York, Tennessee, Louisiana, and North Carolina. To this day no other school in Ontario has produced more scholarships in one year than the Pirates. Thousand Islands Secondary School hosted the OFSAA track and field meet in June 2012, it is one of the biggest track and field meets in North America.

Girls basketball
The girls basketball program has captured three OFSAA championships, and has won the EOSSAA title 7 of the past 12 years. Stacey Dales (WNBA, Canadian Women's Olympic Basketball Team), and Kendra Walker-Roche (Fresno State, NCAA) are just 2 of the many post-secondary players who developed their skills at TISS. . The football and soccer programs have also achieved great success with several alumni suiting up for professional teams (Burke Dales of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Calgary Stampeders and Troy Cunningham of the B.C. Lions) and has created a reputation throughout Ontario and Canada as one of the best high school sports programs.

The school finished construction of a $1,500,000 track and field and athletic complex with funding from the Friends of TISS Committee. Many prominent Brockville families contributed to the project.