The number of enrollments in 5-year-old kindergarten is down in Montreal schools. The Center de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) and the Center de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSSMB) will welcome approximately 550 fewer students next September, according to the latest data available.
The CSSDM predicts that around twenty 5-year-old kindergarten classes will be cut due to the drop in enrollment, which currently stands at around 250. Its press relations manager Alain Perron explains the situation “by the significant drop in immigration over the past two years, the departure of certain young families to the crowns of Montreal and the drop in the birth rate in the years 2015 to 2019. “.
The CSSMB, for its part, is currently recording a decrease of 295 pupils in 5-year-old kindergarten classes at the start of the next school year. Like the CSSDM, she points out that this portrait is “provisional”, registrations may vary between now and the start of the school year, “and this, following moves and the reception of newcomers”.
At the Center de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île (CSSPI), it is reported that “ministerial forecasts announce a slight drop” of 20 students in 5-year-old kindergarten for the start of the school year. Current registrations are also down from September 30. “It’s like this every year, we say in an email. Many parents enroll their child in kindergarten late. The CSSPI says it anticipates “many registrations from immigration”.
“Unprecedented” drop
The Montreal Association of School Principals considers this significant drop in enrollment to be “unprecedented”, as schools have been accustomed to an increase in the number of students in recent years.
“Generally, from the month of March, we have a fairly solid vision of the number of students we will welcome the following year, says its president, Kathleen Legault. I would be surprised if it increases enormously by the next school year. »
According to her, several factors could explain this drop: fewer immigrants due to the closing of borders during the pandemic, schooling at home (kindergarten for 5 years is not compulsory) and exodus of families from Montreal. “The fact that there are no little ones like that, you have to question yourself,” says Kathleen Legault. Do families find that the Montreal environment is affordable when you have a family? It may be complicated for a family to find accommodation in Montreal. With telework, it may be easier to be away from the greater metropolitan area. It opens up new avenues for families. »
The CSSDM specifies that it plans to add about ten 4-year-old kindergarten classes in 2022-2023. The Center de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île will create four more in 2022-2023.
The Legault government promised to offer universal 4-year-old kindergarten during the last election campaign. Quebec now says to deploy it “gradually through the schools of the province”.