The Marguerite-De Lajemmerais public school, in the east of Montreal, lost dozens of students every year. So much so that in 2018, almost half of the premises were empty. This secondary school has gone to great lengths to win back the hearts of students and their parents. The establishment, which was one of the last on the island to accept only girls, has become mixed. And an outdoor program has been put in place.
The effect was immediate: the students returned to this once neglected neighborhood school. The number of registrations for next fall is 20% higher than four years ago. Seven outdoor groups have been created this year, and about ten (bringing together nearly 300 students) are planned for the 2022-2023 school year.
The young people, who grow up in an urban area near the Olympic Park, are delighted to go play outside. They went mountain hiking in the Laurentians, alpine skiing in the Eastern Townships, snowshoeing in Maisonneuve Park. They tell with eyes that shine their joy of “walking in the mud” and rubbing shoulders with rabbits, sheep, deer…
It’s really the fun. We live all kinds of adventures
“It’s really the fun. We live all kinds of adventures,” says Juliette Bolduc. The teacher Christian Provost, responsible for the outdoor program, was due to retire in 2023. He decided to stay. “It’s so motivating that I don’t want to stop,” he said, meeting in the rain with a group of students.
An ambitious project
This Montreal high school is not the only one to have new programs that appeal to young people. In the hope of curbing the exodus to private schools and to public schools with specific projects, the Center de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) has launched a vast project aimed at upgrading its so-called “ordinary” schools.
The goal is for all students to have access to specific programs, such as arts, sports or science, in their neighborhood school. These options must be offered to all young people, regardless of their school results or their parents’ income. Other service centres, including the Chênes service center in Drummondville, are also embarking on this path.
“The general idea is that, no matter where you are in the territory, you will have a good offer of services in your neighborhood”, summarizes Benoit Thomas, responsible for the 32 secondary schools at the CSSDM – the largest service center , which accounts for 10% of students in Quebec.
“We want everyone to be in an option,” he adds. Quietly, the term “regular” will disappear. It’s a big change. We want it to be supported by the school team, with the help of our administrative center, so that it meets the needs expressed by the families. »
For twenty years, these special projects have generally been reserved for children with the best grades or from the most advantaged families, which creates great inequalities, the Higher Council for Education pointed out in 2016: the most disadvantaged pupils are found in these elitist programs, so that young people who are disadvantaged or have learning difficulties are overrepresented in “mainstream” classes and schools.
Students and staff flee these so-called “regular” schools, which have a bad reputation. Parents shop around for schools, even if it means sending their children to the other side of town. The CSSDM has calculated that 45% of its secondary students attend a school located outside their neighbourhood. We must add to this that about four students out of ten, in Montreal and Quebec, go to a private secondary school.
To reverse this trend, the CSSDM has decided to improve the programs of eight unpopular high schools as a priority. The Marguerite-De Lajemmerais school, where an outdoor concentration is now offered, is one of those establishments entitled to a new lease of life (even if the school already offered solid programs in music, arts and sciences).
Outdoor sections have also been created at the Saint-Henri school, in the South-West, and at Louis-Joseph-Papineau (LJP), in the Saint-Michel district. The most noticeable novelty at LJP is above all the program in environment and urban agriculture, accompanied by a greenhouse, in this district considered a food desert.
Programs in arts and music (Jeanne-Mance and Honoré-Mercier schools), Objectif Monde (Dunton Academy), cinema (Chomedey-De Maisonneuve school), digital technology and robotics (Pierre-Dupuy school), and many more. Other options are also part of the improved offer of these neighborhood schools.
A push needed
The creation of these new programs represents a step in the right direction, but the initial objective was much more ambitious, argues former school commissioner Violaine Cousineau. She was part of the committee in charge of reviewing the service offer of secondary schools at the CSSDM.
The “options” in arts or sports implemented in these eight schools generally consist of two or four periods of 75 minutes per nine-day cycle, she points out. It’s better than nothing, but the public system must do better, according to her.
“We are far from theater schools like Robert-Gravel, music schools like Joseph-François Perrault or sports schools like Édouard-Montpetit, says Violaine Cousineau. A particular project is more than adding an hour left and right. »
Violaine Cousineau is convinced that the Ministry of Education must launch a vast project to improve and promote public school programs. It must become as important as renovating schools. This ambitious plan requires a “firm political will”, because it is expensive, to create new programs: it is necessary to hire staff, buy musical instruments or sports equipment and develop competition platforms. And aim for free for these options as much as possible.
Tania Genzardi, director of the Marie-De Lajemmerais school, racks her brains to get funding. The non-profit organization Sport et loisirs de l’île de Montréal has granted funds to buy backpacks, snowshoes, crampons… Others will be needed for bicycles, to pay for ski tickets and transport to the mountain. Quebec also finances equipment and activities. And the School Foundation provides valuable financial support.
Professor Michel Janosz, Dean of the Faculty of Continuing Education at the University of Montreal, accompanied the service center in this “ambitious change of course” in favor of co-education. He is convinced that special projects tailored to the needs of students represent the way of the future — and even of the present — in education. Even if it means going gradually, as the CSSDM does.
“Young people need their learning to have meaning. Generation Z is coming to college. The sense of effort is so important to them that they are ready to follow other trajectories. They say, “I’m not interested in doing a baccalaureate where the first two years don’t make sense. I’ll go elsewhere.” For me, it is inevitable that schools adapt to these notions. It’s already started,” he explains.
Michel Janosz cites programs that have been developed in the United States to counter dropping out. “In these schools, which are very effective, students and teachers choose a sphere at the entrance, such as the arts, for example. The content of the program is the same for everyone, but you will have educational activities colored by your preferences. »