Surprise! Happiness ! I find in my Christmas stocking a press release from the Minister of National Education announcing a reform of selective schools in Quebec. And with enough detail for me to really believe it!
Press release from the Minister of National Education of Quebec
The Minister of National Education of Quebec today announced a reform of the network of private schools and public schools with specific projects in Quebec.
“The ordinary school must become extraordinary. Excellence is for everyone ”declared the Minister.
In this context, private schools will be invited to join the public sector as approved schools. Those who accept will be funded at 100% provided that the students are admitted free of charge, without tests and that they are representative of the children and young people of the region served.
The responsibility for ensuring this representativeness will fall on the school service centers (CSS) which will enroll students in these approved schools from their own pool of schools. The approved schools will sign an agreement in which will be defined the obligations assumed jointly by these schools and by the CSS of their territory, including the sharing of resources.
The current governance model of private schools will be renewed (autonomous governance by the board of directors of a non-profit organization). This new funding rule for 100% approved schools will gradually apply for new enrollment cohorts.
Private schools that decide not to adhere to this reform will gradually lose their subsidy as new registrations take effect. The parents of these schools will then be required to pay all of their child’s school fees.
“Not only will we be in tune with what is in place in Ontario which does not subsidize selective private schools and whose graduation rate we envy,” said the minister, “but this will also allow us to test an autonomous mode of management and close proximity in a school environment open to students from all social, cultural and economic backgrounds ”.
In addition, the Minister of Education intends to develop a new policy of support for specific learning projects so as to enrich the diversity of the educational offer in all public schools in Quebec.
“Our schools must be open to all the talents and interests of our students,” adds the Minister. We must increase the opportunities for students to develop a sense of achievement, attachment to their school and pleasure in learning ”.
The Minister made it clear that eligibility for these particular projects should in no way be based on selection based on an overall pass mark. “The student’s taste, interest in a particular project, his motivation to enroll in it and minimum aptitudes in the chosen field must be our only criteria for admission to a project chosen by the student”, specifies The Minister.
“This reform, we owe it to our young people, their parents and our teaching staff” adds the Minister.
A first version of this text appeared in The duty of March 19, 2019