Very recently, a group of presidents of the defunct French-speaking school boards felt the need to come together and close the loop. A gag order and a pandemic later, we did not have the opportunity to take stock of our common political adventure. We salute the initiative of two colleagues committed to making this moment of exchange a fruitful time for each and everyone. Grieving takes time…
Very quickly, our discussions turned to current events and each person present was able to relate a real story, experienced in their community, linked to the loss of local democracy, to decision-making centralization, to the absence of representativeness for parents in the need. Without a doubt, the impact of the standardized blue of the uniform management of the public education network is felt everywhere in Quebec.
A group of enthusiasts never takes long to reach the question of values as the central object of discussions. The question of equity then appeared obvious to us: the Quebec school resembles a commodity and the parents of students like customers in this three-tier school system so strongly criticized in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
How did Quebec get there?
Faced with the repeated refusal of all governments to put an end to subsidized private schools, despite all the demonstrations illustrating the financial and social costs that maintaining this funding generates, the public network chose, at the time, to fight the promise of excellence by the promise of excellence. School boards have therefore contributed to moving from a two-tier education system, private and public, to a three-tier system: private, public and selective public.
The idea here is not to condemn the decisions made by school officials. They are easy to understand. The public network, in certain regions of Quebec, lost up to 40% of its “clientele” to the benefit of private schools and escaped, thereby, a large part of its financing. It then became difficult to provide all the resources necessary for the educational success of all students. It was therefore necessary to counter the exodus. The government did not want to stop funding private schools (you cannot take away a privilege from the privileged without suffering the consequences), it was necessary to act.
The creativity of the actors in the public network will then have made it possible to develop a diversified service offering around attractive specific projects, providing academic motivation and meaningful learning. The effects of this new service offer were felt, little by little, on the retention of students in public schools, particularly during the transition from primary to secondary.
This is how we have contributed to the situation we find ourselves in now.
We, the elected school officials, were confronted with political inertia beyond our control. We reacted with the same logic: a logic of commodification of students. In doing so, by improving the service offering, we have encouraged “shopping”, the search for “the best for my child”, without taking the real measure of the paradigm in place and the need to think differently about the meaning of the famous ” better for my child.” Is the best found in individual choice or in the collective interest? Is it “better” for a child to have the best “service” or to take the full measure of the society in which they live?
Our reflection then turned to the mission of Quebec schools, the mission of school boards and their central value: the equity of opportunities offered to each student, to enable it to reach its full potential.
It became clear to us that it was urgent to put an end to the system of commodification of Quebec schools in which the better off find themselves privileged and those less fortunate remain isolated in their difficulties. It is time to rediscover the idea of the common good and the strength of the diverse and inclusive collective.
If we have contributed to promoting the “school market” in Quebec, today we wish to recognize it but denounce the sustainability of this systemic inequity. For us, the school must be the heart of its community, be completely free, non-selective and carry mobilizing projects for students. Thus, all children in the same neighborhood, without discrimination, should go to school together and not have to wonder if there will be a place for them in the neighborhood school. All schools in Quebec should be neighborhood schools.
If we believe in the strength of living together that is inclusive and respectful of differences, it is urgent to put an end to three-tier schooling and to restructure the entire school system. It seems imperative to us to allow our children to attend a school whose organization reflects the society to which we all aspire.
At the end of our meeting, we left happy and happy to have seen each other again and to make, through this letter, a final gesture of school policy filled with hope.
Co-signed this letter: Louise Lortie, last vice-president of the Federation of Quebec School Boards and last president of the Laval school board; Andrée Bouchard, last president of the Hautes-Rivières commission; Hélène Roberge, last president of the Patriotes school board; Francine St-Denis, last president of the Trois-Lacs school board; Jean-Pierre Pigeon, last president of the Chic-Chocs school board; Jean-Pierre Joubert, last president of the Rivière-du-Nord school board; David Montminy, last president of the Portneuf school board; Édith Samson, last president of the Kamouraska–Rivière-du-Loup school board; Gaston Rioux, last president of the Phares school board; Yves Gilbert, last president of the Hauts-Cantons school board; Gaétan Gilbert, last president of the Or-et-des-Bois school board; Gilles Normand, last president of the Sherbrooke Region school board; Paule Fortier, last president of the Mille-Îles school board; Marjolaine Arsenault, last president of the Riveraine school board; Catherine Harel-Bourdon, last president of the Montreal school board; Ginette Côté, last president of the Estuaire school board; Céline Lefrançois, last president of the Monts-et-Marées school board; Alain Grenier, last president of the Côte-du-Sud school board; Frank Mooijekind, last president of the Vallée-des-Tisserands school board; Claude Beaulieu, last president of the Draveurs school board; Jean Couture, president of the René-Lévesque school board (2003-2020); Pierre Rivard, last president of the Lac-Témiscamingue school board; Manon Robitaille, last president of the Capital school board; Gisèle Godreau, former president of the Laurentides school board; Jean Parisé, last president of the Middle North Shore school board; Roxanne Thibeault, last president of the Lac-Saint-Jean school board; Éric Bergeron, last president of the Jonquière school board; Francine Cyr, last president of the Iles school board.