A girl who was turned down for kindergarten at her neighborhood public school due to the selection process has been turned down a second time for admission to first grade, even though her older brother is already attending the school.
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“It’s the three-speed school, extreme version”, drops his father, Louis-Michel Langevin. He and his partner, Sabrina Ouellet, have spent approximately $30,000 over the past few months to legally challenge the school’s admissions rules, but to no avail.
The couple lives less than 200 meters from the Monseigneur-Robert primary school, located in the Beauport sector, in Quebec, where their eldest son goes every morning.
Last year, The newspaper reported that their daughter Frédérique, then 4 years old, had been refused kindergarten in this school where all students follow the International Education Program because she had not passed the selection process (see box below ).
The situation had been denounced by many, including by the former Minister of Education Jean-François Roberge. However, the latter had indicated that he could not intervene since the admission rules are the responsibility of the school service centres.
For its part, the Center de services scolaire des Premières-Seigneuries indicates that there is a selection process “because the school has chosen to offer an enriched program”. “Children must demonstrate certain qualities or skills to be able to keep up and engage in enrichment or mandatory activities,” says the service center.
However, other public primary schools offer the same International Education Program to all their students, without selection.
Request dismissed
After filing a request for an injunction this fall, which was rejected, Frédérique’s parents made a new request for admission for the start of the school year, which was again rejected. For a student who wants to be admitted to the first year, the selection process this time is based on the kindergarten report card and the teacher’s evaluation.
Parents still do not understand why proximity and siblings are not taken into account in the process, when they were given to understand the opposite during the registration of their eldest son.
According to the school’s admissions policy, a child who has an older sister or brother who is already attending the school is given priority, but only after they have passed the selection process.
“We want the rules to change, not just for our daughter, but also for the other children in the neighborhood who cannot go to this school. There are some schools where there is no selection for the international program. Why isn’t it like that at Monseigneur-Robert?” spear Mme Ouellet.
Legal, according to CSS
The School Services Center affirms that this practice is completely legal, which has also already been confirmed by the Ministry of Education.
The Education Act allows a special selective program to be offered in a public school provided that the regular program is also offered there, accessible to all.
However, the Monseigneur-Robert school is in fact a building of the administrative structure of the Harmony school, which also includes the building of the Saint-Édouard school, located 1.6 km away, where the regular program is Free.
Even if the Monseigneur-Robert school is located closer, it is the Saint-Édouard school which is considered to be the neighborhood school of little Frédérique since the regular program is offered there, it is explained. to the First Lordships.
École Monseigneur-Robert is not considered a “basin” school since its specific program is offered to all students at the service centre.
“Administrative sleight of hand”
Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy, who last year denounced “administrative sleight of hand”, again opposed this practice in parliamentary committee as part of the consultations on Bill 23 that took place last week.
“It’s quite amazing to see that a 4-year-old or 5-year-old child is given an exam to go to his neighborhood school,” she said.
For their part, Louis-Michel Langevin and Sabrina Ouellet hope that the reform of the school network provided for in Bill 23 will allow the government to intervene more in decisions made by service centers when they go against government guidelines.
Selection process for kindergarten admission to the Monseigneur-Robert School’s International Education Program
- The student will be invited to come and experience observation activities in the form of workshops. These activities make it possible to observe two components: predictors of success in learning and social skills.
- As the future student will evolve in an environment where the pace of learning is high and complementary services are limited, a committee of pedagogical experts, under very specific guidelines, will analyze the results of each child’s workshops. Report cards for 4-year-old preschool and CPE portraits are not analysed.
- In order to be admitted to the program, the student must have demonstrated that he has the profile sought during the observation activities.
The rules for admission to schools offering the International Education Program are determined by the schools, and not by the organization that manages accreditation for this program, SÉBIQ.
Several schools offer the same program to students in their neighborhood, without any selection. Originally, the International Education Program was designed to be offered to all students, without selection, according to this organization.
Sources: admission policy for the primary program of the international baccalaureate of the Monseigneur-Robert pavilion of the École de l’Harmonie, SÉBIQ