For lack of enough teachers, the Val-des-Cerfs School Service Center, which has schools in Brome-Missisquoi and Haute-Yamaska, says it is forced to close three 4-year-old kindergarten classes on its territory. . This decision leads to a mobilization movement in Sutton, where parents, the mayor and the elementary school governing board are looking for solutions to keep their classes open.
The general manager, Éric Racine, was not available for an interview with The duty. “The decision was made in the context of a shortage of skilled labor,” said the communications department of the CSS du Val-des-Cerfs in an email. The lack is mainly among teachers, it is specified. The decision was therefore taken in order to redirect the “living forces” towards disadvantaged areas, where the index of socio-economic environment (IMSE) is higher.
There will be eight functional classes for these young children during the next school year, specifies the CSS of Val-des-Cerfs, while the School Services Center has the budget to open 18.
This situation therefore distances the Legault government from its objective of creating 2,600 4-year-old kindergarten classes, a promise that dates from its election in 2018. In February, Quebec decided to postpone this objective for four years, which is now set for the year 2029-2030. The shortage of labor and the lack of premises available in schools justified this decision.
Mobilization in Sutton
The three classes have been closed in schools in Sutton and the Granby region, mentions the CSS du Val-des-Cerfs. At Sutton Elementary School, nine children were registered for September in the 4-year-old kindergarten class, which had been open for two years. The parents, who learned the news recently, must therefore scramble to find another solution.
The closure is decried by the president of the school board, Céderick Charland, who published an open letter in the newspaper The voice from the east. “The 4-year-old kindergarten was functional. The class was equipped, the teacher in place was in place and dedicated, and ready to take up the torch, he says in an interview with The duty. The inscriptions, they were there. The teacher will likely be moved elsewhere to fill a gap.
He specifies that the 4-year-old kindergarten was bilingual and had young Anglophones, but that everything took place in French. “We had an extraordinary context so that, from their early childhood, these children were in a French-speaking structure. These are students who have the possibility of accessing schooling in English, but who choose to go to the French-language school service centre,” he maintains.
Parents can in particular turn to the early childhood center (CPE), but it is small and lacks places. “People find themselves a bit in the water. We have waiting lists at the CPE and at the family daycare, says the mayor of Sutton, Robert Benoit. Everyone was taken by surprise, no one saw it coming. The municipal council adopted a resolution on June 7 to support the maintenance of 4-year-old kindergarten.
“We want to welcome new families with children,” explains the mayor. If we want to maintain the economic vitality of Sutton, it takes us a lot to keep businesses alive and everything else. He points out that the city’s population increased by 13.4% between 2016 and 2021, according to the latest Statistics Canada census. “We have young families who are starting to arrive. So, if we want to maintain this trend, we need to have tools and we don’t have many of them,” he says. All residences now have access to high-speed Internet, which also allows teleworking.
The mayor hopes to find a solution with the actors involved. A meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday with representatives of the school’s parents’ committee and the director general of the school service centre. “I think we can reach a compromise,” he insists. The assembly of 21 Brome-Missisquoi mayors also supported the resolution of the City of Sutton this week.
“When we are told that it is important to do early detection in children, to improve academic success, we wonder when they want to do this detection. 4-year-old kindergarten also prepared children for learning. It will create a gap, thinks Céderick Charland. We thought it was something important for the government and education in Quebec. »