While nearly 400,000 students are back in class today after five weeks of strike, the catch-up plan that will be announced by Quebec will give a lot of “flexibility” to schools: recovery activities could be organized during spring break if teachers and students agree to participate on a voluntary basis, according to information obtained by The newspaper.
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This plan will be accompanied by “substantial” sums which can be used very flexibly according to the needs of each school, as requested by several players in the school network, it is indicated.
Remember that students whose teachers are affiliated with the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) missed 24 days of class, while the 600,000 young people whose teachers are represented by the Federation of Education Unions (member of the Common Front) instead missed nine.
For their part, private schools were not affected at all by the strike.
Catch-up camp during spring break
After holding several meetings with stakeholders in the school network, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, will present his catch-up plan on Tuesday, which may vary depending on the school. Establishments affected by the FAE strike should in particular receive more money to put in place more support measures for students.
The amounts that will be announced could in particular allow teachers who wish to be paid during the spring break to organize academic catch-up camps for students in difficulty who wish to participate.
However, no change to the school calendar should be imposed.
For teachers, it would be an opportunity to earn a little more money after long weeks without pay while the break could be preserved for families who make it a priority, it is explained.
The same principle could be used to provide more recovery periods during lunchtime or after school.
A good idea”
Sylvain Martel, spokesperson for the Regroupement des committees de parents nationaux du Québec, believes that this is a “good idea” since it is based on voluntary participation.
The possibility of giving up the spring break to make up for missed school days, which had been mentioned by school principals at the end of November, was far from unanimous among the ranks of parents, indicates Mr. Martel .
This plan is eagerly awaited in the school network, while concerns about academic delays caused by the strike are great. Several stakeholders in the school network, including many teachers, deplore, however, that this plan was not presented on Monday, on the occasion of the return of staff who were then on an educational day.