The impossibility of recruiting three teachers forces a specialized school in Montreal to move students to three other establishments, on the eve of the start of the school year. Informed at the last minute of this change of direction, a mother deplores the lack of planning of the Center de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) and the impact on the most vulnerable students.
“We are once again asking children to learn how to manage rapid change like this, especially since they are children with difficulties. It’s counter-productive, it’s not normal, ”drops Barbara, who prefers to keep her last name quiet so as not to cause harm to her child. Her daughter, who has developed great anxiety and a phobia of school, was due to enter the specialized secondary school Espace-Jeunesse next week. The facility is tailor-made for adolescents with behavioral coping challenges and emotional and relational difficulties.
“We changed location this year on the recommendations of specialists. This week, she had reread the notes on her school and asked questions. And suddenly, we have to tell him that it doesn’t work anymore, ”says Barbara. It was on Wednesday that she learned the news, after receiving a message from management.
“In this atypical school year, three tenured teaching positions have not been filled despite all the recruitment efforts of the Center de services scolaire de Montréal”, we can read in a communication signed by the director that The duty consulted. “For the sake of [servir] as best as possible our students with special needs in complete safety, I regret to announce that your child will be educated in another specialized school of the CSSDM, ”she wrote.
” Although we [ayons] preferred it to be otherwise, know that we will put everything in place to limit the challenges of adaptation linked to this transition, ”we are assured.
“The lesser of two evils”
The duty revealed Thursday that the CSSDM had to close groups and distribute the students to other classes, several teaching positions having not been filled. “We know that these decisions are not taken smoothly and that this exceptional measure upsets the school organization”, mentioned an internal email sent Wednesday evening by the general management of the CSSDM.
“It is unacceptable, launches Patricia Clermont, spokesperson for the movement I protect my public school. It weakens a student’s academic perseverance and motivation. I know there’s nothing smart about this decision, but I’m flabbergasted by the lack of proactivity. »
She adds that the problem of teacher shortages has been looming on the horizon for years. “Socially and politically, we let it go by the wayside, and we are reaching the bottleneck. According to her, by closing classes rather than leaving them without teachers, managers “have chosen the lesser of two evils. But we agree that these are two evils.
According to Catherine Beauvais St-Pierre, president of the Alliance of Teachers of Montreal, it is more difficult to recruit teachers for specialized schools. “We are talking here about special education teachers who are developing expertise,” she says. Teachers are not running the streets now, but special education teachers, even less. »
Added to this is the particular context of the Espace-Jeunesse school, which plans to close its doors one day to merge with the Henri-Julien school, explains Marie Contant, vice-president at the Alliance and responsible for the schools file. specialized. “There is a lack of information and unpredictability because of the closure, so we are witnessing a movement of personnel”, she mentions, denouncing a “mess up” and a lack of transparency.
As there is a shortage of manpower, it has been easy for dissatisfied teachers to leave and find a position elsewhere, their expertise being sought after. “We feel that there is still a certain way of managing at the CSSDM which is backward and which does not take into account the shortage”, emphasizes Catherine Beauvais St-Pierre.
Lack of communication
Barbara’s daughter will therefore be “schooled” at the Henri-Julien specialized school from August 26, indicates the message she received. It is stated that she will receive a call from a staff member of the new school in the next few days. Barbara tried to make contact despite everything, only to stumble on the answering machine a few times. She wondered if the school supplies were the right ones and wanted to know the date and time of the start of the school year, the school calendar not being posted on the school’s website.
The family finally heard back on Thursday afternoon, to their relief. The start of the school year will take place next Wednesday.
She doesn’t want to blame the two schools, but she would have liked a modicum of predictability “so that everyone is good in there”. “When there is a difficult situation like this, the first thing the CSSDM should do is communicate with the parents and give detailed information,” she suggests.
Asked by The duty, the CSSDM indicated that the students affected by the lack of teachers at Espace-Jeunesse would be welcomed in three specialized schools in its territory. “As with each new school year, the parents are met. The displaced students are contacted directly by the management or stakeholders of the new schools they will attend, ”said spokesperson Alain Perron by email.
He did not say whether students from other schools would also have to be transferred for lack of teachers, or how many vacancies remain to be filled.