According to school reports, the teachers’ strike did not take place and the students will have 180 days of class. Where are the missed days?
What there is to know
- The school year was marked by a strike which was particularly long for Montreal students.
- The bulletins from the school service centers of Montreal and Marguerite-Bourgeoys incorrectly indicate that there will be 180 days of classes, as usual.
- The minimum number of school days this year has been revised to 156 and the report card must reflect reality, says the Ministry of Education.
By consulting the report cards from different schools in the Montreal and Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service centers, both located on the island of Montreal, surprise: by adding the “class days” of the three stages listed in the report card, we arrive at a completely normal year of 180 days.
The few days of absence of children – gastro, COVID or others – are counted, but not the days of strike.
The teachers of these students are, however, represented by the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), the union which has been on strike the longest. The young people therefore missed 22 days of class in November and December.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
FAE demonstration during the teachers’ strike on December 4 in Montreal
Alain Perron, spokesperson for the CSSDM, indicates that the number of class days mentioned in the bulletin refers to “calendar days between the start and end of the stage and not days of attendance”.
On the report cards, in full, it is indeed written “school days”.
The ministry calls for corrections
At the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center, the communications department tells us that “only the number of days a student is absent is recorded. The number of school days is not mentioned.
On Marguerite-Bourgeoys school report cards consulted by The Pressthe number of school days is nevertheless indeed recorded.
Antoine de la Durantaye, press attaché in the office of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, indicates to The Press that “the number of actual school days per stage must be displayed”. “We will make sure that this is respected. »
At the La Capitale school service center, in Quebec – which was affected by a strike as long as the Montreal centers – and at the Pointe-de-l’Île service center, in Montreal, this is the case: the number of school days reflects reality.
During the pandemic, the Ministry of Education also required that the number of days on which there was actually school (remote or in-person) be entered in the report card.
The magic number: 156 school days
On February 14, a modification to the basic education regime was made official in the Official Gazette of Quebec. It indicates that “the student’s school calendar includes the equivalent of a maximum of 200 days, of which at least 156 must be devoted to educational services.”
This figure of 156 is therefore the minimum magic number this year, instead of the usual 180 school days.
In the Official Gazettethe Minister of Education recognizes in passing that “several students were unable to receive educational services due to the strike days that took place in November and December 2023” and that “lost days of educational services had a significant impact on student success, particularly that of the most vulnerable.”
Students in Quebec were affected unevenly by the strike. Those in Montreal, Laval, Outaouais and Quebec whose teachers were represented by the FAE suffered 22 days of strike in November and December. Students whose teachers were affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) lost eight and a half days of class.
“Significant sums” for the catch-up plan
Moreover, The Press read this week the letter from a school administration informing parents that the budgets had expired and that there would be no more academic catch-up (the 300 million announced by Bernard Drainville in January).
Verification made with the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center, the funds are there and the services will continue to be provided.
In Minister Drainville’s office, Antoine de la Durantaye also assures that “all the amounts are available for all schools in Quebec in order to carry out catch-up activities, such as [Québec] is there [engagé] “.
Moreover, he adds, “significant sums are intended for this plan, with in particular new financing planned in the last budget”.
Notice, therefore, to parents who would otherwise receive such information: the catch-up is indeed continuing and there is no reason for it to be interrupted for funding reasons.