This text is part of the special public school notebook
While some young people leave high school without a diploma, general adult education establishments deploy different tactics to help those who return to school succeed.
School failures, financial or family problems. There are several reasons why students may drop out of class. General adult education (FGA) is aimed at people aged 16 and over who wish to complete their secondary education. This is particularly the case at the Adult Center (CEA) Outremont. “It’s our mission to work with the dropouts and the dropouts,” summarizes François Medzalabenleth, director of the adult general education department at the Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Service Center, which saw 210 students obtain their secondary school diploma in 2023. -2024. In Outremont, the Adult Center offers individualized courses according to the needs of its clients. “We tend to say that the students are “young people”, but we also have some not so young people, 60, 70, 80 years old. Our objective is to offer a service that meets the needs of the population,” he adds.
Other establishments, such as Marie-Anne secondary school, in the Montreal district of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, welcome people aged 16 to 21 and support them even before they drop out of school. “In a neighborhood school, young people finish their secondary studies at around 16 years old. When they have not completed their training project, we take over to help them achieve their objective,” describes Antonino Papalia, director of Marie-Anne secondary school. Its establishment offers courses of 3e4e and 5e secondary school for young adults. “We have given ourselves the mandate to work in close collaboration with our neighborhood schools. They target students who are potentially likely to continue their studies with us because they cannot do so in their environment, he said. With our strategy, we prevent them from dropping out completely. »
The students at Marie-Anne school mainly come from cultural diversity. “We have more than 60 mother tongues spoken in our classes,” assesses Mr. Papalia. We are proud to say it: we are a very inclusive school. We are very focused on that, very open to the world,” he adds.
A personalized journey
At CEA Outremont, those who return to class do not necessarily know which professional path to take. As soon as they are welcomed to the school, students are met to determine their needs and adapt their training for this purpose, explains his colleague Angie Eleftheratos, director of CEA Outremont. “And we increasingly want to equip teachers to respond to changing student populations,” she adds.
Attendance at CEA Outremont is not compulsory, specifies Mme Eleftheratos. The establishment also returns to school several times during the year. “Sometimes the student will leave, but he knows he can come back easily. We really try to give them a feeling of belonging to our communities, with school and extracurricular activities, she says. And if a student is absent for a few days, we will contact them to understand what is going on. We have several ways to give students a stimulating environment so that they stay with us, but always with support depending on the circumstances. »
Some students also want to acquire skills that will help them in their family life. “Sometimes, it’s a mother who becomes able to read the homework submitted to her by her child. And that is a success in itself,” says Mr. Medzalabenleth.
Personalization of learning is also required at the Marie-Anne school, while some students learn subjects in several levels at the same time. “For example, a student can take their 4 year French coursee secondary, but be in mathematics of 5e secondary,” describes Mr. Papalia. A flexibility that is not always possible in traditional secondary schools.
These establishments also offer remedial education and career guidance services to their clients in order to help them see their career prospects.
A diploma and more
Several avenues are available to people who frequent this type of establishment. Some students want to obtain their high school diploma, while others hope to enroll in a CEGEP program. Still others ultimately move towards professional training, explains Mr. Papalia. The success rate within his establishment was 60.8%, according to data from the 2021-2022 school year.
At CEA Outremont, the end of studies is a particularly significant event for students, many of whom have to juggle their jobs, children or learning disabilities. “It is a diploma to be celebrated because, in some cases, they obtained it despite important factors which could have slowed down the achievement of the training objective”, underlines François Medzalabenleth.
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