(Quebec) The “massive” influx of young people with a migrant background and the increasing proliferation of reception classes are causing headaches for the school network, which has been hit hard by the teacher shortage. At the Montreal School Service Center (CSSDM), the number of teaching positions to be filled is increasing again. Under pressure, school administrators are questioning the priorities of Quebec, which these days asks them to count “mixed” toilets and locker rooms when other issues are more pressing for them.
Published at 1:58 am. Updated at 5:00 am.
Since the beginning of the school year, Education Minister Bernard Drainville has been carefully monitoring the number of teaching positions to be filled in schools. With labor shortages getting worse every year, he is considering shortening teacher training courses, encouraging retention of teachers nearing retirement or better support for those starting their careers. Many leave the profession.
However, the latest assessment of teachers sought on the network shows that the situation has not improved since the return to classes at the CSSDM, the largest school service center in Quebec. A few days after the start of the school year, in the week of September 4th, 157 teaching positions were still vacant. That number, which fell to 127 and 114 in subsequent weeks, rose to 155 unfilled positions in the week of September 25.
“Teachers leave us at any time to go on maternity leave. Some need to be replaced [pour plusieurs raisons]That’s normal, but it’s above all the massive influx of young people with a migrant background that forces us [ces dernières semaines] to open a significant number of reception classes,” explains Kathleen Legault, president of the Montreal Association of School Directors (AMDES).
The CSSDM confirms this. Last week alone, the company opened 29 welcome groups at its schools. “Imagine the pressure,” Ms. Legault said.
“This means that the equivalent of 38 new teachers and specialists will have to be hired quickly. “With 470 more students in the reception class than at the beginning of the school year, the number of students to be admitted to the francization class is not running out,” says the school service center.
Meanwhile on the toilet
Children whose group doesn’t yet have a class teacher don’t wait around and twiddle their thumbs. These students are supported by substitutes and other teachers who share the task. However, these temporary solutions increase the pressure on staff, recalls Ms. Legault, who is worried about her employees.
In this context, the network is surprised by a recent directive from the Ministry of Education that calls on schools to count “mixed” toilets and changing rooms. Many say to themselves: “This is not serious,” explains the President of AMDES. In light of a controversial decision by an Abitibi school, Education Minister Bernard Drainville earlier this month banned schools from converting toilet blocks into universal toilets.
“It triggers a lot of reactions. We lack people, we have unqualified staff, some schools do not have a caretaker, Ms. Legault lists, and we have to fill out a report [sur les toilettes mixtes pour le Ministère]. »
Can we stop wondering about reports that contribute nothing to educational services for students?
Kathleen Legault, president of the Montreal Association of School Directors
The president of the Quebec Association of School Management Personnel (AQPDE), which represents institutions in the Quebec region and the South Coast, shares the same opinion.
“We understand that the ministry needs data, but on the other hand it is not our priority. We have other fish to fry,” says Carl Ouellet.
“What’s happening in schools right now is that we’re looking for people. We rack our brains so that there are teachers. […] “The priority is to have people in the classrooms who will accompany our students and help them succeed,” he adds, pointing out that teacher recruitment is stagnating and that pressure on staff is increasing as schools become more open Reception classes are “very large”.
While students from Joliette and Montreal were evicted from their classes in mid-September after pieces of plaster fell from the ceilings, the president of the Federation of Parents’ Committees of Quebec, Mélanie Laviolette, was also surprised by the extent of the debate over mixed toilets.
“When we do press conferences about gender-segregated or non-gender-segregated restrooms… I think the network does a lot worse than where our kids go to the restroom. I understand that we need to talk about it, but there are more important things,” she told La Presse.
Children with great needs
Isabelle Leduc is a teacher in a reception class in Montreal’s Saint-Michel neighborhood. With the growing number of new classes being added week after week to accommodate and teach immigrant students, she wants more access to specialized resources to support her work.
We receive many students who are traumatized by what they have experienced. THE [profs] At the reception, in addition to teaching, we also become psychosocial employees.
Isabelle Leduc, a teacher in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal
The teacher calls on the government to invest in psychological and psychoeducational services where the need is urgent.
Currently, she notes, “children are not getting enough support for certain types of trauma.” The students who came from Roxham Road experienced terrible situations, found themselves in our classes, but were not [prêts] be in a learning situation.