Continuing and current concerns of the Advisory Board on English Education

1. Continuing and current concerns of the Advisory Board on English Education Kate Le Maistre Chair, ABEE

2. Mandate • “…to advise the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports on all matters affecting the educational services offered in English elementary and secondary schools. The Minister may also ask the Board for advice on a specific topic.” (http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/CELA/anglais.htm)

3. Continuing and current concerns • Biliteracy (1995) • Culture and English Schools in Play (1999) • Educating Today's Québec Anglophone (2010) • Regionalization and Vocational Education (1998) • Bridging the gap between training and employment (2011) • Profile of the Teacher as Keystone in Secondary Reform Implementation (2003) • High-quality teachers and administrators for English-language schools in Québec (2010) • Special Education - Issues of Inclusion and Integration in the Classroom (2006) • Complementary educational services (2012) • Decentralization, Regionalization and Adaptation (2006)  • School democracy (2008)

4. Summary of issues – the six Ds • Distance • Demographics • Distinctiveness • Diversity • Distribution of resources • Decision-making

5. Size

6. Distance BaieComeau New Carlisle  Grosse Isle 

7. Demographics • Number of Anglophones • Distribution of Anglophones • Size of schools, especially in the regions • Declining enrollment • Actual population of English language schools

8. Distinctiveness • Graduation rates and retention rates • Integration of students with special needs • Parental involvement (QFHSA etc) • Centres of Excellence; Centres of Expertise • Community Learning Centres • Access to research and resources from English-speaking world

9. Diversity • Population in English-language schools comes from a variety of cultural communities • English-language school boards function differently • More bottom up, less hierarchical • Less expensively administered • The need to produce bilingual graduates has produced a variety of language-teaching programs, even within one school board

10. Distribution of resources • Per capita funding leads to equality, not equity (although particular factors influence this) • Large amounts of available money are pooled for common access (e.g. LEARN) • Dependence on Canada-Québec entente funding for minority language groups

11. Decision making • Anglophones are often geographically far from where decisions are made • Local solutions for local needs • Flexibility and adaptability • Innovation and creativity • Cooperation and collaboration

12. “The small size and low density of the English-speaking population mean that all stakeholders must cooperate, rather than work in isolation from each other, to serve the population more efficiently and effectively. Collaboration and dialogue among the stakeholders is needed to identify clearly mutual problems and to identify or provide the appropriate agencies to solve the problems.” (ABEE, 2010)

13. Finally: • An important message from this work is that a holistic approach is needed to meet student needs in a remote location. This means getting the right leaders and staff, be it for a short or long duration, working hard to make the school a hub for the community and a highly valued and supported community institution, and finding ways to engage students and allowing them to succeed by measures far broader than academic performance, be it attendance, participation, or readiness for work or further education. A successful remote school is not an end point, but an ongoing journey which requires resilience and a willingness to changeby the principal, teachers, students, and the wider community. • (Western Australia Department of Education, 2011)

14. Thank you