New School Calendar Under Suspicion

Calendar Changes Intended to Accommodate "Illegal" Schools

Proposals to make major changes to the school calendar were no surprise to a number of private schools in the - despite the fact that all other educators, school boards and parents were completely in the dark until the announcement was made recently.

Private School Receiving Subsidies Must Teach Full Government Curriculum

"Illegal" Jewish schools in the Montreal area had been in negotiations with education minister Michelle Courchesne as early as mid-September, revealed Robert Dutrisac of Le Devoir earlier this week. The schools are private, but like the majority of private schools in Quebec they receive a significant subsidy from the provincial government. In exchange for the funding the schools must fulfil requirements for accreditation, such as hiring certified teachers and following the same curriculum as public schools. They may add courses, but they may not subtract anything from the required curriculum.

Private schools wishing to teach religion, like the six orthodox Jewish schools, are not necessarily unwilling to teach the required courses. But they have trouble finding enough time to cover both their religious instruction and the courses (like Ethics & Religious Culture) required by the state. The proposed solution was to allow these schools to open on Sunday, something currently forbidden under the law.

Calendar Changes for a Handful of Schools, Rob All Students of Protected Weekends & Holidays

The schools sent a follow-up letter to Courchesne, agreeing that they would begin to teach the full curriculum, as long as they were allowed to teach on Sundays. After two days of questioning in the National Assembly this week, Courchesne finally admitted that her proposed calendar alterations were created with the private religious schools in mind. But she staunchly held to her initial statement that counting school by hours and not days, would free up all the schools to offer enrichment activities that would address Quebec's drop-out problem. By changing the law, Courchesne says, she is "killing two birds with one stone."

The proposed calendar change has met with disapproval from teachers unions, school boards, and the PQ opposition.

Addressing Drop-Outs, or Copping Out?

While trying to negotiate with private schools so they can maintain both funding and the freedom to give religious instruction according to parents' wishes is to be commended, Courchesne did no one any favours by hiding the fact that these discussions influenced her plan to reform the school calendar. The public has seen no connection between the proposed changes and any benefits to students at risk of dropping out, and frankly most people feel keeping them in school on weekends would only make matters worse.

Sources:

"Un décret sur mesure pour les écoles juives" Robert Dutrisac (Le Devoir)

"Education minister defends change to school calendar" Kevin Dougherty (The Gazette)

"Nouveau calendrier scolaire - Les commissions scolaires en colère" Robert Dutrisac (Le Devoir)