MONTREAL, Jan. 8, 2021 / CNW Telbec / – The Federation of Quebec Education Professionals (FPPE-CSQ) appreciates that the Minister of Education is concerned about the mental health and success of students primary and secondary. In his announcements today, Jean-François Roberge confirmed the importance of returning students to class from next week, both for their social development and for their learning. That said, the FPPE-CSQ regrets that no concrete solution, short or long term, has been announced to give more resources to professionals to meet the needs of students in terms of academic perseverance and mental health. .
While the public network is struggling to operationalize the means of attracting and retaining professional staff in schools, and while professional services are more essential and in demand than ever, the FPPE-CSQ is sorry to see the lack of structuring measures. announced by the Minister. Jean-François Roberge did not suggest any additional staff with expertise to deal with the long-term needs of vulnerable students. We see in the field that students’ anxiety continues to increase, both because of the impacts of the pandemic, by the lack of socialization and stimulating activities, the difficult choices of school and professional paths, the lack of motivation or learning delays. same school principals last November were worried about student motivation, with a failure rate of 30% in secondary, and called for significant changes.
At the FPPE-CSQ, we know that when we talk about a student’s educational success, it is a group of people who must collaborate in his entourage in order to support him. The key to success is in the cohesion of the network which surrounds the pupil in the field, a network which includes all the services, of which each worker is a part and which remains attached to school life. It is therefore difficult to understand why the Minister chose instead to announce the creation of a remote tutoring program offered by volunteers who will not be part of this network. Although the tutoring program can respond, in the immediate future, to certain challenges, support for vulnerable students must translate, in the medium and long term, into increased investment in complementary services. The interventions must be consistent with the school teams and the communities and the FPPE-CSQ doubts the capacities of the tutors to carry out more detailed follow-ups and foresees problems of accountability, skills or even management of these people. which will not contribute to the development of services in the school network. Questions remain unanswered: who will supervise the tutors, will they have clearly defined mandates, how will they be evaluated, will they be volunteers, how will the safety of the students be ensured?
The members of the FPPE-CSQ have long denounced their working conditions and the lack of resources in the field. With $ 13 million per month, the Quebec government spends on marketing campaigns, but today, instead of announcing a real investment in student mental health by adding psychology services and other psychosocial workers, it is announcing the launch of a mobile application. The FPPE-CSQ is extremely concerned about the outsourcing of professional services, but also about the evaluation of the effectiveness of this application, which is once again suspected of being very expensive. Has the content been developed by people in the school environment? Will it suit the needs of young people of all ages as well as students in general adult education and vocational training? Will the interventions be shared among all the members of the school team who surround the student on a daily basis?
So many questions that remain unanswered for the president of the FPPE-CSQ, Jacques Landry :
“We are aware that everything must be done to support students towards success. However, what Minister Roberge got today is a false good idea. None of these measures can replace an intervention plan, can not make a diagnosis, can not contribute to the multidisciplinary work of the members of the school teams to put in place strategies and carry out specific follow-ups. Too bad that, once again, Minister Roberge does not recognize the importance of our expertise, despite the crisis. We must not lose sight of the fact that there will also be a way out of the crisis to assume! »He protests.
Profile of the FPPE-CSQ
The Federation of Quebec Education Professionals (FPPE-CSQ) represents 19 unions with 10,000 members spread across almost all of Quebec’s French, English, Cree and Kativik school boards. It has among its members different categories of staff in the administrative and educational sectors and in direct services to students (among others, psychologists, psychoeducators and psychoeducators, speech therapists, guidance counselors, remedial teachers, etc.).
SOURCE Federation of Quebec Education Professionals (FPPE-CSQ)
For further information: Aline Patcheva, Communications Advisor (FPPE-CSQ), Cell: 514 608-7721, Email: [email protected]
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