INFO-PARENTS COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE OLY

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Daniel LeScieller, president

. pring is here with its colours
and scents. And for us parents,
to whom education in French
means a lot, it’s also a little like spring.

Like the springtime colours and scents,
the Conseil scolaire is starting to show
signs of budding. It has taken root, it is
strenghtening its structure, streading its
limbs andwe cannowhopeto see schools
sprouting up across the province.

| would like to salute all those from the
CSF, our elected «trustees» and
delegates, administrators and support
staff, as well as teaching staff, in
recognition of the work that has been
accomplished up to now. Going beyond
the bounds oftheir «legal» responsibilies
in order to give our children a quality
education is very commendable in that it
helps build the foundation for the
development of ourcommunity.

| wish also, once again, to salute and
thank wholeheartedly, the parents who
are on the frontlines, with their relentless
pens and endless energy, as well as
those who are always there when called
upon for support. Their exemplary
hardheadedness has taken us over
numerous steeplels on the way.

| know there are some who will say that,
with the CSF in place, there is no more
need forthe parent, thathe can gohome....
Nothing is farther from the truth!

We should not forget that it was the
parents who made education in French
possible in BC. Therole thatwe are yetto
be called upon to play is of the utmost
importance, because itis ourresponsibility
to make sure that our children receive the
quality education to which they are entitled
in order to blossom as canadian citizens.

Controlandmanagement, by the parents,
of the essential aspects of education ina
linguistic minority situation is given to
them by article 23 of the Canadian charter of
rights and freedom. The Supreme Courts of
both Canada and BC have confirmed this
rightin no uncertain terms. Itis basically just
short of amandate that we have.

In cunjunction with the CSF, we will find
and formalize our place in the decision-
making process which will permit direct
input from the parents at the school level
to the CSF, as well as ensure that we
participate as apartnerin the Projeteducatif
at the school.

Projet éducatif ! The new rallying cry.
Theword «dujour» Itmeans everything...
and at the same time can mean nothing
at all, if the concept is not understood.
First, ita continuous process, which has
a beginning... but of which we will never
see the end, because it is continuous.
Education is alife-longaffaire, itisleaming
how to learn, learning how to live and it
mustnever stop. The identity we wish to
give our youths and ourselves, and of
which wewill be proud, is built little by little.

Allthose who make up society, teachers,
parents, administrators, the youths
themselves naturally, the community and
all its components, together we must
concentrate our forces in interventions
around the student which are pertinent
and coherent with the values, the vision
and the mission of the school. Certainly
the Projet éducatif is at the top of the
priority list for the Association in the
months to come.

At the national level also, there is a
pancanadian Projet éducatif, initiated by
the Commission nationale de parents
francophones (CNPF). Itis the regrouping
ofnational organizations in the education
field. The goal of this regrouping is to
concentrate the interventions at the
different govemmental offices to sensitize,
inform and put pressure on them in order
to obtain betterand more equitable federal
funding for the provinces and territories
where francophones are in a minority
situation.

Anotherpriority, butthatwe donotchoose
with glee, is the court action. The trial
should resolve the problems concerming
first the extention of the territorial
jurisdiction of the CSF to the whole of the
province and second, the transfer of
establishments and school ressources
to the CSF. Itis scheduled for this 15th of
April. As it stands now, close to half the
registered students in the francophone
programs cannotenjoy the benefits ofthe
supportorthe ressources of the CSF (the
territorial juridiction of the CSF is limited
to the area from Chilliwack to Sooke); the
government still refuses to bring about
the needed changes to this situation
which creates a two-tiered education for
francophones. As for the school
establishments, the government still
refuses to transfer at the very least the 4
stand-alone schools within the territory
to the CSF, thus forcing it to spend
money to purchase establishments that
have already been paid for, which is no
more no less than robbery.. let’s not
mince words.

Atthe last hour, we have just learned that
the governmentis extending, by regulation
(Order in Council), the jurisdiction of the
CSF to eight more «school districts». This
regulation takes effect on the 1st of July
1998. Wewill have to waittill the 1st of July
1999 for the rest of the province.

Itis goodnews, and certainly we shouldbe
happy. Nonetheless, we must point out
that this regulation does not, on the one
hand, advance ourcase very much, andon
the other hand, actually hinders us more
than anything because the a good part of
the work that this court action has forced
us to do has now been rendered useless
by this regulation.

It seems, sadly enough, that the
government is using this tactic (to
announce, on the eve ofatrial, aregulation
that, in fact, falls short, once again, of
respecting its legal obligations) with the
intent of stalling the court action and
invalidating the work already done in the
hope, | can only suppose, of seeing us
sqander our energy or our finances.

If | have one message, it is that there is
absolutely no way that we will abandon,
whatwe have given ourselves as our goal,
which is no more no less than full and
complete management of the education
system in French for francophones, in
other words, the respect of our
constitutional rights.

On a lighter note, there is change at the
Association!... but which will not alter our
way of doing business. The corporate
structure will soon be one ofa Federation,
meaning that the members will be groups
of parents rather than individual
parents. For a few years now, the
Association had been dealing dealings
with the parentcommittees. Soitwas time
to formalize this way of doing things. In
order to be a member of the Fédération
des parents francophones de
Colombie-Britannique (FPFCB) the
parent groupswillhave to be incorporated,
which by the way will be beneficial to them.

In ending, | wouldlike to share with you my
dearest wish: that we parents continue to
promote education in French, that we get
involved in the school life, be ita little ora
lot (every bit helps), that we participate in
school and social activities, and mostly,
by showing the example, that we
communicate to our children the taste of
not only preserving, but enriching our
language and our culture.

Daniel Le Scieller