Provincial Coalition of Partners in Education

As you have doubtless read in the papers or heard on
television, school boards in the province are facing ma-
jor cutbacks in an attempt to balance their budgets.

Last September, these cutbacks resulted in the closing of
45 schools and the elimination of nearly 2000 teaching
positions across the province. In concrete terms, this means
more students in the classroom, few services for special
needs students, fewer resources for the schools, etc. In
other words, diminished quality of education.

The CSF appears to be the exception to the rule. The
francophone school board increased the number
of teaching positions and offered more library and
remedial teaching positions. This situation is, in
part, due to the facts that the CSF has repaid its
accumulated date, putting one million dollars back
into the budget, and new Ministry of Education funding
formulas favoured the CSF. We should also note the ex-
cellent work of the CSF and administration with respect
to funding during the past two years.

It is still too early to predict the impact of education budget
freezes on the CSF for this coming September. One thing
is certain, the CSF executive will also have to make some
difficult choices. While we must continue to make demands
to ensure that CSF priorities focus on the students, the
main issue continues to be lack of government funding.

This is why francophones must join with other partners in
education across the province to create a coalition. It's fairly
easy to see the advantages that such a coalition, consisting of
parents, teachers, support staff, school administrators, school
boards, and principles, would have if all of these partners
managed to speak with a single voice.

To help create this type of coalition, the FECB is sponsoring
an independent round table to develop a consensus around
the key issues that will guide the development of public edu-
cation in the years to come. This round table is composed
of Reverend Margaret Marquardt (chair), an Anglican
priest from Vancouver; Dr. John C. Moss, former director
general of the Qualicum School Board; George Watts,
president of the Nuu-chah-nulth band council; Kathy
Whittam, parent of a special needs student; and David
Chudnovsky, outgoing FECB president.

Now, more than ever, all of the organizations focused on public
education must unite their efforts to defend quality education
in British Columbia. Parents, teachers, support staff, school
administrators, directors general, and school board members
must work together to find common ground. Without a doubt,
each group will have to water down its expectations some-
what. At the end of the day, however, it will be the students
that benefit.
Pierre Blouin President
BC Francophone Teachers Association (FECB)

Francization for non-francophone parents

Francization workshops are available for non-francophone parents of students enrolled in the francophone
program. Much more than a simple French Second Language course, these workshops are designed to
provide a place for discussion and support for parents who want to encourage their children in the
francophone education system. Workshop leaders assist parents with grammar, vocabulary, and
pronunciation, and provide numerous opportunities to converse in French. The varied workshop
materials are often based on students’ activities and homework in an attempt to enable the
(no) parent to play an active role in the child's French-language education.

The twenty-hour (20) workshops are offered in any school to groups with at least

the toll-free numbers below. Contact Annie Buteau (1-866-335-0909) or

(2 _ six participants. Cost is $85 per person, and the Ministry of Education subsi-
\/\=— \, dizes a portion of this cost. Interested parents may enrol by calling one of
all |

INFO-PARENTS

Caroline Veillette (1-866-266-6613).

Annie Buteau

Coordinator, Family Francization and Literacy
Educacentre

Tel. (toll-free): 1-866-335-0909

Email: buteau@island.net