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EBS INFO-PARENTS Saini aout

Editorial

Par Marc Gignac

During the school year ending pretty
soon, we all witnessed the creation or a
corporation responsible to manage a
Francophone education system. The
corporation was implemented through a
Regulation of the provincial government
and will be responsible for the school
districts of a corridor from Chilliwack to
Greater Victoria. The Regulation refers to
this corporation as Francophone School
Authority but has been renamed “Conseil
scolaire francophone” following a
resolution passed by the first five
Directors nominated by the Minister of
Education.

A lot is expected from the School
Authority. Everyone expect a prompt
improvement on all aspects of the
Francophone education system. Looking
at school transport, promotion, pedagogical
resources, facilities, teachers support,
decision making structure, curriculum,
preschool services or Culture in the
classroom, we hope the Authority will bring
improvement to all and fast. Quite a
program!

We have good reasons to be optimistic
toward the future of Francophone
schooling. However, we must also be
realistic. The Authority will not be able to
answer everyone’s expectations if the
partners in education do not give their
support. Parents, teachers, administrators,
pupils and the community at large have all
an important role to play.

This mission must be achieved through
a joint effort and so, right now we must
concentrate our energy to elaborate and
achieve projects that will help in creating
partnerships locally and provincially. These
partnerships will have the specific purpose
to achieve the schools mission.

Among the possible projects, one already
has stood the test somewhere else and could

TO THE POINT...

Columbia : it is called an Educational
Project.

Whatis exactly an Educational Project?
In fact it is easy to understand. It is a
process through which a school defines its
base (mission, principles, goals...);

identifies its goals (tangible results) and

lays down _a planning that includes
evaluating activities. All the process is

made possible througha partnership Home/
School. The process permits to concentrate
all partners energy on the achievement of
tangible results and to coordinate their
interventions making them very effective.
Interventions in fields such as promotion,
recruiting, Culture in the classroom, to
name only few, have more chance of success.

This is areason why during nextyear the
Consortium composed of A.P.F.C.B.,
Conseil jeunesse francophone,
Educacentre, will concentrate their
interventions toward the creation of
educational projects in schools.

The Consortium has already worked on
it last year organizing training session in
Culture in the classroom and it will go on
next fall. In February 1997 a Forum will
follow. The theme will be “School and
Culture” and during this Forum participants
(parents, teachers, pupils, members of the
community) will have the opportunity to
elaborate together the structure of an
educational project for the Francophone
school of British Columbia.

Through such initiatives we will be able
to offer a quality of education to
Francophone children that will answer their
needs and particularly on the cultural and
linguistic levels.

Beautiful projects for next school year
and we hope that you will be there!!

To finish I would like to wish you all,
parents, teachers, administrators and pupils
a beautiful and sunny Summer hoping to

be adapted easily to the specific needs of find you all in good spirit for the beginning

the Francophone education system in British

of the next school year. &

PARENTS
IN COURT
ACROSS

CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Francophones parents of British
Columbia are not the only parents to
take proceedings against the
provincial government. Three other
provinces: Newfoundland, Prince
Edward Island and Alberta also do
not respect the rights of
Francophone parents to a quality of
education in French for their
children.

NEWFOUNDLAND

Early April this year, parents have
lodge a complaint called The Félix
case against Her Majesty the Queen.
Parents are asking for their right on
school governance for the five French
schools enrolling about 325 pupils. -
Newfoundland and Labrador is the
only province to date that does not
recognize the right of Francophone
parents to their school governance.

ALBERTA

After the Mahé case, everyone
thought that the province would not
go back to Court on the.subject of
school governance. This is not the
case! In Lethbridge, parents want
the right of management and control
oftheir French school. With the new
School Act in effect since 1993, the
parents have a role of Coordination
Council that transmits
recommendations to the
Anglophone school board. Parents
are unsatisfied with the process as
they still are accountable to the
school board when it comes to
management.

PEI

In Summerside, parents are asking
the government to respect their
rights. Parents think that the system
of transport between Summerside
and Evangeline is not in conformity
with the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms.