TOUR OF THE CENTURY In March, April, and May 1999 many partners took part to this tour. Associa- tions of School Parents, Directors, Teachers Representatives, pre-schools, delegates, etc. The Fédération des par- ents francophones (Federation of Francophone Parents) and the Conseil scolaire francophone (Francophone School Board) actively participated in this process. PARTNERSHIPS As part of the Année de la francophonie canadienne (Year of the Canadian Francophone World), grants were given by Heritage Canada for specific projects to better know Francophone organisations to the com- munity as a whole. The FPFCB and Visions Ouest Produc- tions (The Quebec appointments, work- shops, school mornings) presented to- gether a two-fold project: on the one hand a gathering of parents in Febru- ary 2000, in order to both emphasize EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (CONTINUED) This role and mandate cannot be as- sumed by the CSF. The latter, as it is accountable to the Ministry of Education, cannot put out demands that are neces- sary to receive adequate funding, for in- stance. Or, in case a decision made by the CSF goes against the interest of Francophone parents it is up to the FPFCB to play the role of watchdog. Partnership is indeed good and neces- sary but, in order to be able to fully as- sume that role one must, as a partner, as- sume fully, be well prepared, trained, have the necessary information, and a constant support. That support must come from a group that has, as its prior- ity, the promotion of its members’ inter- ests. It is the reason for interests groups to exist; and they exist because their mem- bers have understood that if they wanted their interests to be a priority they should form a group and promote it. Legal Case Close to a year after Mr. Justice Vicker’s judgment in the case between B.C. Fran- cophone parents and the provincial government the Education Minister finally developed a discussion paper containing More than 250 people were polled to find out what models of participation parents were following. The tour re- vealed the great need for training in order to interpret the document pre- senting the model. In conclusion the partners strongly en- dorse the ad hoc committee's initia- tive, and the consulting tour indicated the. interest of all partners to the this @eeeeeed the 20 anniversary of the FPFCB, and recognize the fantastic work ac- complished by Francophone parents in Education, and the presentation of a show for the public (Richard Desjardins, feb.24) including a film, Astérix and Obélix contre César, and workshops on the cinema, dur- ing the Wood Festival in Maillardville on the other. To follow... Does the return of speaking French at home interest you? The program dedicated to French at home is continuing in January 2000. a proposition for a mediation model in order to resolve the conflict that could arise between the Francophone School Board and the Anglophone School Districts during negotiation of a sharing of services for rooms, school transportation, or other. We know that the CSF is being taken advantage of by several districts, which send exaggerated bills for ser- vices rendered and for their adminis- tration or they demand compensation for loss of revenues incurred because they are not receiving additional fi- nancing anymore, which was given to them for the Francophone program! Negotiations will thus take place with representatives of the Education Min- istry during the next few months. What the Federation wants is a model of conflict resolution that is efficient, fair; a refereeing style rather than mediation. More details — as they materialise. Francophone School Administration As you know, the Francophone School Board has declared a $1.3 million deficit for the fiscal year end- ing June 30, 1999. The B.C. School Act does not allow for deficit budgets for School Boards. A special team from the Education Minister will visit INFO-PARENTS COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE Ee NOVEMBRE 1999 eee ©¢@ @ Pe See eeeew#eeertceott#etpewenetet #+eeetetéeerettpe7°ote?+ttete6tete#eteeeteertke#tt + ENGLISH SECT A model of parents’ par- ticipation in the decision making process of the Francophone School Board. This school year wants to be a year of experimentation and of imple- mentation of this model among all part- ners. Willingness is there but the speed will vary from one program to the other. It is the unique truth eeeeeeeaeseeseeoenaeoeoeeooeoeeoeoeeoeaneoneoeoeee eee e@ EDUCACENTRE, the B.C. educational service for adult training (in French) will offer a service to help families who enrol their children in a Francophone school, and whose parents are exogamous (one parent is Francophone, the other is Anglophone). With courses or workshops, parents can improve their linguistic and cultural competence through lessons and activities in their children’s classes. This program of French in the Family is thanks to a partnership between FPFCB and Educacentre. SECHELT The local Association of Parents of Sechelt presented, during a training session given by Marc Gignac and Francoise Jomphe (as part of a provincial training tour started early October), a parents collective. Parents gave themselves a partnership structure that joins the resources in place internally (Executive committee and par- ents. Committees are defined so : 2 3 4 5. 6. cf 8 9. 1 Cultural Activities Coordination CSF Communication — mediation — aid Suggestions — wishes Soup — Food Secretary — writing — translation Language Liaison — Secondary School Treasury — Financing 0. Security the offices of the CSF in order to analyse the situation and make the necessary adjustments. It is not the kind of situa- tion a school board likes to find itself. (continued page 12)