Intensive English arouses passions in a Lévis school, so much so that the Center de services scolaire des Navigateurs has put the governing board on notice, which opposed the management's proposal to no longer offer the program to all 6th graders.

• Read also: Teens, those misunderstood

The battle concerns the program of the Etoile school, in the Saint-Nicolas district. For the next school year, the management has proposed a change that would deprive some of the students of this program.

The Governing Board (CE), made up of parents and staff members, wanted instead to maintain the Intensive English program as it was and refused to endorse the new subject schedule.

This refusal was followed by a formal notice, which shocked the president of the works council, Alexandre Boucher, who submitted his resignation. He wonders what the point of such a body is if the Center de services scolaire can replace him each time a decision does not suit him.

Lack of teachers

“We are convinced that we were right to make the decision we made, and that the School Services Center was not entitled to take it in our place,” argues Caroline Labrecque, vice-president of the CE. . In the formal notice, of which Le Journal obtained a copy, the Center de services scolaire des Navigateurs (CSSDN) justifies its decision by a lack of resources.

The program requires 1.5 English teachers. The CSSDN indicates that it can only delegate one teacher.

“We assure you that the CSSDN is actively pursuing its recruitment efforts throughout the year, but it is important to note that the shortage affects even basic English needs,” we can read.

Unfair

The CE considers that the shortage has a broad back and believes that it is a refusal of the School Services Center to grant the resource, rather than a problem of availability.

Ms. Labrecque also points out that the revision came late, parents who wanted to enroll their children in another school so that they had access to the intensive English program did not have time to do so.

The EC even contacted the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, to intervene in the file. The letter remained unanswered.

The group hopes for a turnaround, since the school of the Star welcomes a new director. “I hope that the dialogue between the CSSDN and the new director will be different,” concludes Ms. Labrecque.

The School Service Center has indicated that it is unable to answer questions from the Journal at this time.