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Applauding Parents On Councils And Service Centre Boards

The English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA) and the Quebec Federation of Parents’ Committees (FCPQ) congratulate all parent commissioners who have been elected to their English board council positions, and all parent representatives who have been elected to their respective school service centre boards of directors.

“Parents have spoken. Quebec parents have stood and been counted,” says EPCA President Katherine Korakakis.

With elections held across the province, and voted in by their peers, parents have reason to celebrate. “Their voices have never been stronger, more united or more crucial to governance of our school network,” says Korakakis. “Parents who have worked in their schools as volunteers and in leadership roles, will lend their expertise, energies and independent voices honed over years at different levels of governance.”

“Hats off to the parents of students who have decided to take up the challenge of serving on the network’s first boards of directors” says FCPQ President Kévin Roy. “A special thank you to the parents who are taking up the positions of chair and vice-chair of the boards of directors and whose leadership will guide these new bodies. Parents have taken their place and responded present!”

Parent governance is a core value at the heart of Quebec’s education system, and reflected in the elected parent positions on councils, boards, parent committees, special needs advisory committees and more. From governing boards and parent committees to councils, service centres, and in all interactions with the Ministry of Education, parents are looked to for their credible voices at all tables and applauded for their commitment to community.

“Parents with hours and hours of volunteer work accumulated in their schools, as well as parents with wide variety of expertise who are newly engaged in school bodies will work side-by-side with the interests of students at heart,” says Roy, adding that former parent commissioners are bringing their experience to new directors, committee chairs are passing their torch to the next generation and presiding over school service centres, and parents involved in special needs advisory committees are ensuring that these students’ voices are heard.

English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA)
The English Parents' Committee Association represents eight Quebec English-language school boards and is the official voice of Quebec’s English public school parent community, representing almost 100,000 students.

Quebec Federation of Parents’ Committees (FCPQ)
For more than 45 years, the FCPQ has been bringing together Quebec’s parent committees and supporting parents who are concerned about parental involvement in public primary and secondary schools to ensure the quality of education offered to children.

Minister Of Education Declares Three Days On The School Calendar As ‘Planning Days’ For Teachers

Dear parents,

As you may have heard, the Minister of Education has declared that three days on the school calendar this year will be designated as ‘planning days’ for teachers.

This is a significant announcement, and the English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA) is applauding this move to ensure teacher training, particularly in online learning, which has become a key concern of parents and stakeholders since the beginning of the pandemic.

Each school board will determine which three days in their school calendar work best for them, but we feel that the days devoted to professional training is good news for our children, as is the announcement of daycare considerations. If your child cannot stay home alone and must attend daycare during these planning days, they can, and the government will cover the costs. Parents do not have to pay for it.

The training is expected to help teachers – the central resources in the entire educational system – to perfect their skills and help equip them to make the swift transition to online learning in the event of another round of complete school closures. This is a solid investment in our system and in our students, helping bridge the gap between teachers and their abilities to teach online, to maintain the continuity of our children's education.

Teachers are the key, and it is imperative that these three days are offered to them so that they can get the support and training they require to support our children, without parents having to scramble for childcare options.

The English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA) will continue to faithfully represent parent interests as the official voice of parents in the English public school system, bring that unwavering commitment to all representations with all levels of government and our educational partners.

Stay safe, and we wish you and your children continued success in the school year.

Sincerely,

Katherine Korakakis,
President

Considerations for the proposed Bill 144

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September 7, 2017

The English Parents Committee Association (EPCA) is conscious that Bill 144 is outside the realm of its mandate but is also aware that some parents who home school their children do so because they have left the public school system for a variety of reasons.
Society needs to respect the decision of some parents to home school their children. Parental choice is a core value of English parents in Quebec: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children” (article 26 (3) from the United Nations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

EPCA is a strong proponent of data-driven decision making and it supports efforts to register home schooled children. Registration should also bring value added benefit to the registrants and home schooled children. This could include an online repository of resources of teaching materials that reflect the Quebec Education Plan (QEP), available to home schooling parents. This is particularly important for English speaking minority in Quebec that has a wide array of outside resources available but may not necessarily reflect the QEP.

EPCA encourages MEES to seek input from these parents, the primary stakeholders; parents who have chosen to home school as they understand their children best. The home schooling associations should be recognized and funded, to facilitate them with dissemination of resources that would assist parents to best integrate home schooling of their children with the QEP. Some level of flexibility is needed so as to adjust to the specific needs of each family and not have them fall into a “one size fits all” solution. EPCA would also like to ensure that legislation be enacted without incurring growth in bureaucracy and limiting potential litigation costs. Monies spent on education in Quebec must impact students first, including home schooled students, and not reduce educational services currently offered in our public schools.
It is the parents’ wish that MEES continues to assist in developing projects and new policy initiatives that will have Quebec’s students’ best interests at heart, that will help foster better student engagement by harnessing different learning styles and enhancing and valuing the teaching profession.

For more information, kindly communicate with EPCA President: Mrs. Rhonda Boucher by telephone at 514-778-3722 or by email at president@epcaquebec.org

Education to become a ‘national priority’ as Quebec plans to increase spending, premier says

Unlike his predecessors, Quebec’s new education minister, Sébastien Proulx, will have money to spend in the system.

Source: montrealgazette.com

West Island schools have their say in Quebec City

Administrators of the school board that covers the West Island and off-island suburbs west of Montreal are speaking Wednesday at the National Assembly.

Source: montreal.ctvnews.ca

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