(January 28, 2021 – Montreal) The English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA)is outraged that English students are not being considered in the government’s plan for new tutoring services.

EPCA welcomed the announcement by Education Minister Jean-François Roberge concerning new investments in tutoring for the Quebec student population in this difficult period. This included provisions for new services and platforms organized and offered through school service centres and school boards.

This may be good news, but only for part of the population. There is also significant funding announced for existing services such as Alloprof, which offer quality services to its clientele, but does not offer the services required by Quebec's English student population.

The province’s sole government-funded tutoring resource, LEARN-Québec, has not been included in any similar funding announcement.

“This is most troubling, especially given the fact that LEARN has increased its registrations by more than 200 percent since March 2020,” says EPCA president Katherine Korakakis. “It has reached a breaking point, and they have had to shut down registration for elementary school services just weeks before the next report cards are due, when we expect a significant spike in demand. LEARN is continuing with registrations for high school students, but it can currently take up to four weeks to get a tutor.

This is wholly unacceptable.”

It seems that the English community’s needs are an afterthought, and EPCA is awaiting a correction to this clear oversight of the need to support Quebec’s English-speaking youth.

“It is intolerable that during the most vulnerable era in recent history for Quebec students, these needs have been neglected” says Korakakis. “EPCA insists that anglophone students be given equal consideration, and without delay. We expect, and will accept, nothing less.”

Québec, January 8, 2021 - The English Parents’ Committee Association acknowledges the announcements made by Education Minister Jean-François Roberge today regarding the return to school, along with numerous new support and hygiene measures.

Measures to reduce the weighting of the first report cards will give them less prominence in the students’ overall annual academic record. As it is generally expected that there will be large numbers of report cards reflecting academic difficulties with many students this year, the announced delay and weighting adjustment are worthwhile measures, albeit no panacea, nor much more than cosmetic.

What Quebec parents are clearly asking for is specific information on their children's progress, or lack thereof. A simple number along with possibly vague and standardized, repetitive comments will no longer suffice, particularly during this unprecedented period.

Our children are experiencing exceptional difficulties, and it is imperative that parents have a precise and global portrait of their children's academic accomplishments and challenges, to help them move forward in this difficult year. Parents need to know where their children are at in terms of learning, and it is time for their report cards to reflect that, an initiative that should be implemented and maintained moving forward.

The announcement of a tutoring regime is welcomed, and we expect that this responsibility – handed to the school boards – will be fulfilled rapidly and effectively. We also laud the development of a mobile app to assist students with psychosocial support, an established and increasingly alarming concern.

These measures and initiatives are only effective insofar as they are accessible to, and welcomed by, our children. The rollout of any such tools must be done simultaneously in English and French. On several occasions over the last year, anglophone students have had to wait for equivalent consideration. As EPCA clearly communicated to the Education Ministry today, such a two-tier system will no longer be acceptable. Our children are worthy of identical consideration as others, and we expect this reality to be acknowledged. This is non-negotiable.

Since the earliest days of the pandemic and hygiene measures in schools, we have also made clear our position favoring masks for all. The announcement that students in Grades 5 and 6 will be required to wear masks is a positive one, but we question why they will not be required to wear three-ply procedural masks. Nor do we understand why they will not be supplied with two such masks per day as will be secondary students. This should be addressed in time for elementary students’ return on January 11.

Membres MOISSON (19) au 22.09.20

As you know, the 2020-2021 school year began under unique circumstances, and it continues to present a variety of challenges for both school staff and students. Adjustments have been made to the requirements for the evaluation of learning that normally apply so that attention can be focused on supporting students in their learning. In this document, you will find information on the modifications that have been made to the report card.

Report cards and communication with parents

The number of report cards you will receive during the 2020-2021 school year has been reduced from three to two in order to allow more time for remedial activities and additional learning.

The report card that you would normally receive on November 20 will not be issued this year, on an exceptional basis. You will, however, receive two full report cards. They will provide you with all the information you need to support your child throughout the year, if required. To assist you in this regard, the usual parent-teacher meetings will take place, whether in person, virtually or by phone. The first written communication will still be provided, but schools have until November 20 to issue it.

In preschool

If your child attends preschool, the teacher will assess their overall development based on observations made throughout each term. This assessment will be communicated to you in the two report cards, which will include a grade explained by a legend.

If your child attends full-time kindergarten for 4-year-olds, the teacher will determine the methods by which to communicate with you about your child’s development.

In elementary and secondary school

If your child attends elementary or secondary school, their teachers will send you two full report cards: marks will be provided for each of the subjects and competencies indicated. For example, marks for English Language Arts will be presented in the first term report card as follows.

Questions ? and answers 

?? Will the changes to the report card affect my child’s admission to CEGEP?
✅ No. CEGEPs will be able to access all the necessary data. The first report card, issued in January, will be complete: all the subjects and competencies listed will have been evaluated. This report will count for 50% of the school year.

?? My child is enrolled in distance learning for medical reasons and must complete a workplace internship. How will my child’s learning be evaluated?
✅ The internship that your child is required to undertake is essential for successfully completing their program of study. Their success in the program depends largely on demonstrating work-related competencies based on practical training. If your child has medical reasons that do not currently allow them to undertake an internship, the practical component of their training can be suspended temporarily. The educational institution can adjust your child’s schedule to allow them to complete the practical component later. Once your child is back at school, they can complete their internship or training in the workplace in order to obtain their certificate.

??My child is enrolled in distance learning for medical reasons. How will their learning be evaluated and what will the report card look like?
✅ The results on every student’s report card are based on evaluation methods and tools that their teachers feel are appropriate. Your child will receive the same type of report card as students who attend school in person.

?? My child’s learning is normally assigned a letter grade (A, B, C or D) in their report card, based on the expectations set for them. Do the changes to the report card apply in this case?
✅ The changes related to the number of terms and the first written communication apply. The other changes do not apply. Therefore, your child’s learning will be graded in the usual way (numbers or letters) based on the expectations set for them. The report card will not include subject marks or group averages, and the usual value assigned to each term to calculate the student’s final mark does not apply. Like all children with an individualized education plan that modifies learning expectations, your child is not required to write ministerial exams.

For More Information:
http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/en/home/