New Student Commissioners and an Op-Ed

There is something striking about this election campaign: For all of the focus on Quebec’s future, education and, most important, the students have not been front and centre in the way that they should be.

This should concern all of us.

We are all well aware it is within our education system that Quebec’s future workforce is trained, where young people discover their potential, where adults acquire new skills and where students develop the knowledge, confidence and resilience they need to thrive.

Yet, education too often enters our provincial political campaigns through debates about structures, language, legislation and regulation, rather than through the most important question: What are we doing to help students succeed?

Every September our students at the Lester B. Pearson School Board return to school, or to adult education classrooms and vocational centres, with excitement, anticipation and sometimes nerves. Educators welcome their students with the same fervour.

Behind that enthusiasm, however, are serious concerns:

• Will the teachers, support staff, professionals and school administrators have the support they need to do their jobs?
• Is mental health and well-being a sufficient consideration of the Education Ministry?
• Do educators have the time, training and resources to manage increasingly complex classrooms?
• Are our schools safe, inclusive environments where every student can belong?
• Does the curriculum prepare the students for this rapidly changing world?

These are a few of the realities educators confront every day.

The recent launch of the auditor general’s examination of the number of students requiring individualized education plans (IEP) in Quebec schools should reinforce the urgency of these questions.

When more students need additional support, we need stable, predictable funding and timely access to qualified support staff and professionals. We also need to trust those closest to students to determine how resources can best be used.

Student well-being and educational achievement cannot be separated. A student who does not feel safe, supported and included is not in the best position to learn.

The same principle applies to adult and vocational education. Quebec needs skilled workers in health care, construction, technology, early childhood education and countless other fields. These programs provide critical pathways into those careers.

Respecting the humanity and autonomy of an adult learner’s right to choose their language of this education and training should not have become a political football. But it has.

Language is a critical part of Quebec’s identity and future, and strengthening French-language learning matters. But educational policy should also recognize that a strong French-language education and a vibrant English-language public education system can coexist. Our goal should be to expand this opportunity.

Most important, we need to be partners in education, not adversaries.

School boards are not the opposition. Educators, school leaders, professionals, students and their families are not obstacles to government policy. We are partners who share the same fundamental objective: helping our students to succeed.

So, to our political leaders, we say this: Listen to our concerns. Place the students first.

Listen before decisions are made, not simply after they are announced.

Listen to the educators working in classrooms, the professionals supporting vulnerable students, the institutions training Quebec’s future workforce and the school board communities that understand local needs. Consultation should be a genuine partnership.

Do not use education to divide communities or score political points during an election campaign. Instead, work with us to strengthen it.

Political leaders have an opportunity to demonstrate that education is a shared responsibility and a long-term investment in Quebec.

Quebec will benefit from a serious, province-wide conversation about the future of education as some of the party leaders have promised — one that brings students, families educators, professionals and government together to address curriculum, funding, staffing, student services, inclusion, language learning, vocational training and educational pathways.

The measure of any education policy should be straightforward: Does it help students learn, grow and succeed?

When educational opportunities are limited, Quebec pays the price. When learners are given the tools to support flexibility and trust they need to succeed, all of Quebec benefits.

This should matter more than political positioning.

Our students are already in our classrooms. They are already preparing for their futures. And they are Quebec’s future.

Note: read the full op-ed in the Montreal Gazette by clicking here.