Allyson Beauregard
At the beginning of August, the Western Quebec School Board included brochures with their annual school tax bills explaining the criteria for attending an English school in the province and encouraging parents and grandparents to maintain their eligibility to send their descendents to the English school system. “We want to remind the
Allyson Beauregard
At the beginning of August, the Western Quebec School Board included brochures with their annual school tax bills explaining the criteria for attending an English school in the province and encouraging parents and grandparents to maintain their eligibility to send their descendents to the English school system. “We want to remind the
community that there is a choice of school systems
in Quebec that offer a quality English-language education with the
opportunity to also learn French,” said James Shea, Chairman of the WQSB Council of Commissioners, who noted it is not a recruitment campaign for students. “The WQSB offers quality French as
a second language instruction and we want our community to be more aware of their options,” he added.
A student is eligible to attend the English school system if: they have at least one parent who is a Canadian citizen who received the majority of his/her primary education in English; if the child’s sibling received or is receiving the majority of his/her primary or secondary education in English; the child’s grandparent is a Canadian citizen and received the majority of his/her primary education in English and the child’s parent received his/her education in French in Quebec; one of the child’s parents is here
temporarily to work or study in Quebec; one of the child’s parents is a member of the Canadian Armed Forced temporarily posted in Quebec; or the child has a severe learning disability. “Many parents may have moved into the area and are not aware of their rights to choose the English school system,” added Shea.
According to Shea, the WQSB understands
and supports parents
who choose to send
their children to French schools despite being
eligible to attend
the English system.
“We understand their
decision, but are requesting that parents who are
eligible to maintain the right to send their descendents to the English school system sometime in the future maintain their eligibility. It’s not automatic, an application for eligibility is essential. In many cases, parents choose an elementary education in French and switch to English for secondary. We want them to ensure they maintain that right,” he added.
In the pamphlets, the WQSB also offered to help parents determine if their child is eligible to attend an English school or to help with registering them. For more information, contact Sabrina Crawford at 1-800-363-9111, extension 1155 or at admissions@wqsb.qc.ca.
