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Hamilton Spectator
31-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Matheson humbled to receive Catholic Education Service Award
Catholic Education Week is from May 25 to June 1 and the Prince Albert Catholic School Division board celebrated the occasion by announcing the 2024-2025 Catholic Education Service Award winners. Current substitute teacher Collette Matheson was among two honourees selected. She was present at the Catholic School Division board of education meeting on Monday to receive the award from Chair Suzanne Stubbs. Matheson began her teaching career in Saskatoon. In 1987, she joined her husband Fred Matheson in Prince Albert and started her journey with the Prince Albert Catholic School Division. Over the years, she taught students from Grade 1 to Grade 12, with most of her career dedicated to Middle Years French Immersion at École Holy Cross School. Matheson was honoured to join the list of past inductees for the award. 'It is very humbling,' she said. 'It's been an honour to actually be recognised. I looked at the past recipients and they are such amazing people and so dedicated to Catholic education, so I feel very honoured to be in that group.' Matheson has been teaching for 41 years, 38 of which came with the Prince Albert Catholic School Division. She said the middle years students were great to teach. 'They're not quite sure who they are going to be, so it was great to be a witness to all of that and to have that faith background to get them through it (and) to be supportive,' Matheson said. 'I tried to be as compassionate as possible with them and you try to help as many as you can.' Initially Matheson worked as a high school teacher before teaching Grade 1 for a period. She left on maternity leave, and started teaching middle years when she came back. 'I stayed there and I just loved them,' she said. 'I love the energy of the group. I love that they were at a point in their life where they're really trying to figure things out.' She said the little things as a junior high French Immersion teacher warmed her heart. 'I was watching from up top at the school and one kid just looked around to see if anybody was watching,' she remembered. 'He was by himself and he just went into cartwheel, just to get that joy out. 'The energy was amazing, and yes, there were struggles and stuff, but I love the energy that they bring to it,' she added. 'They're so hard on themselves sometimes and they just turn out to be great adults. I've always been in awe of the students, I love the little moments.' Matheson said having a Catholic faith-based education was important because it allowed her to be her whole self. She began her career in the public system in Saskatoon. 'I ended up with the Catholic, and I didn't have to hide any part of my personality. or my spiritual self,' she said. 'Any of those parts could permeate into whatever it was teaching, and then I could always rely on that, too. 'When we went through some tough times with students, whether they be losses or divorce or whatever it may have been, it was nice to have that faith base. You have that prayer or you could offer them hope in that way. I like that faith foundation for that reason.' The students remain the most important part to Matheson. 'I love my students. I think that was the highlight of my career,' she said. Matheson retired seven years ago but kept getting contracts because she is a French Immersion Teacher and there was always a need. 'I've been back in the classroom for the last seven years and I'm finally just subbing this year, so it's kind of nice,' she said. 'I love the little moments with the students. I've had an amazing group of kids and I've had some wonderful staff beside me that were very focused on doing the best they could for the kids.' Matheson was one of two people to win Catholic Education Service Awards this year. The other was Vel Thompson is a 37 year employee of the school division who worked as an Administrative Assistant and is currently employed at the Education Centre. Thompson declined the chance to be interviewed about receiving the award. The Board of Education established the Catholic Education Service Award in 1998 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic education in Prince Albert. Both recipients have been nominated due to their significant contributions to Catholic Education, and their faith community. The board of education congradulated both award winners. 'Our Board is truly grateful to this year's recipients of the Prince Albert Catholic Service Awards,' Stubbs said in a press release. 'We are proud that Colette and Val call our school division and Catholic education community home. Their involvement in our schools, parishes, and greater Catholic community is exemplary, and we are blessed to have these individuals working with our staff and students.' The Prince Albert Catholic Division invites everyone to join in celebrating World Catholic Education Week as they strive to provide a supportive atmosphere that makes Catholic schools nurturing environment for students to thrive academically, spiritually and socially. The Board of Education thanked everyone for the submissions received. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LPSS reinstates Pre-K French Immersion program at Myrtle Place Elementary for upcoming school year
LAFAYETTE, La. () — After pushback over funding cuts by the , the Pre-K French Immersion program at Myrtle Place Elementary is officially making a comeback for the 2025-2026 academic school year. Parents Blair Broussard and Cara Acomb, and LPSS school board member Roddy Bergeron, say the Pre-K French Immersion is needed for the community and culture. 'When it was announced in January that the Pre-K Immersion Program would be cut from Myrtle Place, we wanted to make our voices heard about that and have our concerns be taken into consideration about this decision,' said Broussard. This comes after LPSS cut funding for the Pre-K French immersion at Myrtle Elementary School in January. After LPSS made budget cuts on the program, a local group of about 80 individuals have been advocating to save the program. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now LPSS works to save Pre-K French Immersion Program at Myrtle Elementary Acomb says the program is a great resource and provides a headstart for children who want to be fully exposed to the language. 'Both of my daughters are in the program, and they will every once in a while, switch to French,' said Acomb. 'I'm wondering what they are saying back there, but they both speak it so fluently, and it's just a great tool,' said Acomb. After hearing many concerns from parents, LPSS announced they have since reconsidered their plans to cut the program. In a letter sent to parents in April, it states the program would be resuming applications for the upcoming school year. Roddy Bergeron, a LPSS Board Member, says officials are working to preserve the program throughout the years. 'There's some potential through funding, there is community partners out there, it's still the state legislature, they have some purse strings too that we can pull on and see if there's any funding for us, we're going to find every avenue we can to help preserve the program,' said Bergeron. Broussard says she is grateful she and other parents' concerns were taken into consideration. 'There will be Pre-K in the fall happening,' said Broussard. 'It is so important that all of these stakeholders have worked together to make this possible, this is the next chapter for Pre-K and French Immersion and really all world language immersion that LPSS offers.' There are limited spots available for Pre-K students who want to pursue the French immersion program. The program is being run on a tuition contract. The tuition rate is $603 per month for 9 months from September to May. If you are interested in applying for this program, here are the next steps: Complete an online application at for the Program Choice of 'Lafayette Parish School System Pre-K Program.' If you have already completed a Lafayette Parish School System Application at our Early Childhood placement team will be contacting you via our online application system regarding this new placement opportunity. You will receive a notification when the information is sent. If you have not already done so, complete a Lafayette Parish School System Application at Democratic Rep. McIver charged with assault after skirmish at ICE center, New Jersey prosecutor says LPSS reinstates Pre-K French Immersion program at Myrtle Place Elementary for upcoming school year Freedom Caucus chair predicts 'big beautiful bill' lacks support to pass this week 107-year-old man receives Iowa high school diploma 93 years later 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams reveals same cancer diagnosis as Biden, says he has months to live Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ottawa school board passes sweeping changes
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees voted 9 to 3 to approve French immersion and English in most schools. As the CBC's Natalia Goodwin reports, alternative schools were not saved.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ottawa-Carleton board approves French immersion and English in most schools
Starting in September, all but a handful of schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will offer both English and French immersion streams, and the board will begin slowly phasing out its alternative program. The English public board will also retire a long-standing program that allowed students to start French immersion in Grade 4, known as middle French immersion. Instead, all children leaving bilingual kindergarten will soon be allowed to take the English program or choose to start French immersion at the beginning of either Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3. Director of Education Pino Buffone said streamlining four elementary school programs down to two was necessary, and a project the board has known it needed to tackle for more than a decade. The board wanted to resolve inequities by providing the same programs in all schools — and market itself as one of the only boards to offer French immersion so widely — but the organization was also spread thin, he said. "In essence, for every additional program that we offer, there are inefficiencies that are created from staffing through to transportation," Buffone told trustees at a meeting Tuesday night. Trustees approved this overhaul of elementary programs in a final 9 to 3 vote. It was the culmination of earlier debates and reports that began in April 2024 — and many of the most controversial proposals had been walked back in recent months. For instance, board staff had to rework maps of school catchment areas after thousands of parents wrote in and held protests in March. Then, more than three dozen special classes for children with complex needs were also maintained after families said their children would not be well supported in mainstream classrooms. Attempt to study alternative schools As the many rounds of reports and consultations led to changes, worries eased for many families. By the final board meeting, it was mainly those who held out hope of saving the alternative program who watched the final vote from the public gallery at the board office on Greenbank Road. Wearing purple T-shirts, they knew their own children would be able to complete the program over the coming years, but wanted future children to have the option. They had a champion in trustee Amanda Presley, who experienced the alternative program herself and has a child currently enrolled. Presley tried to amend the recommendations and get staff to produce a report by fall of 2027. "It does not entrench the alternative program forever, but it keeps the door open long enough for us to rigorously evaluate, consult, and design a future with all the facts and voices at the table," Presley pitched. "Don't throw away a good thing," agreed trustee Justine Bell, who asked colleagues to show the community they had heard the many stories of how children's lives were changed by a program that offers a different way of learning. Bell added her own story, saying that finding community in an alternative program changed her life when she was a struggling 14-year-old. The majority of trustees didn't agree to debate sending staff away to produce the report, however. Even Suzanne Nash, whose zone has three of the five alternative schools, said many of the tenets of the alternative program can now be found in all schools. Rather than showcase innovative forms of learning, alternative schools often serve children with needs that haven't been met in the mainstream system, and it takes a toll on educators, Nash said. "The alternative model, what was envisioned back in the 1980s, is not what is we see today," she said. For his part, Buffone laid out that staff had already done multiple studies over many years. Those have shown that students in the alternative program are chronically absent and don't earn the same number of high school credits as their peers after leaving the program, he said. Meanwhile, teachers have under-capacity classrooms and the board pays $1.2 million per year to transport students to the five alternative schools, he said. English-only schools In addition to Presley, trustees Nili Kaplan-Myrth and Lyra Evans voted against the elementary program review. Evans says in a city like Ottawa, French is in demand and lauded the board for being willing to dual track almost all schools. But both Evans and Kaplan-Myrth maintain that the board is failing students by leaving just five elementary schools English-only. Four of those are located in areas where families have lower incomes or are new Canadians. "To have gotten 95 per cent of the way there and said, 'We're going to not provide French education in certain schools, and the schools that we have picked are ones in low-income neighbourhoods,' really misses the equity mark in my eyes," Evans told other trustees. Kaplan-Myrth worried those schools will be slated for closure should the Ontario government lift its moratorium on closures and mergers. Buffone said staff aimed to dual track every school but knew it might fall slightly short. On the whole, however, he said he was pleased with the vote because the board could now move ahead. It comes during a month when PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been assigned by the Ontario government to investigate the OCDSB's finances and look into why it has been posting deficits for four years. "This decision will signal to our financial investigators that the board is looking at ongoing structural deficits," Buffone told CBC News. The following trustees voted in favour of the elementary program review: Suzanne Nash, Cathryne Milburn, Donna Dickson, Matthew Lee, Julia Fortey, Jennifer Jennekens, Justine Bell, Donna Blackburn and Lynn Scott.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
OCDSB votes to approve contentious elementary school program review
Ottawa's largest school board has approved a controversial overhaul of elementary schools Tuesday night, which includes a slate of changes to programs, grade structures, and boundaries. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Elementary Program Review will consolidate elementary school programming into Enhanced English and French Immersion, eliminate Middle French Immersion and close Alternative Schools. Approximately 1,500 more students than normal will be required to change schools in September 2026 due to the changes. 'This recommendation is the culmination on the enormous amount of work from our staff and the enormous amount of input and feedback of the entire OCDSB community across the city of Ottawa,' Trustee Lynn Scott said at the conclusion of Tuesday's special board meeting. The review passed nine votes to three, with trustees Amanda Presley, Nili Kaplan-Myrth and Lyra Evans voting against. The board launched the program review last spring, saying the goal was to offer programming in English and French at each school and to have 'community-based education' for students. The proposal had been met with months of debate after parents and trustees took issue with changes to school boundaries, cuts to specialized programs and the closing of alternative schools. Ultimately, OCDSB staff reversed some of the changes, including modifications to grade structures at some of its schools. Trustees also voted last week to maintain special education programs after 26 programs in the primary gifted program, the language learning disabilities program (primary and junior), and the learning disabilities semi-integrated program (junior and intermediate) were to be phased-out. Presley moved a motion Tuesday evening that would require staff to determine the viability of modifying the phase-out of alternative schools in a report to be presented to the board by the fall of 2027, but trustees voted it down after Director of Education Pino Buffone expressed concerns it would make the review unworkable for staff. Parents had protested the move to close alternative schools in recent weeks, with many saying the closure of alternative schools would negatively impact learning of special needs students if required to attend classes in a mainstream school. 'We know that students are not being met where they need to be in our mainstream classrooms,' Presley said. Kaplan-Myrth argued the review does not properly address disparities in the district, especially for students with special needs, racialized children, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. 'We have not found the best option for all students,' she said. 'I want on the record that we have let down these students.' The review will see changes to the grade structures at 18 schools and alterations to the boundaries at dozens of schools. Under the plan, the last cohort will enter Middle French Immersion in September 2026 and finish Grade 8 in 2021. Alternative schools will be phased out in 2035. The last cohort of Middle French Immersion students will enter Grade 4 in September 2026 and complete Grade 8 by the end of the 2030-31 school year. Students in Middle French Immersion will, in most cases, remain at their current school. The last cohort of Junior Kindergarten students starting in September 2025 will complete Grade 6 at the end of the 2032-33 school year, and Grade 8 in 2034-35. Staff say the four K-Grade 6 Alternative schools and one Grade 7-8 school will begin to transition to community schools in September 2026. With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle
