Special needs: two school boards, two visions

When it comes to the integration of students with special needs and behavioural difficulties in the West Island, the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) and Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSMB) represent two different management philosophies.

LBPSB prefers to approach the issue by making collective decisions for all 12 of its high schools while MBSB favours giving its 12 high schools enough autonomy to develop their own integration model.

In recent years, the integration of students with special needs and behavioural difficulties has become an increasingly important issue for school boards. The last study conducted by Statistics Canada revealed 20,000 Quebecers between the ages of four and 15-years-old have special needs; in the West Island, children entering the school system with cognitive difficulties reaches up to 30.6 per cent in Pierrefonds-Central South – the Montreal average is 16.9 per cent according to the West Island Health and Social Services Centre.

As a result, both LBPSB and MBSB are in the process of rebuilding their integration models.

Pearson chairman Marcus Tabachnick hopes by Dec. 15 a study on integration as well as the future of French-emersion schools and magnet schools (specialization schools) conducted by a committee of commissioners, parents, teachers, unions and administrative representatives will shed light on how to face the school board’s new reality.

“Things have changed,” said Tabachnick. “Some of our (integration) policies date back 20 years ago from old school boards. (Integration) is a policy the community has asked for and we’ve been hearing concerns for the past 10 years.”

However, the publication of the study is only one of many steps the school board must take before implementing new policies. According to Tabachnick, the education act demands a consultation process with the Pearson community must take place 15 to 16 months later depending on issues raised. The school board also reserves the right to conduct further studies.

Under the current integration model, LBPSB integrates approximately 95 per cent of its students with special needs and behavioural difficulties, according to Tabachnick. However, such a high level integration has its downsides.

LBPSB teachers feel they are not given the necessary resources to offer their students a fighting chance, remarked Pearson Teachers Union president John Donnelly.

“Big size (classrooms) are fine but with special needs students (and students with behavioural difficulties), it presents new challenges,” he said.

In theory, the present integration model requires teachers to give students with special needs and behavioural difficulties individual support. However, “the teacher’s attention is always scattered, that even students (without difficulties) suffer because of a lack of attention,” said Donnelly.

CSMB, meanwhile, wants to improve its participation rate to 85 per cent over the next 10 years. Presently, high schools are experimenting with new integration models under school board supervision.

“We’re not up to the results we want, we would like have new policies within two to three years, but this will take time,” said Marguerite-Bourgeoys president Dianne Lamarche-Venne. “(CSMB) is different than other school boards, we wanted the decisions (affecting students) closer to the action…We’re supporting (experimental integration models) by monitoring.”

Similarly to the Pearson Teachers Union point of view, CSMB’s union the Syndicat de l’Enseignement de l’Ouest de Montreal (SEOM) states more resources would help in the integration process. Currently, the integration model is under funded and needs more experts to accommodate the high number of students with special needs and behavioural difficulties.

“What happens now is our experts have to choose between seeing one student or another, or see them at reduced hours,” said Andrée Aubut, president of the SEOM. “Our classrooms have the highest amount of special needs students as possible. Full integration is not the answer, some students have specific needs and must have special classes to help them.”