The labour shortage and the marked increase of young people on the job market have thrust the issue of work/school balance to the forefront of our concerns.
To provide information on this topic, Réseau réussite Montréal has produced an information sheet highlighting the key concepts necessary for working students to be successful at school.
This infographic coincides with the tabling of a bill to regulate and limit child labour, and we hope it will contribute to discussions on this topic.
Since Montreal has been especially hard hit by the health crisis, concerns and questions about the return to the classroom have been expressed.
To help disseminate relevant information about Montreal’s back-to-school situation, Réseau réussite Montréal has produced a number of various short videos in which education and health specialists answer various questions.
These videos were produced as part of the special back-to-school edition of Hooked on School Days, which runs until September 4 with the theme “Back to school. Together. For them.” Réseau réussite Montréal is pleased to have coordinated the Montreal edition of HSD for over 10 years.
We warmly thank the experts for their generosity.
Back to school with Despina Michakis, principal, Dunrae Gardens School
« Even though the school might look slightly different, we’re still here to help them learn. »
La rentrée selon Jennifer Ouellette, directrice de l’école primaire Montcalm
« On est toujours fébrile, on a vraiment hâte. Parce que une école vide, ce n’est pas une école. Ça prend des rires d’enfants, ça prend des cris d’enfants et ça nous manque beaucoup depuis le mois de mars. »
Back to school with Dre Marie-Joëlle-Bergeron, pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine
“I’m quite confident the health of children is not at stake when they are going back to school in September, and I’m quite sure it’s going to be a fun school entry even though it’s going to be a bit different.”
Back to school with Montreal regional director of public health Mylène Drouin
Back to school according to young people and their parents
La rentrée selon les jeunes et leurs parents
To highlight the very unusual return to school this fall, the Réseau québécoise pour la réussite éducative, of which Réseau réussite Montréal is a member, is today launching a special edition of Hooked on School Days with the slogan “Back to school. Together. For them.” The event will take place from August 17 to September 4.
Returning to school after the summer break is a key moment in young people’s lives. And while this year’s return to school is highly unusual, it still marks the beginning of a path of learning, challenges, socialization, and discovery for thousands of children, teens, and young adults.
In this unprecedented time, it is vital that adults come together with caring and goodwill to support them and get the new school year off to a good start.
This is their time. Let’s be there for them.
Voici les récents ajouts à notre dossier Web COVID-19 et réussite éducative, en date du 8 mai 2020.
Bonne lecture!
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Which is why the Réseau québécois pour la réussite éducative is today launching a province-wide movement called Employeurs engagés pour la réussite éducative, which aims to raise awareness and guide Québec employers in their role of helping students achieve educational success.
Among other resources, the movement’s website provides employers with information, tools, and tips to support their engagement toward educational success.
-> Visit the site. (French only)
-> Visit the Facebook page. (French only)
Vital engagement to reduce the risk of dropping out of school for a job
The engagement of employers is all the more important considering the current labour shortage, which can weaken students’ determination to stay in school.
Easy access to jobs that require little in terms of qualification can tempt young people to leave school for a full-time job. This situation not only slows the rise in graduation rates, it is also detrimental to the future of young people, because labour market forecasts indicate that the percentage of low-qualification jobs is likely to decline, in particular due to automation.
Young dropouts whose jobs are eliminated will thus have a hard time finding new jobs in a labour market where increasing levels of vocational training or CEGEP or university education are required.
Employers can help reduce this risk by encouraging students to stay in school; this in turn helps to reduce the considerable social and economic costs associated with dropping out for society as a whole.
Coordinated by
With the invaluable assistance of
The movement is supported by the regional consulting authorities.
Among the findings of an update to the costs of dropping out of school: a loss of productivity equivalent to $593 million.
This analysis was conducted as part of a new study on school perseverance and work/school balance during a period of labour shortages.
The updated data paint a picture of significant economic and social impacts for both the individual who drops out and society as a whole. They include:
Read the entire text (French only), on pages 39 to 47 of the study.
Commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and Réseau réussite Montréal, in partnership with the Regroupement des cégeps de Montréal.
Dropping out of school has significant consequences for both the individual and society.
Which makes the findings of this study all the more worrisome. Certain signs point to possible increases in the dropout rate and of unfinished CEGEP diplomas. The cause? Current economic conditions make it very easy to get a job requiring little or no qualifications.
But in the coming years, the number of low-skilled jobs will decline in favour of more highly qualified positions, meaning that young people who leave school or fail to complete later stages of their education will be in a weaker position. By neglecting their education to fill a low-skill job, they may lack the capacity to transition to a more highly qualified position if their job is later eliminated.
One way to encourage young people to graduate, which benefits all of society, is to foster the development of models that allow young people to have jobs while still focusing on their education.
It’s a fascinating read.
—
Read the study (French only)
Read the highlights (French only)
Greetings,
With summer vacation on our doorstep, some of you may be concerned about loss of academic achievements during the holidays.
Here’s a simple idea to prevent this from happening: read and play word games this summer! Support children in maintaining their skills and having fun while doing it by reading and telling stories around a campfire, making up songs during car trips, giving your grandchildren a journal in which they can paste photos and stories about their holidays, and creating fun and informal ways to integrate reading into their everyday lives.
Organizations can also help children maintain their skills through reading. For example:
To reduce educational gaps that may widen among children and teens over the summer (depending on their access to books), facilitate their access to books and literacy activities on diverse platforms and contexts during the summer holidays.
On behalf of the whole team at Réseau réussite Montréal, I wish you a summer filled with small pleasures in the company of those you love.
Andrée Mayer-Périard
Executive Director, Réseau réussite Montréal
Did you know that 43 percent of Montréal dropouts in 2014 were girls?
There is much concern about the academic success of boys – and with good reason. Many actions in this regard are starting to bear fruit, and the dropout rate among boys is declining. The dropout rate among girls is also declining, but more slowly. So the dropout rates for girls and boys are now separated by just a few percentage points.
The realities specific to boys are well known, but those of girls are much less well-documented. And though the dropout rate among girls and boys is now similar, the specific realities related to girls’ dropping out are rarely part of the public debate on this issue. Which is why Réseau réussite Montréal has been examining this issue for several years.
In this edition of the newsletter, we present a number of research findings that we hope will spark a conversation among you and your colleagues about how this issue affects your organization.
Enjoy.
Andrée Mayer-Périard
Executive Director, Réseau réussite Montréal
The habit of reading regularly is on the decline among 10–20-year-olds.
So how can we motivate them to read, understand their needs, and learn the best practices in this area. The Centre de transfert pour la réussite éducative du Québec (CTREQ) has produced an inventory of knowledge and the state of research on this issue and offers practical measures to encourage young people to discover or rediscover the pleasure of reading.
Document: Reading for pleasure: effective actions to motivate 10-20-year-olds
