It’s back to school for thousands of students at English-language school boards Monday.
Schools belonging to the English Montreal, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and New Frontiers School Boards reopen Aug. 31, while Lester B. Pearson schools will welcome students Tuesday.
And while unions had been promising a raucous fall protesting budget cuts and the Liberals' austerity measures, there was no money talk Monday. Instead, the focus was on students and their parents and surviving the first day back at school.
But the protests won't be on hold for long -- teachers, parents and students will form a human chain around Willingdon Elementary School in NDG Tuesday morning, as they did in June, to protest the cuts.
There will be about 150 similar protests across the province Tuesday to protest increases in class sizes, and the removal provisions that ensure services for special needs students. Teachers say they plan to work to rule this fall, possibly not offering certain after school activities.
Parents’ committees, teachers’ union and support workers gathered Sunday to demand that the Quebec government invest more resources into education.
Meanwhile, parents whose children were turned away from Lambert-Closse elementary in the Mile End last week protested the school’s decision Monday morning.
Eighteen students from Lambert-Closse, which is part of the French Commission scolaire de Montreal (CSDM), were told last Thursday they couldn’t attend the school because there was no room for them. So far, five of the 17 have been confirmed to be back in the school.
Montreal and Longueuil police say they will be present in areas around schools this week to make sure motorists respect the 30 km/h speed limit in school zones.
