Mess at Saint-Laurent School | “This school should be under surveillance”

There are no lockers, the cafeteria was closed last week, and youngsters are missing school time because teachers are not given proper timetables, just like students.

Louis Leduc
Pres

“It’s a mess,” according to a teacher at Saint-Laurent High School, a Montreal institution already marred by allegations of sexual assault against a manager and two basketball coaches.

“This school should have been under security for six months,” sums up a confident employee Pres.

Because the tables are wrong, there are more than 50 young people in a room designed to accommodate 25 students. “Excessive” teenagers sometimes stood at the back of the class before being moved to other rooms. Supervisors were called for reinforcement in the absence of teachers who did not have a proper schedule or refused to work under such conditions.

No canteen

As the cafeteria was not open last week – a last-minute tip-off – staff went to supermarkets to buy food for students who normally eat free meals because their parents are away. They don’t count students walking around with bags of books, lunches and gym clothes — which are generally prohibited for safety reasons — because they don’t have records.

“Many members challenged us,” explains David Hamel, interim president of the West Montreal Teachers Union.

From 3^e At the second level, David Hamel continues, teachers typically have no more than 32 students at a time. Last week, he confirmed that due to confusion, groups sometimes exceeded 50 students.

Refusal to teach is not a directive, but the union has advised teachers to promptly report the issue to managers if such rates are breached.

Right hand departure of the director

According to various people interviewed, the confusion stems particularly from the hasty exit of Daniel Lagasse. Coach of the basketball team. The accused molester (like the two coaches) oversaw the students’ and teachers’ small weekly schedules, cafeterias, and everyone’s assignments. He was actually the headmaster’s right-hand man and in charge of the administration of the school.

Annick Lartigau, president of the Saint-Laurent School Management Committee, explains that the absence of Daniel Lagasse, who was at the heart of all school management, is very felt from a strictly administrative point of view. Having more control over one’s school can seem invaluable when things are going well, but when they’re gone and knowledge transfer isn’t happening, it’s more complicated.

Mr. Lagasse found himself in court, the schedules of students and teachers handed over to computer programmers, according to which Mr.^me Larthika knows. “Computer programming has its limits” and the programmers seem to lack all the nuances of the school (which is, among other things, divided into two buildings between which teachers can be invited to move).

Schedules are given to management at the last minute without time to correct many mistakes that have been noticed.

No interviews were possible with the Marguerite-Borgeoys School Service Center (CSSMB) or the Saint-Laurent School administration. Received a reply via email.

The media service pointed out, “Returning to secondary school is a complex process that requires many adjustments. “At Saint-Laurent High School, like any other large school, an adaptation period is necessary, especially in terms of staff schedules,” reads an email from CSSMB’s director of communications, Christine Loriaux.

CSSMB adds that 80 new students registered late and the school welcomes 130 more students this year.

On the website of the Saint-Laurent School Board of Directors, we could not find the names of the people who make it up and no minutes were published there as of Monday, May 2021. Its chairman Mr.^me Lartigau, ensured that everything was done on time and with full respect for the laws, but the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center had computer problems on this page.

The School Services Center said Tuesday afternoon that “signatures are required on these documents before they can be placed online” and will be done soon.

With Alice Girard-Bossé, Pres