AEFO launches consultation on the future of French-language education in Ontario

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - The Association des enseignantes et enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) – an association of Franco-ontarian teachers and education workers – is pleased to announce the launch of a province-wide consultation entitled Entre nos mains : l'école franco-ontarienne de demain (In Our Hands: The Future of French-Language Education in Ontario) to reflect on the future of publicly-funded French language education. Spanning a period of several months, the consultation will address challenges and issues our schools are currently facing, in addition to the strengths of our French-language education system and potential steps aimed at ensuring its sustainability.

"Undertaking a consultation on such a scale may seem ambitious, or even audacious," says AEFO's president, Anne Vinet-Roy. "We're confident that our partners, like us, care deeply about the future of French-language education and that they will respond enthusiastically to our call with a clear sense of commitment."

In the coming months, AEFO will be consulting its members and partners, as well as Francophones across Ontario. Participants will be asked to examine the challenges and issues faced by the province's French-language schools, the cumulative long-term impact of which remains unknown. The COVID-19 pandemic is clearly one of the most daunting of these challenges, along with the shortage of Francophone teachers, technological advances, dwindling enrolment in certain regions of the province, increased collaboration between Francophone and Anglophone school boards, as well as certain school services that are gradually being privatized. The richness of our diversity, which is an opportunity, a challenge and one of the great strengths of our education system, makes welcoming and including newcomers a top priority. Meanwhile, we have witnessed the impressive education victory among Francophones in British Columbia. Indeed, the Supreme Court's decision could set a precedent.

The discussions over the next six months will seek to shed light on the main issues at stake in our province. "All stakeholders, whether they have a direct or indirect interest in education, must work together to continue to ensure a system that meets the changing needs of students and the professions who work in education – we must create a future that is in our hands," adds Ms. Vinet-Roy. Consultations with AEFO members, partners and Francophone communities across Ontario will take place from November 2021 to March 2022, culminating in a Summit in May 2022.

For further information, please consult the overview document.

The AEFO represents nearly 13 000 members, including Francophone teachers at Catholic and public elementary and secondary schools across Ontario, together with professional and support staff in a variety of French-language workplaces.

SOURCE Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO)

Information: Marilyne Guèvremont, Executive - Communications Services, [email protected], Phone: [phone]

Related Links

www.aefo.on.ca