She chose the school for her art program because she likes to paint. But instead, she sits at her aunt and uncle’s house doing nothing. “I don’t know when I will study. I don’t know when my school will start,” he said. She is waiting for her English eligibility application to be approved. Quebec’s francophone charter limits who can attend English-language public school to those with family members who also attended English-language school. But there is a crowd of students waiting for approval, so Silva watched TV and studied French to pass the time. Her uncle, Gabriel Michaud, hosts her for six months and helps her through the process, but is frustrated with the delay in getting her certification approved. “We’re not talking about a tai chi class that a 40-year-old is trying to sign up for,” he said. “This is a high school and right now we have a student sitting at home doing nothing.”
The EMSB chairman blames the ministry for delay
Joe Ortona, president of the Montreal English School Board (EMSB), said Silva is not the only student waiting. The Ministry of Education has approximately 280 EMSB applications to approve. “The problem is at the ministry’s end,” Ortona said. “We send the papers to the ministry, but as the law stands, the ministry has to approve their suitability in English before we can take them. Before we receive them, we are not allowed to accept them.” Gabriel Michaud, left, says his niece, Elisa Silva, center, should already be approved to attend public school in English, but they are stuck waiting. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC) Ortona said he doesn’t know what the wait is, but the ministry is “very disorganized” between that and the recent bus driver negotiations that nearly left children stranded with no way to get to school. “It’s unfortunate because we want to get these kids,” Ortona said. “We don’t want to deny anyone.”
Lester B. Pearson boards the same boat
The Lester B. Pearson School Board has seen some minor delays in the time it takes to process eligibility requests, according to spokesman Darren Becker. “For example, the board sent several files during the week of August 8 for which we do not yet have decisions. We currently have more than 70 such cases,” he said in an email. “We will continue to work closely with the Department of Education to try to resolve these requests quickly to ensure students can benefit from the best quality education as soon as possible.”
The ministry says processing takes 5 days
School boards are responsible for forwarding education eligibility requests to the Department of Education, which then reviews each request before making a decision, said Brian St. Louis, a department spokesman. The ministry may ask for further information on a request, he said. “The department does not control the delay in forwarding the request from the school board,” St. Louis said in an email. “The average processing time is approximately five business days once the file is complete. Until applications are approved, students like Silva are out of luck. Michaud said he is now considering private school for his niece, but that would cost the family twice as much as planned. “It’s a disaster,” Michaud said.
title: “Hundreds Of Montreal Students Stuck At Home Waiting For Quebec To Approve English Language Eligibility Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-24” author: “Mark Tepper”
She chose the school for her art program because she likes to paint. But instead, she sits at her aunt and uncle’s house doing nothing. “I don’t know when I will study. I don’t know when my school will start,” he said. She is waiting for her English eligibility application to be approved. Quebec’s francophone charter limits who can attend English-language public school to those with family members who also attended English-language school. But there is a crowd of students waiting for approval, so Silva watched TV and studied French to pass the time. Her uncle, Gabriel Michaud, hosts her for six months and helps her through the process, but is frustrated with the delay in getting her certification approved. “We’re not talking about a tai chi class that a 40-year-old is trying to sign up for,” he said. “This is a high school and right now we have a student sitting at home doing nothing.”
The EMSB chairman blames the ministry for delay
Joe Ortona, president of the Montreal English School Board (EMSB), said Silva is not the only student waiting. The Ministry of Education has approximately 280 EMSB applications to approve. “The problem is at the ministry’s end,” Ortona said. “We send the papers to the ministry, but as the law stands, the ministry has to approve their suitability in English before we can take them. Before we receive them, we are not allowed to accept them.” Gabriel Michaud, left, says his niece, Elisa Silva, center, should already be approved to attend public school in English, but they are stuck waiting. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC) Ortona said he doesn’t know what the wait is, but the ministry is “very disorganized” between that and the recent bus driver negotiations that nearly left children stranded with no way to get to school. “It’s unfortunate because we want to get these kids,” Ortona said. “We don’t want to deny anyone.”
Lester B. Pearson boards the same boat
The Lester B. Pearson School Board has seen some minor delays in the time it takes to process eligibility requests, according to spokesman Darren Becker. “For example, the board sent several files during the week of August 8 for which we do not yet have decisions. We currently have more than 70 such cases,” he said in an email. “We will continue to work closely with the Department of Education to try to resolve these requests quickly to ensure students can benefit from the best quality education as soon as possible.”
The ministry says processing takes 5 days
School boards are responsible for forwarding education eligibility requests to the Department of Education, which then reviews each request before making a decision, said Brian St. Louis, a department spokesman. The ministry may ask for further information on a request, he said. “The department does not control the delay in forwarding the request from the school board,” St. Louis said in an email. “The average processing time is approximately five business days once the file is complete. Until applications are approved, students like Silva are out of luck. Michaud said he is now considering private school for his niece, but that would cost the family twice as much as planned. “It’s a disaster,” Michaud said.
title: “Hundreds Of Montreal Students Stuck At Home Waiting For Quebec To Approve English Language Eligibility Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Jimmie Knox”
She chose the school for her art program because she likes to paint. But instead, she sits at her aunt and uncle’s house doing nothing. “I don’t know when I will study. I don’t know when my school will start,” he said. She is waiting for her English eligibility application to be approved. Quebec’s francophone charter limits who can attend English-language public school to those with family members who also attended English-language school. But there is a crowd of students waiting for approval, so Silva watched TV and studied French to pass the time. Her uncle, Gabriel Michaud, hosts her for six months and helps her through the process, but is frustrated with the delay in getting her certification approved. “We’re not talking about a tai chi class that a 40-year-old is trying to sign up for,” he said. “This is a high school and right now we have a student sitting at home doing nothing.”
The EMSB chairman blames the ministry for delay
Joe Ortona, president of the Montreal English School Board (EMSB), said Silva is not the only student waiting. The Ministry of Education has approximately 280 EMSB applications to approve. “The problem is at the ministry’s end,” Ortona said. “We send the papers to the ministry, but as the law stands, the ministry has to approve their suitability in English before we can take them. Before we receive them, we are not allowed to accept them.” Gabriel Michaud, left, says his niece, Elisa Silva, center, should already be approved to attend public school in English, but they are stuck waiting. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC) Ortona said he doesn’t know what the wait is, but the ministry is “very disorganized” between that and the recent bus driver negotiations that nearly left children stranded with no way to get to school. “It’s unfortunate because we want to get these kids,” Ortona said. “We don’t want to deny anyone.”
Lester B. Pearson boards the same boat
The Lester B. Pearson School Board has seen some minor delays in the time it takes to process eligibility requests, according to spokesman Darren Becker. “For example, the board sent several files during the week of August 8 for which we do not yet have decisions. We currently have more than 70 such cases,” he said in an email. “We will continue to work closely with the Department of Education to try to resolve these requests quickly to ensure students can benefit from the best quality education as soon as possible.”
The ministry says processing takes 5 days
School boards are responsible for forwarding education eligibility requests to the Department of Education, which then reviews each request before making a decision, said Brian St. Louis, a department spokesman. The ministry may ask for further information on a request, he said. “The department does not control the delay in forwarding the request from the school board,” St. Louis said in an email. “The average processing time is approximately five business days once the file is complete. Until applications are approved, students like Silva are out of luck. Michaud said he is now considering private school for his niece, but that would cost the family twice as much as planned. “It’s a disaster,” Michaud said.
title: “Hundreds Of Montreal Students Stuck At Home Waiting For Quebec To Approve English Language Eligibility Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Clinton Finch”
She chose the school for her art program because she likes to paint. But instead, she sits at her aunt and uncle’s house doing nothing. “I don’t know when I will study. I don’t know when my school will start,” he said. She is waiting for her English eligibility application to be approved. Quebec’s francophone charter limits who can attend English-language public school to those with family members who also attended English-language school. But there is a crowd of students waiting for approval, so Silva watched TV and studied French to pass the time. Her uncle, Gabriel Michaud, hosts her for six months and helps her through the process, but is frustrated with the delay in getting her certification approved. “We’re not talking about a tai chi class that a 40-year-old is trying to sign up for,” he said. “This is a high school and right now we have a student sitting at home doing nothing.”
The EMSB chairman blames the ministry for delay
Joe Ortona, president of the Montreal English School Board (EMSB), said Silva is not the only student waiting. The Ministry of Education has approximately 280 EMSB applications to approve. “The problem is at the ministry’s end,” Ortona said. “We send the papers to the ministry, but as the law stands, the ministry has to approve their suitability in English before we can take them. Before we receive them, we are not allowed to accept them.” Gabriel Michaud, left, says his niece, Elisa Silva, center, should already be approved to attend public school in English, but they are stuck waiting. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC) Ortona said he doesn’t know what the wait is, but the ministry is “very disorganized” between that and the recent bus driver negotiations that nearly left children stranded with no way to get to school. “It’s unfortunate because we want to get these kids,” Ortona said. “We don’t want to deny anyone.”
Lester B. Pearson boards the same boat
The Lester B. Pearson School Board has seen some minor delays in the time it takes to process eligibility requests, according to spokesman Darren Becker. “For example, the board sent several files during the week of August 8 for which we do not yet have decisions. We currently have more than 70 such cases,” he said in an email. “We will continue to work closely with the Department of Education to try to resolve these requests quickly to ensure students can benefit from the best quality education as soon as possible.”
The ministry says processing takes 5 days
School boards are responsible for forwarding education eligibility requests to the Department of Education, which then reviews each request before making a decision, said Brian St. Louis, a department spokesman. The ministry may ask for further information on a request, he said. “The department does not control the delay in forwarding the request from the school board,” St. Louis said in an email. “The average processing time is approximately five business days once the file is complete. Until applications are approved, students like Silva are out of luck. Michaud said he is now considering private school for his niece, but that would cost the family twice as much as planned. “It’s a disaster,” Michaud said.
