A "Compass" for newly arrived students in Laval
Jean Numa Goudou ·
Boussole is a French and math program that covers five themes: the neighborhood, transportation, the library, Climate (surrounding parks), Greater Montreal and Quebec history.
Abir Abdo, a Lebanese woman who studied special education at home before immigrating to Canada 10 years ago, found her "Boussole" in Laval, in this project that helps about 300 newly arrived students find their bearings.
Boussole is a French and math program that covers five themes: the neighborhood, transportation, the library, Climate (surrounding parks), Greater Montreal, Quebec architecture and Quebec history.
"When we emigrate, we lose all our bearings: getting around, finding our way in the streets, finding friends, our home. We have to build new ones," notes the special education teacher to explain the reason why the project is called "Boussole."
She launched the activities in 2023 with one class. Through word of mouth, the project became a victim of its own success: four high schools for a total of 18 classes of 17 students joined the initiative.
The project promotes a sense of belonging, an inclusive environment, improves group dynamics and vocabulary learning. "We've seen students go from beginner class to advanced class in one year, hoping to reach regular class the following year," rejoices Ms. Abdo.
Police in prevention
The project takes place at the heart of the student's environment. Participants exclusively use public transportation. The student learns to get around by themselves with the teacher's assistance. They learn about services around the school, in the neighborhood, municipal services, police, the library and community organizations that can help them.
And the results are felt almost instantly. "We observe fewer suspensions in welcome classes compared to last year, thanks to the discussion group work with police officers in which they learn what rights and duties they have here," adds Abir Abdo.
The Laval police service is also involved in "Boussole" with community police officers. "It's as a preventive measure," specifies the project manager, not because there is a particular security problem.
"The relationship with police officers is colored by the experience they've lived through," observes the special education teacher, "in the country of origin, the police officer is not accessible. If we give them a first positive contact with students from immigration backgrounds, it helps enormously."
Community police officers intervene on violence and addiction, because "the clientele that just arrived is vulnerable, they are easy prey for street gangs," reminds Ms. Abdo who says she notices that students raise many questions about how they should protect themselves.
"They are influenced by movies on TV: they think that police officers are like in the United States, they're going to kill everyone, use their weapons every day, when that's not the case,"
"I observe that they are isolated," says the teacher, "they don't know how to go out and they're afraid to go out and stay home all winter. This isolation is not favorable to their integration."
Teacher perseverance
As part of the Pedagogical Innovation Prize of Fonds 1804 (PIEF), created by Fonds1804, her project won 3rd prize and she took part in the organization's 11th great conversation on February 22nd, at the Grande bibliothèque de Montréal.
The PIEF was born from a desire of Fonds 1804 to recognize teaching staff engaged in the educational success of young people. For more than 10 years, Fonds 1804 has been working with young people and parents to promote academic perseverance.
"The missing link was teachers. They must not only show perseverance daily, but encourage their students to do the same through their creativity and commitment," indicates Fonds in a press release related to the prize.
The PIEF highlights innovative initiatives that enrich the learning experience and support the success of elementary and high school students in Quebec's public schools.
In total, 16 projects were submitted by elementary and high school teachers for the first edition of the PIEF. These are meaningful projects that have a positive impact on young people's success. Eight of them were selected as finalists in the contest that aimed to determine three winners. A special recognition prize was also awarded by jury members.