Message to members following an inter-association meeting with the DEM

Hello dear members,

AQED representatives, Marine Dumond-Després, Noemi Berlus and Marie-Jo Demers participated in a meeting with the DEM and other homeschooling associations on January 14th The main and unanimous point made was that the current demands of the DEM are increasing the stress on families already living with various issues related to the pandemic. Moreover, systematic referral to the Quebec Education Program has the effect of diminishing the authenticity of educational experiences and the possibility of making alternative educational choices.

In addition, the DEM committed to requesting that the reduction in content to be taught by teachers in schools, as per Minister Roberge’s announcement, also be applied in the context of homeschooling. As soon as we have news on this front, we will let our members know.

Part of the discussion focused on requests by certain resource persons for traces of the child’s work in preparation for the annual meeting. According to the DEM, this request should be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the professional judgment of the resource person. AQED therefore considers that such a request should in no way be the norm and that the resource person should be able to clearly justify the reasons for such a request, for example, if the exchanges with the parent do not allow them to assess the implementation of the learning project in one of the competencies.

If you receive a standardized email asking you to send traces in advance, you can reply, if you wish, that you intend to offer traces of work verbally during the meeting. If the resource person insists, feel free to ask them the reasons for such a request. We remind you that AQED’s position on the production of traces of work during the meeting is available in the FAQ for members.

Finally, you can be accompanied by a person of your choice at the annual meeting with your resource person. Consult AQED’s support team if necessary.

Your Board of Directors