Collège Saint-Paul, in Varennes, can boast of being the school where students succeed the best among the twenty private establishments which welcome a high proportion of young people with special needs, according to the 2024 edition of the Palmarès des secondary schools.
• Also read: 2024 rankings: here are the best schools in Quebec among those which welcome the most students with special needs
Private French-speaking school
235, rue Sainte-Anne, Varennes
| Number of students | 1045 |
| Late | 4,5% |
| HOPE | 39,7% |
| Results (%) | 2023 | Tend. |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching language | 76,2 | equal |
| Second language | 90,1 | equal |
| Science and technology | 81,1 | equal |
| Mathematics | 78,0 | equal |
| Failure rate | 7,0 | equal |
| Other factors (%) | 2023 | Tend. |
|---|---|---|
| Overestimation | 0,4 | arrow_outward |
| Gender gaps: language | F 4,5 | equal |
| Gender gaps: math. | F 2,9 | equal |
| Delay rate | 4,0 | equal |
With 40% of students having an intervention plan, this proportion is even higher than in the public network on average.
“Students with special needs are in college to stay there. They bring us a lot,” says its general director, Jaziel Petrone.
This shift was made around ten years ago, in particular with the creation of an educational support program intended for weaker students, who had barely passed their primary level.
These young people are grouped in small groups of 23 students, rather than 36, where more periods are devoted to basic subjects.
They are supported by a resource teacher and a remedial teacher who ensure close monitoring so that they can integrate the regular program from secondary four.
The students “have confidence in us and they know that we will not let them down. This is really our great strength,” says Karyne Gibeault, who teaches in this program.
Viviane Charland, a fifth secondary student, can attest to this. “When I got to middle school, math was really difficult. But it went well, I had a lot of help and the fact of having small groups allowed me to ask more questions and understand better,” she says.
The enthusiasm for this program has become so great over the years that there are now four times more requests than available places, the majority of which are filled by siblings.
Good students with special needs
Students with special needs are also numerous in other programs more focused on student interests, such as sports, arts and sciences.
However, these are students who perform “fairly well”, but who need adaptation measures to get there, due to learning disabilities. The college selects its students admitted to secondary school based on their academic results.
Those who have an intervention plan can benefit from support services to implement these different measures, for an additional fee.
The most common are learning support software or extra time to take an exam. There are also students who have rubber bands installed under their desk and others who work sitting on a ball or standing at a table in class, which helps them concentrate.
“We are super open and we are very creative about the means to put in place so that they succeed. From the moment they are with us, we graduate them,” says the director of educational services, Sophie Laflamme.
Retention is also a priority in this establishment, adds Jaziel Petrone. Even students with behavioral problems are supervised rather than expelled, he assures.
This college, which accommodates approximately 1,000 students, also has six full-time specialized educators, a much higher number than in several other private schools of similar size.
“We bet on more people on the floor than more people in control,” explains the general manager. We are very supportive, we will do everything to help them. Our philosophy is to bring them to the end.”
