This text is part of the special booklet Private schools
Who has not already heard this warning shot with obvious fear: “In the director’s office!” The worst is often to be feared, because the punishment can be commensurate with the mischief.
Surprisingly, at the Reine-Marie college, all the students pass at least once through the office of the principal, Marc Tremblay, the one who has held the reins of this secondary school since 2013. This is not a coincidence, but a desire to ” establish real contact with future students, as well as with their families. Because even those who will not attend this establishment, but had expressed the desire to know it, will also be entitled to a visit.
Shortly after his arrival, and with a wealth of management experience in other private institutions at the elementary and secondary levels, Marc Tremblay made his small revolution: no more entrance exams. Instead, a formal interview with the fifth or sixth year student wishing to attend this bucolic place located in Montreal-North. Founded in 1956 and run for a long time by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, the college became secular after their departure in the early 2010s. In addition, the boys made their entry there, another small revolution at the time.
I saw the magnitude of the negative side of this selection based mainly on academic performance and the entrance exam. Our approach is rather that of the open door […]
Marc Tremblay specifies that he was not at the origin of this major change, aiming in part to compensate for a significant lack of customers. “When I arrived, the decision was made, and a bet had been made: a mixed school, but single-sex classes. The teachers therefore had to adapt their pedagogy according to the gender of the group: it was quite a challenge for them and, in addition, socialization between boys and girls did not occur. We finally opted for diversity everywhere. “
The insidious pressure of the entrance exam
In the popular imagination, private school rhymes with elitism, selection, and therefore entrance examination. Each year, on the basis of one test, many students participate in the exercise, as if their entire lives depended on it. Exaggerated or caricatured description? Not for Marc Tremblay. “When I worked in other schools, in elementary school in particular, I saw the extent of the negative side of this selection based mainly on academic performance and the entrance exam. Our approach is rather that of the open door, since we are aware that 11-year-old children have multiple intelligences, and have the future ahead of them. “
From a strictly quantitative standpoint, this change has paid off for the Reine-Marie college, since the school population has more than tripled since 2012, going from 400 students to 1,440 for the current school year. But to reach these figures, he spends many people in his office!
“It is an important burden, an enormous challenge, to meet around 600 families and to know whether or not we are capable of supporting a young person,” emphasizes Marc Tremblay. With the bulletin, I already have a lot of information and, anyway, academically, regardless of the school, some run fast, others normally, and others less quickly. I do not close the door to students with intervention plans, learning difficulties, or who are dealing with dyslexia or the autism spectrum. This creates a diverse world, not just based on knowledge, but on interpersonal skills and understanding, which take precedence over differences. “
Take root in a neighborhood, and shine beyond
Regardless of its size or vocation, a school is often a reflection of the neighborhood, village or city in which it is anchored. For the Collège Reine-Marie, 65 years of rooting in Montreal-North, this means several decades of seeing this sector of the metropolis transform.
If the word “diversity” is often attached to this district, it is above all an immense wealth in the eyes of the director, but also a qualifier which sometimes masks everything that unites the citizens of this district. “Everyone around the school, regardless of their origins, cares about the education of their children,” says Marc Tremblay. For them, it is a fundamental value. “
While some programs, including drama, visual arts or music attract students from Montreal-North and Ahuntsic, the general profile of Reine-Marie College appeals beyond this sector, according to Marc Tremblay. The viaduct under the Metropolitan highway could scare families, but not anymore, some students coming from both Rosemont and the North Shore. And this, even if they all have to go through the principal’s office.
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