The only public school for special needs students on Montreal’s south shore is in desperate need of help.
The principal, parents of students and the school board chair are speaking out after Quebec’s education ministry rejected their latest request to expand the school or build a new one altogether.
More than 100 students and staff members are currently scattered in five different locations, all of which aren’t equipped with basic tools, such as gymnasiums and adapted washrooms.
“My son goes to another school within the same school board and he has everything,” said Krystal Whyte, whose six-year-daughter attends the school.
“He has a library, he has a gym, he has a cafeteria and my daughter does not.”
It’s not unusual to see special needs students at REACH school running up and down the hallways and doing physical education in a classroom because unlike other schools, administrators argue they don’t have access to adequate facilities.
“We are growing exponentially but each building has no gym, has no library some of them have no handicap bathrooms,” said principle Marie-Helen Goyetche.
“The intervention rooms are not there, the quiet rooms are not their, isolation rooms are not there, we need adequate space and we need the right resources for our kids.”
The number of students has doubled in the last four years and the school board has had to reroute 26 special needs students to other schools in Montreal because of the lack of space and services at REACH school.
“With the increase in the numbers what we’ve had to do is try to put them in other schools that do not have the special needs requirements,” said Riverside School Board Chair Dan Lamoureux.
Despite three requests to the government to either build an extension or a new school altogether, and a promising visit from the education minister in Sept 2019, the Quebec education ministry rejected their latest request on Sept 4.
“We are very disappointed with the reaction from the ministry,” said Lamoureux. “We’ve been in contact them for many months now making sure that the request was made properly.”
In response, the school’s governing board members have penned a letter to the minister, calling it “deplorable” and demanding a meeting with the minister.
They’re also calling on the minister to review the decision.
“‘Mr. Roberge, what would you do if this was your child?’ We want the best for our children,” said mother and governing board member Stephanie Ventura, whose six-year-old son is on the autism spectrum, and also has a sensory disorder, epilepsy and global developmental delay with speech delay.
“For him, it’s important that he has all the resources needed.”
Jean-Francois Roberge hadn’t responded to Global News’ request for comment on Monday evening.
The school’s staff and parents are hoping he’ll reconsider their request to bring everyone under one roof, to better meet their needs.
“We all as parents and staff members deserve the space that is needed for our children,” said Whyte.