The Educational Project
TABLES OF CONTENTS
- MISSION
- VISION/VALUES
- MOTTO
- PURPOSE AND DEFINITION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT
- Legal Framework
- Groups Involved in the Preparation of the Educational Project
- Consultations Held for the Preparation of the Educational Project
- School Context (internal and external environments)
- Consistency with the Commitment-to-Success Plan
- Challenges, Orientations, Objectives, Indicators and Targets Specific to the Institution
- Transmission and Distribution of the Educational Project
- Implementation and Monitoring of the Educational Project
- Reporting on the Educational Project
MISSION
Families and school staff working together will provide children with a stimulating environment,
a feeling of security and self-worth, the right to make choices, the freedom to be different, the
opportunity to discover and accomplish, and the necessary guidance, so that each experience becomes a steppingstone in the path of learning.
VISION
At Eardley Elementary School, we strive to be a diverse and inclusive community of learners who inspire each other to find success. We are committed to working together to bring out the best in each other; valuing a strong academic foundation and developing our full potential through creativity, healthy choices and personal growth.
VALUES
At Eardley Elementary School we value:
- Every student, staff member, parent/guardian and community member.
- We value the unique abilities and qualities of each student.
- We honour and celebrate individual diversity.
- We value the support provided by families and community towards our students as they become lifelong learners.
- We are committed to nurturing a support system for students involving staff, family, and community.
- We believe that our school is safe, equitable, and flexible.
- We believe that all students can learn.
We believe everyone should:
Be yourself,
Better yourself,
Believe in yourself.
MOTTO
Spirit, Strength, Wisdom!
PURPOSE AND DEFINITION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT
The educational project is a strategic tool through which an educational institution can define its policy orientations, priority actions and expected results and inform its community in this regard, with a view to ensuring educational success for all students regardless of age. The educational project reflects the characteristics and needs of the students who attend the educational institution, as well as the community’s expectations with regard to education. The result of a consensus, this project is prepared and implemented through the collaborative efforts of the various school stakeholders: students, parents, teachers and other school staff members as well as community and school board representatives.
The educational project, therefore, forms part of a process designed to promote coordinated action and synergy among the various levels of the education system (MEQ, school service centres and educational institutions), with due regard for their specific areas of autonomy and characteristics.
- Content of an Educational Project (EA, sections 37 and 97.1)
According to the Education Act, an educational institution’s educational project must meet the following requirement (EA, sections 37 and 97.1):
- a description of the context in which the institution acts and the main challenges it faces, particularly with respect to educational success and, in the case of a vocational training centre, the relevance of the training to regional or provincial labour market needs.
- the specific policy orientations of the educational institution and the objectives selected for improving educational success.
- the targets to be achieved by the end of the period covered by the educational project.
- the indicators to be used to measure achievement of these objectives and targets.
- the intervals at which the educational project is to be evaluated, determined in collaboration with the school board.
- respect the students’, parents’ and school staff’s freedom of conscience and of religion (EA, section 37).
- cover a period that is harmonized with the period covered by the schoolboard’s commitment-to-success plan and the period covered by the MEQ strategic plan (EA, sections 37.1, 97.2 and 209.1).
- where applicable, comply with the terms established by the Minister to coordinate the entire strategic planning process between the educational institutions, the school board and the MEQ (EA, section 459.3).
- be consistent with the school board’s commitment-to-success plan (EA, sections 37 and 97.1).
- When analyzing its situation, including its results with respect to the strategic orientations and objectives set out in the commitment-to-success plan, the educational institution must consider the relevance of including the orientations and objectives of the commitment-to-success plan in the educational project. In this case, it is up to the educational institution to decide on its own target, which may be different from the target set by the school board. If, in addition, an educational institution deems it appropriate given its situation and priorities, nothing prevents it from supplementing its educational project with other orientations or objectives different from those specified in the school boards commitment-to-success plan.
- Groups Involved in the Preparation of the Educational Project (EA, section 74)
The following stakeholders have participated in the educational project:
- Staff (Julia Horner, Roxana Tiron-Baleanu, Tanya Molenaar, Josie Gibbs)
- Student Voice- Statistics from student surveys (Power BI)
- Parents and guardians
- School Council
- Governing Board
- Consultations Held for the Preparation of the Educational Project (EA section 74)
- October 13, 2023 – Management working group (Preliminary)
- December 20 – Meeting with Steering committee
- January 18 – Meeting with Steering Committee
- February 12 – Meeting with Steering Committee
- February 12 – Shared with staff for feedback
- February 20 – Board writing session
- February 22- Share with parents and guardians for feedback
- March 19 – Educational Project approved at School Council
- March 27 – Educational Project approved at Governing Board
- School Context – internal and external environments (EA, section 97.1)
THE SCHOOL AND ITS COMMUNITY
Knowledge of the context is the cornerstone of the process involved in preparing an educational project. The educational project must set out an analysis of the external and internal environment in which the educational institution acts.
The population at Eardley Elementary is 382 students (September 30, 2023). Our daycare enrollment is 164 students total, with 146 students classified as regular and 18 students classified as sporadic (September 30, 2023). Daycare is also provided during professional development days for those students who are registered in daycare.
Eardley Elementary School is located in the region of Gatineau, Quebec. More specifically, we are located in the town of Aylmer, Quebec. Eardley offers Kindergarten 5 to cycle 3.2 in both an English and French Immersion program and Kindergarten 4 in English only. Our elementary school is 1 of 3 schools that feeds into Symmes Junior High School and D’Arcy McGee High School.
Although most of our students come from homes in which English is the first language, and we are an English school, we service both anglophone and francophone families. Due to the level of French speaking families in the community, we recognized a need to provide an increase in French instruction. Therefore, we offer both a French Immersion and English Program. The English program receives one hour per day of French instruction and the French immersion program has 100% French instruction from kindergarten 5 until cycle 1.2 and 50% English and French instruction from cycle 2.1 until cycle 3.2.
Eardley School was built in 2000 and was converted into an elementary school from its original configuration as a junior high school in 2006. The history of the school includes Eardley’s growth from an original mandate of kindergarten 5 to grade 2 only, to the current mandate, of kindergarten 4 to grade 6. Eardley has a multipurpose room (previously the cafeteria prior to converting to an elementary school), a large gym, 24 classrooms (including a Transitions class), 1 resource room, 1 Zen Den, a Community Learning Centre (CLC), a staffroom and a library. The outdoor space features a play structure and sandbox with swings, a basketball court, full soccer/football field, games painted on the pavement, adventure playground with outdoor classroom, garden boxes and a pollinator flower bed.
Eardley’s community is surrounded by an urban community; however, a large portion of our population comes from the Pontiac region, in which many families either work on or operate agricultural services. 278 of our students are registered for bus services (September 30, 2023). The school is surrounded by apartment buildings and condominiums and is within walking distance of the public library, marina, beach, several parks, arenas, outdoor rinks, soccer fields, an art gallery, the Aylmer Museum, bike paths, a bowling alley, three senior’s residences, several places of worship, and four shopping malls.
Eardley school is also located within proximity (1 Km) of the fire department, has an assigned community police officer and a community Nurse from the Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de L’Outaouais (CISSSO). The school also has strong partnerships with service agencies: CISSSO, Centre Hospitalier Pierre Janet (CHPJ), Centre Jeunesse de l’Outaouais (CJO). Some non-profit agencies with which we partner are Les Partenaires regionaux d’Aylmer and Connexions. We have strong partnerships with other schools in the WQSB, with schools from the neighbouring French School board (Portage de l’Outaouais), as well as with students from various institutions (Symmes-D’Arcy McGee, Heritage College, Western Quebec Career Center, Bishop’s University, Ottawa University) for coop and practicum placements. The city of Gatineau regularly rents our gym (Monday to Thursday evenings) for the city program, badminton.
The school is a center point for the community, commonly used for municipal purposes and occasionally as a polling station for elections.
In Quebec, socio-economic indicators have been determined based on home factors having the greatest impact on educational success and graduation rates. Two factors, the level of schooling attained by the mother as well as the employment status of parents/guardians in the home, combined are used to determine the socio-economic status (SES). The level of schooling of the mother is weighted twice as much as the employment factor. Using data from Statistics Canada’s census every four years, the Ministry of Education calculates the number of students in a school who have both above mentioned conditions in their homes. The numbers are then divided into decile ranks (ten strands), which makes up the SES Scale, with one being the most advantaged strand and 10 being the most disadvantaged strand. Eardley is ranked at a 6 on the SES scale.
STUDENTS
Our total enrollment is 387 students. We have 191 in our English Program (EP) and 196 students in our French Immersion Program (FI) and 6 students being homeschooled. (February 2024)
Kindergarten 4 34 students 34 (EP)
Kindergarten 5 49 students 18 (EP) 31 (FI)
Cycle 1.1 35 students 11 (EP) 24 (FI)
Cycle 1.2 51 students 14 (EP) 37 (FI)
Cycle 2.1 60 students 30 (EP) 30 (FI)
Cycle 2.2 55 students 23 (EP) 32 (FI)
Cycle 3.1 52 students 29 (EP) 23 (FI)
Cycle 3.2 51 students 32 (EP) 19 (FI)
STAFF
For the 2023-2024 school year the Eardley staff consists of 57 staff members. We have 26 teachers including 10 homeroom teachers in the English program, 10 homeroom teachers in the French Immersion program, 1 teacher in Eardley Transitions, 2 French Second Language (FSL) teachers, 2 Physical Education teachers and 1.4 Resource teacher. We also have 7 Special Education Technicians (2 assigned to K4) and 12 Attendants for students with designated special education needs. The daycare is comprised of 1 Daycare Technician and 9 daycare educators. We have 4 Noon Hour Supervisors, 1 Secretary, 1 Office Agent, 1 Community Development Agent (CLC) and 2 Caretakers (one day and one evening). This is the first year with a new principal, making her the 3rd principal in 10 years.
FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
We have a Community Development Agent (CDA) as part of our Community Learning Centre (CLC). The CDA’s role is to engage the community and seek partnerships and opportunities for collaboration between the school community and the outside community. We have an active Home and School which creates fundraising opportunities and supports or hosts events for our students and families. We have a welcome back BBQ, that is very well attended and we encourage parents to volunteer their time for field trips or class events. The school community also works together to help families in need, including breakfasts, snacks, lunches, fees for events, school fees, Christmas food baskets and Angel Tree Christmas gifts, to name a few. The Home and School committee, Governing Board, and parent community work in conjunction with staff to play a major role in ensuring basic needs are met and school success.
Our school has a wide variety of family structures which range from single parent homes, traditional (nuclear) families, and blended families. Eardley Elementary continues to build opportunities for community members to get involved with everyday school life. The level of support and engagement differs from family to family. Eardley works to find ways to engage our parents/guardians in school life with hopes of bridging the support/engagement gap and increase the focus a team approach to education. Some examples of our efforts are: What’s Happening at Eardley letters, parent/guardian information sessions, Home & School fundraisers, spirit days, increased social media, family events, invitations to meetings, etc.
Eardley students represent a wide range of culturally diverse backgrounds. The school has
focused on diversity and inclusion for several years. This has allowed for the foundation and creation of a safe and caring environment for all. Diversity continues to be a focus for us with the goal of increasing the visibility of diversity and an overall sense of belonging for our students and their families.
The staff at Eardley offer many extracurricular/lunch hour activities, including cartwheel club, board game club, sport activities, bike repair club, library club, pride and rainbow club, anime club, drawing club, STEM club, Destination Imagination and Lego club. Although some students participate in extracurricular activities on evenings and weekends, there are factors that are barriers to our students participating in these activities. Many of our students are not bilingual and most extracurricular activities in the area are French only. The cost associated to these activities can also pose a challenge for many of our families.
Eardley has a before and after school daycare program. There are 156 students registered for “regular” daycare services, students who attend weekly, and 18 students are registered for “sporadic” daycare, students who attend once in a while. Daycare services are also offered to parents on PD Days. Staffing has continued to be a challenge. We have to limit registration on PD Days in order to ensure staffing ratios.
The number of students who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) are 109 (February 2024). This represents 29% of our students who have cognitive, social/emotional, behavioural or learning difficulties. These students are integrated into regular classroom settings. We have one resource teacher, which makes supporting these students in a resource setting challenging. We have many supports in place within the classroom setting based on students educational,
behavioural and emotional needs. Teachers make modifications and accommodations to both the curriculum and the classroom environment to meet the needs of our students. We have three Special Education Technicians who work out of the Zen Den providing social/emotional and behavioural support to students. They also provide support to teachers in the creation of materials, providing breaks to students and contributing greatly to the overall culture of the school.
ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION
- Challenges, Orientations, Objectives, Indicators and Targets Specific to the Institution
Challenges
Having a population with diverse backgrounds also brings with it varied levels of parent/guardian and student engagement. Eardley works to provide opportunities to engage families with everyday school life. We do this by sharing information regarding events happening with their child, engaging through social media, holding family events, inviting parents/guardians in for meetings, etc.
There are a high number of students requiring special attention to meet their needs. The increasing number of needs (social/emotional and behavioural) means that staff are requiring more training and special skills in addition to their pedagogical skills to support their students. The lack of outside resources for families and waitlists makes it increasingly difficult to identify student needs and implement successful strategies in the classroom.
Eardley’s catchment is fairly large requiring some students to be up early in the morning and on transportation for longer periods of time. Students sometimes arrive as school tired and/or hungry because of the early mornings. We try to accommodate for this by early snack times or providing breakfast/snacks to those who need it.
Enrollment numbers vary from year to year. Split grade classes and cycles are inevitable but do pose a challenge, especially in split cycle classes, when considering the increasing needs mentioned above.
Staffing shortages are a challenge in most schools. Finding qualified, quality professionals, especially in French, is very difficult. Further, finding staff to support our students who have special education needs is extremely challenging. Staff recruitment and retention has been a focus as a school board and a school.
We focus on providing our students with experiences but physical space continues to be a challenge. Eardley is at a point where we are force to weigh priorities when initiatives are and continue to be important to our students. Whether it be a FSL classroom in a small space or equipment like bicycles, kindergarten materials, outdoor education equipment or simply storage of extra desks and chairs, we are struggling to find spaces that meet our needs.
Eardley Results
Note: due to COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 results were given as Pass or Fail.
| MATHEMATICS – 3.2 (GRADE 6) | |||||
| Eardley Pass % results June 2021 | Board Average % results June 2021 | Eardley Pass % results June 2022 | Board Average % results June 2022 | Eardley Pass % results June 2023 | Board Average % results June 2023 |
| 83 % | 81.6 % | 71.8 % | 79.8% | 81.4 % | 83.7 % |
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS – 3.2 (GRADE 6) | |||||
| Eardley Pass % results June 2021 | Board Average % results June 2021 | Eardley Pass % results June 2022 | Board Average % results June 2022 | Eardley Pass % results June 2023 | Board Average % results June 2023 |
| 84.9 % | 87.6% | 89.2% | 87.8 % | 90.7 % | 89.4 % |
| FSL (FRENCH IMMERSION) – 3.2 (GRADE 6) | |||||
| Eardley Pass % results June 2021 | Board Average % results June 2021 | Eardley Pass % results June 2022 | Board Average % results June 2022 | Eardley Pass % results June 2023 | Board Average % results June 2023 |
| 93% | 81% | 96% | 80% | 96% | 78% |
| FSL (REGULAR) – 3.2 (GRADE 6) | |||||
| Eardley Pass % results June 2021 | Board Average % results June 2021 | Eardley Pass % results June 2022 | Board Average % results June 2022 | Eardley Pass % results June 2023 | Board Average % results June 2023 |
| 87% | 66% | 63% | 74 % | 67% | 66 % |
EARDLEY DIRECTIONS AND ORIENTATIONS
| Orientation/Direction: Safety and Security To provide a healthy and safe environment for students and staff to maximize student achievement. | |||
| Objective | Strategies | Expected outcomes | Comment |
| Improve the climate of benevolence (goodwill), well-being, safety of students (MEQ) | Provide opportunities for students to appreciate the diversity of others through exposure to other races, religions, cultures, etc. | Improved student well-being and sense of belonging. | Measured by student voice surveys. |
| Provide staff with tools and training to support students who struggle with emotional regulation and volatile reactions- Behaviour Management Systems (BMS) | Improve staff and student well-being and safety. | Measured by the number of incident reports and staff voice survey. | |
| Orientation/Direction: Focus on Pedagogy to Improve Teaching and Learning To continually improve the quality of instruction so that students have the best possible opportunities to learn and achieve to their potential. | |||
| Objective | Strategies | Expected outcomes | Comment |
| Increase the success of students (graduation and certification of all student groups: overall, boys, HDAA students) (MEQ) | |||
| To improve student success in FSL. | Purchase FSL resources to ensure tools needed are obtained. | Teachers have the resources needed in order to fulfill curriculum expectations. | Measured by the increased number of teacher resources. |
| FSL meetings to create a better understanding of cross cycle expectations, plan for school wide initiatives and create real world links, making FSL a priority | Increased visibility of FSL in our halls and day-to-day activities. | Measured by the number of opportunities/experiences and student results increase. | |
| Common marking, planning and assessment within the cycles. | Align and increase consistency of expectations. | Measured by better alignment with the board and exam averages. | |
| To improve student success in Mathematics, English Language Arts. (MEQ) | Common marking, planning and assessment within the cycles. | Align and increase consistency of expectations. | Measured by better alignment with the board and exam averages |
| Provide students with Outdoor Education (OE) opportunities to link curriculum to being outdoors. | Improved well-being and academic engagement. | Measured by the student voice survey | |
Western Quebec School Board directions and orientations
| Orientation/Direction: Safety and Security To provide a healthy and safe environment for students and staff to maximize student achievement. | |||||||
| Objective | Strategies | Expected outcomes | Comment | ||||
| Improve the climate of benevolence (goodwill), well-being, safety of students (MEQ) | Improved student well-being and belonging measured by student voice surveys administered twice yearly in all schools and centres. | Each strategy will be managed by the appropriate department (s) and will have targets developed mid-way through year 1. | |||||
| Anti-racism, Anti-discrimination Community Building Group (ARC) | Increased number of teachers/administrators from marginalized groups. | ||||||
| Professional Development on social-emotional and mental health for all categories of staff | Increased knowledge regarding mental health impacts in schools and centres. Expanded use of internal supports (Lifeworks, Transitions agents) Create a Student Mental Health Committee | ||||||
| Creation of a Student Voice Committee | Regularly scheduled meetings – involve a team from MAC. | ||||||
| Deployment of student voice surveys | Increased student engagement School targets based on Student Voice survey feedback | ||||||
| Celebration and promotion of positive school/centre climate | Increased participation in extracurricular activities Student and staff recognition of success | ||||||
| Support for Core subjects from elementary through secondary | Increased representation of diverse student profiles | ||||||
| Support for socio-economic and health | Increase in EAP use. Decrease in Salary Insurance Increase access to social support programs | ||||||
| Increased number of racialized teachers/administrators at all levels | |||||||
| Maintain cleanliness standards across all schools and centres. | Regularly scheduled inspections. | ||||||
| Board-wide professional development focused on anti-racism and anti-discrimination. | |||||||
| Direction: Focus on Pedagogy to Improve Teaching and Learning To continually improve the quality of instruction so that students have the best possible opportunities to learn and achieve to their potential. | |||||||
| Objective | Strategies | Expected outcomes | |||||
| Increase the success of students (graduation and certification of all student groups: overall, boys, HDAA students) (MEQ) | Increased graduation and qualification rate after 7 years | Each strategy will be managed by the appropriate department (s) | |||||
| Teacher Induction Program | Increased quality of teaching and learning among newly hired teachers Increased retention rate of newly hired teachers | ||||||
| Ensuring the quality teaching and learning through consistent support, development and supervision | |||||||
| Targeted support for literacy and numeracy in NANS schools (consultant and teacher networks) | Increased student success rates in all NANS schools | ||||||
| Consistent and relevant assessments and aligned curriculum in core subjects | Reduced disparity between school term and exam results | ||||||
| Support for core subjects of English, Math, and French Second Language from elementary through secondary | Support for differentiation from consultants | ||||||
| Focused support from board professionals to meet the needs of all students | Equitable distribution of services across all schools | ||||||
| Support for delivery and implementation of Indigenous Pedagogy and culturally responsive curriculum | Ensure integration of Indigenous pedagogy and culturally responsive curriculum in classrooms. | ||||||
| To improve student success in Mathematics (MEQ) | Increased success rate on the problem-solving competency of the grade 6 Mathematics MEQ exam | ||||||
| Early literacy and numeracy support in NANS schools | Effective use of the grants for all schools | ||||||
| Support for core math elementary to secondary | |||||||
| Consistent and relevant assessments and aligned curriculum | |||||||
| Professional Learning, Feedback, and Growth To ensure that all employees have on-going opportunities to improve so that students’ educational experience continues to improve year after year. | |||||||
| Objective | Strategies | Expected outcomes | |||||
| To ensure that all employees have on-going opportunities to improve so that students’ educational experience continues to improve year after year. (WQSB) | |||||||
| Support for staff through a culture of professional coaching articulated competencies | Each strategy will be managed by the appropriate department (s) | ||||||
| Quality Professional development for all categories of staff | Focused professional development for attendants and technicians | ||||||
Ministry of Education Objectives
The table below outlines the Ministry of Education Objectives and indicators deployed to the school board and required to be reported on annually by the school board.
| Orientation 1 – make the success of students a priority of Quebec society. | Quebec Public | WQSB | WQSB | ||
| Objective 1 Increase the success of students | Actual Situation | Target | Actual Situation | Indicator | |
| Objective 1.1 Increase the graduation and qualification rate. | 2015 cohort after 7 years: 81.6 M – 77.1 F – 86.4 | 23-24: 82% 24-25: 84% 25-26: 86% 26-27: 88% | 2015 cohort rate after 7 years: 80.7 M – 78.6 F – 82.9 | Graduation and Qualification rate after 7 years | |
| Objective 1.2 Increase the graduation and qualification rates of boys | 2015 cohort after 7 years: 77.1 | 23-24: 80% 24-25: 82% 25-26: 84% 26-27: 86% | 2015 cohort after 7 years: 78.6 | Graduation and Qualification rate after 7 years | |
| Objective 1.3 Increase the graduation and qualification rates of HDAA students. | 2015 cohort after 7 years: HDAA: 62.2 Non-HDAA: 88.8 | 23-24: 65% 24-25: 68% 25-26: 70% 26-27: 72% | 2015 cohort after 7 years: HDAA: 63.9 Non-HDAA:89 | Graduation and Qualification rate after 7 years | |
| Objective 1.5 Success rate on the problem-solving competency of the grade 6 Mathematics MEQ exam | NA | 23-24: 70% 24-25: 72% 25-26: 74% 26-27: 77% | 2023 will be benchmark year | Proportion of students who obtain between 70 % and 100% on the problem-solving competency of the MEQ grade 6 Mathematics exam | |
| Orientation 3 – Make schools and centres welcoming spaces | |||||
| Objective 4 Develop new specific projects (projets particuliers) | Objective 4.1 | NA | No target but exploration as this is constrained by MEQ conditions | Currently none | The rate of secondary student participation in school specific projects |
| Objective 5 Improve the climate of benevolence (goodwill), well-being, safety of students | NA | Schools and centres having access to a guide/framework on student well-being founded in research to carry out a situational analysis | |||
| Mental Health Committee to develop Action Plan |
- Transmission and Distribution of the Educational Project
- Eardley Elementary School and WQSB websites/social media
- Meet the teacher night
- Inform staff regularly of any changes
- Inform all new staff of the educational project
- Share with our school board and directors
- Share with our Governing board
- Implementation and Monitoring of the Educational Project
- To implement
- Ensure all staff are informed and involved
- Ensure parents and community are informed
- To monitor
- Check-in at the end of each term
- Regular cycle meetings
- Staff meetings
- Governing board meetings
- Annual review of goals and actions
- Reporting on the Educational Project
- Regular reporting at cycle meetings
- Regular reporting to Governing board