Wednesday 5 November, 2025
Welcoming Remarks:Brian Lewis, Professor, Concordia University and Co-director, QUESCREN Opening Keynote Address:Partnering with Young People to Forge a Better Path Forward...
Presentations:Growing up "rural" in Quebec: Supporting high school students’ understandings of culture and citizenship through visual narrationJoanne Pattison-Meek, Bishop's University In September 2024, Quebec rolled out a new Culture and Citizenship in Quebec (CCQ) curriculum across th...
Presentations:Me, Myself, and AI in the ClassroomEstefania Moreno, Central Quebec School BoardArtificial intelligence has revolutionized the world of education. Teachers are no longer expected to be subject area experts because information is now accessible at lightning speed. If students can acquire the information they need to gain subject specific knowledge, then the teaching profession must also adapt to the generational needs in education. I...
Workshop:Motivating Reluctant ReadersLea Beddia, Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board/ Independent authorIn this interactive workshop, Lea will share effective, research-based strategies to inspire students at all levels to read for pleasure in and beyond the classroom. This will be followed by a collaborative activity to adapt an evaluation tool, allowing each teacher to leave with a ready-to-use resource tailored to their students' needs. In additi...
Presentations:Art & BelongingAnna J. McIntyre, Freelancer/Artistsinspire (ELAN)Jacqueline van de Greer, Artist & Educator“77% of Canadians agree or strongly agree that arts experiences help people feel part of their local community. This is especially true for newcomers and people in minority-language communities.” (Vital Signs: Arts & Belonging, published by the Community Foundations of Canada and Canadian A...
Presentations:The Summer Literacy Symposium: Building Teacher Capacity Through Collaborative Professional LearningMelinda Clifford, Ministère de l’ÉducationThe Summer Literacy Symposium is a dynamic, three-year professional learning program designed to support educators in strengthening literacy instruction across Quebec’s English-speaking community. Consisting of immersive, three-day workshops each summer, the program offers teachers, consultant...
Roundtable:A Needs Analysis of Neurodiverse Students in the Quebec K-11 Educational SystemJulie Corrigan, Concordia UniversityLaura Del Giacco, Concordia UniversityGabriella Buggé, Concordia UniversityIn this roundtable, we will present the results of our needs analysis regarding the barriers and supports for neurodivergent students (e.g., students who experienc...
Quebec’s Postsecondary Education EconomyGraham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia UniversityModerator: Celine Cooper, Director General, Consortium of English-Language CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities of QuebecIn this interview-style session, we will discuss the current state of Quebec's postsecondary education economy, the sustainability of its institutions and possible paths forward.
We will be wrapping up Day 1 with an update from the Quebec English School Boards Association. Quebec’s English School Boards: Situation Update and AnalysisSpeaker: Joe Ortona, President of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA)Joe Ortona, president of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), will present on the current state of affairs, the immediate and foreseeable challenges and im...
Thursday 6 November, 2025
Welcoming Remarks:John McMahon - Assistant Deputy Minister, Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d'expression anglaise (SRQEA) Keynote AddressBeyond the Game: Building Strength Through Sports, Education & CommunityDenburk Reid - Founder and CEO, Montreal Community Cares Foundation and Red Rush Basketball Leadership ProgramDenburk Reid will share his journey of perseverance, drawing on bot...
Grab a coffee and a snack with your fellow forum participants!
Presentations:Extended-Model Community Learning Centres (EM-CLCs): A Value-Added Component to English-speaking Students’ Educational SuccessMélissa Villella, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)Julie Corrigan, Concordia University
Presentations:Language laws and education in Quebec: a case study of English-speaking Quebecer Parents' School Choices in Notre-Dame-de-GrâceThibault Jacquemont, McGill UniversityIn this presentation, I will share findings from a research project on how Quebec’s language laws—especially Bills 101 and 96—shape the school choices of English-speaking parents in the Notre-Dame-d...
Kim Tekakwitha Martin, John Abbott College This session will begin with an introduction to some of the challenges Indigenous students face. Participants will then work in small groups on questions such as “What does belonging feel like?” before coming together in a large circle for sharing and discussion
Human LibraryOur Human Library will be a space for informal, one-on-one conversations with individuals sharing lived experiences and unique perspectives on a variety of topics.Take a look below at "Human Books"! Black History: A Legacy Dorothy Williams, Independent Researcher, Autho...
Presentations:BRIDGING THE GAP: Best Practices in Linking Education to the Development of the English-speaking Workforce in Quebec to Maximize Labour Market Outcomes - A Comparative Analysis for a Sustainable FutureSarine Karajian, CEDECThis research project, BRIDGING THE GAP: Best Practices in Linking Educati...
Presentations:Overcoming Distance: Supporting Regional Students on Their Journey to Cégep Brittney Chabot, ECO-02Ashley Roy, ECO-02For the past two years, ECO-02 has been running PREP for Cégep at Riverside Regional High School, a program designed to support high school students from the Saguenay, a remote region with no English Cégep, as they ...
Workshop:Spectrum Productions’ Creative Media Lab: Empowering Neurodiverse Learners through Experiential, Inclusive, Self-directed Filmmaking EducationDan Ten Veen, Spectrum ProductionsKat Tuck, Spectrum ProductionsFelipe Arasanz, Spectrum ProductionsThis workshop introduces an inclusive learning model developed by Spectrum...
Format: 5-minute presentations followed by a group Q&A period Digital Literacy & Vocational Training Teachers: Preparing Student for Sustainable Work in a Trade Disrupted by a Digital WorldRobin Long, Provincial Organization...
Friday 7 November, 2025
Keynote AddressAmplifying Our Strengths, Protecting the Vitality of English Education in QuebecToula Drimonis - Opinion Columnist, Writer, and News ProducerThese are difficult times. The current government has cut education budgets drastically – and English-language institutions have not been spared. On the contrary, some argue that they’ve been presented as a problem for the survival of Quebec’s...
Grab a coffee and a snack with your fellow forum participants!
Presentations:Addressing The Ripple Effect for Better or Worse: Anglophone Youth Mental Health Crisis and Its Ongoing Causes and Consequences in New CarlisleMary Zettl, ENVIZSAGEMulti-generational disparities linked to mental health issues among anglophone populations in the Gaspé region are documented....
Workshop:portraitX: A Creative Model for Innovative, Tech-Enabled Experiential LearningNathalie Hazan, Raison d'artportraitX is an award-winning digital art educational initiative designed to address the complex challenges youth face online.This hands-on workshop introduces participants to an innovative model that integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) and experie...
PresentationsTraining for Tomorrow: Addressing the Vocational Attainment Gap for Québec’s English-speaking CommunitiesMorgan Gagnon, PERTDespite growing demand in Québec’s trades sectors, English speakers pursue vocational training at less than half the rate of their French-speaking peers. This presentation draws on PERT’s latest research to explore what’s behind that gap—from limited awareness and harmful myths to access issues and language barr...
PresentationsOne Parent, Many Languages: 12 Strategies for Raising a Bilingual Child as a Solo ParentSophie Werheimer, Evaluation and research consultantThe One Parent / One Language approach is often touted as a strategy to support language acquisition in bilingual households. Not only does the approach’s efficacy remain inconclusive, but it problematically assumes that all children grow up in two-parent households. As the solo parent of a toddl...
Lorraine O'Donnell, QUESCRENRaymond Théberge, Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada