CSDM commits to renovations at special-needs school that used closets as quiet rooms

Montreal's largest school board has committed to emergency renovations at an elementary school for autistic children after teachers there revealed theovercrowding is so bad that closets are being usedas quiet rooms for children in crisis.

The teachers went public with the story on Tuesday, more than a month after three union heads and Commission scolaire de Montral (CSDM)chairCatherine Harel-Bourdon sent a letter to Quebec Education MinisterJean-Franois Robergewarning that "the safety of students and staff is heavily compromised."

Teacher and union representative Marie Contant said theconditions at cole de l'tincelle broke her heart.

"It's horrible because we believe very, very intensely that our kids have the right to learn," she said."They can learn. It's very hard for us to watch that. We couldn't take it anymore."

Contant saidher union reached out to the school board on several occasions but she saidnothing was done.Harel-Bourdon, theCSDMpresident, said she was unaware of the severity of the problem, although she visited the school as recently asFebruary.

Radio-Canada sought comment fromRoberge several times, startinglast Friday, but the minister only addressed the issue after the teachers and union reps had gonepublic. He saidthe school, locatedin the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, "tolerated the intolerable."

Roberge saiddespite the letter sent to his office in March, he was unaware of the gravity of the situation.

Quebec "isn't in a underdeveloped country that tolerates putting the health of children in danger,'' he told reporters.

Roberge, a former teacher, said the needs of autistic children who are panicking or agitated need to be taken seriously. They need a spot to calm down that is safe and secure, he said, not a "badly adapted'' closet.

Premier Franois Legaultsaid the government never received a request from the school for more space. He said he appreciates that schools across Quebec are in need of renovations.

"But there is nothing that justifies putting autistic kids in a closet,'' he told reporters. "It's shocking. It's unacceptable.''

School population up 40 per cent in 10 years

The special needs school serves students onthe most serious end of the autism spectrum. Aggressive behaviour can becommon among them and many are non-verbal.

The school has grown in size dramatically. This year, itreached a record number of 134 students, 40 per centmore than 10 years ago and more than double the number when itopenedin 2002.

The rise in student population past capacity has been mirrored by an increase in tension and confrontations an agitated child can disturb others around them.

"The crises are more serious and more frequent, and we don't have an effective place to deal with them," Contantsaid. "So we have toput ourselves in danger to protect our students and prevent them fromself-harming or hurting other children."

At the end of March, staff recorded 150 student altercations with staff in a single week. In early May, they counted 407 altercations betweenstudents in five days.

Last year, because of the record enrolmentand with no other options, staff began using closets as quietrooms for children in crisis.

The closets are 1.8metres deep and1.3 metres wide, with ill-fitting doors andnowindows orventilation.They haveexposedscrews and electrical panels.

On Tuesday, Robergesaid he spoke with Harel-Bourdon, who told him the situation would be handled within a few days. He said the "error'' occurred after the school received more students this school year compared with the last one.

Roberge said the school board has enough resources to properly renovate the isolation room. And he delivered a message to the heads of school boards across the province.

"If there is a dangerous area, don't call the minister to come visit the school in a month. Fix it. OK?'' he said. "Find a solution.''

Contantsaid both the minister and the school board aren't addressing the real issue the renovations are not enough.

"Those rooms are only a symptom of the larger problem that is overpopulation and an unadapted building overall."