‘Closure would be catastrophic’: Montreal’s Centennial Academy in financial crisis

Centennial Academy, a private school in downtown Montreal that provides specialized education to 300 students with special needs, is in financial trouble and may have to close by the end of the academic school year.

The financial troubles stem from nearly $9 million in debt, a result of the school losing its old location and moving to a heritage building in 2020.

The school provides a subsidized English-speaking sector and a fully private French-speaking sector.

The French program, which serves half of the student body, is especially vulnerable as it does not receive government funding due to a freeze.

The school has applied for emergency support, but without government intervention, its future is uncertain.

“I feel like, without this school, I’m not going to be able to get the proper education I need for my future. And that’s kind of stressing me out,” said Maya Lamarche, a 15-year-old student at Centennial Academy.

Mobilizing at the National Assembly

On Wednesday, Jennifer Maccarone, the Liberal MNA for Westmount–Saint-Louis and Official Opposition Critic for Families, joined the “Coalition Sauvons Centennial – Un avenir pour nos enfants” to urgently call on the provincial government to intervene.

The school is located in her riding, and the coalition feels its closure would have severe consequences for students and families who depend on its services.

At a press conference at the National Assembly, Maccarone was joined by her colleagues Madwa-Nika Cadet, the opposition’s education critic, and Elisabeth Prass, the opposition critic for persons living with a disability or with autism spectrum, as well as representatives of the coalition. All of them expressed concern about the impact the closure would have on the community.

“If Centennial Academy is forced to close, 300 students with special needs will be displaced into the public school system, where their chances of academic success would be seriously compromised,” said Maccarone. “Public schools are already overwhelmed and struggling to provide the specialized support these students require. It is imperative to save this school, which offers a life-changing approach to vulnerable students. We urge the government to see beyond the financial aspect and to consider the lives of the young people who thrive because of Centennial.”

Education Minister Bernard Drainville indicated that he welcomed with “great openness” the request for emergency financial assistance from Centennial Academy, which is facing imminent closure. However, as the Montreal private school is struggling with “a very high level of debt,” the minister wants to see a “recovery plan.”

“We recognize the great value of Centennial Academy, a private school. We recognize the importance of the services it provides to students with significant special needs,” the minister said during question period Wednesday, adding that the school needed “financial stability.”

Several dozen parents and students mobilized against the school’s closure were present at the National Assembly on Wednesday to challenge the minister.

“All our children are succeeding at this school. We’re giving them a future with this school. They’re going to pursue careers; they won’t be dropouts. (…) So we really need help.” “We need immediate and ongoing public funding,” said Karine Sigouin, spokesperson for the Save Centennial Coalition, with tears in her eyes.

Drainville did accept to meet the group, who were in Quebec City on Wednesday. The school has been in talks with the government since September. Maccarone says there is hope for a short-term solution, but it’s a long-term solution that’s needed.

“The parents have come here today because we’ve come to the point where it’s a last resort and there is no plan B, but the school administration has been speaking with the Ministry of Education since September, trying to find a plan and a course of action that will assure the longevity of Centennial Academy,” expressed Maccarone.

“The real solution to ensure the longevity of this school on both sides is to extend the contract that allows them to have a partially subsidized francophone sector so that they can be self-sufficient. It’s the same building. It’s the same CA. It’s the same principal, the same teachers that work on both sides. We’re not asking for a new approval. We’re asking for an extension of what already exists. It is the only way to ensure their long-term vitality. Otherwise, short-term financial aid is a band-aid. And what we’re looking for is surgery so that we can get out the cancer and survive.”

‘Parents here that are desperate’

Parents of students at Centennial Academy are worried because they feel the school provides a unique and essential service. They say there are few other schools like Centennial that can meet the needs of students with learning challenges and that the loss of Centennial Academy would be devastating for them.

“You’re talking to distressed parents who’ve tried everything, and they found a solution with Centennial. It would be a pity to have such a wonderful school close its doors,” expressed Fatiha Sagid, a parent of a Centennial Academy student. “Then, you face the fact that you have to go back to a system that wasn’t working. So you finally find a solution, but then somebody comes and takes it away because they don’t understand that it’s one school, that it’s a school that I was able to see that they wanted to promote the French language for people with difficulties that were not being answered with their needs in the public system. And because of that, all those who were lucky enough to have the English eligibility and study in English are now like the entire school is closed. It just doesn’t make sense.

“You’re talking to parents here that are desperate. You’re talking to parents who have made huge sacrifices in their lives, who don’t necessarily afford, but are borrowing money, getting funds, getting grandparents to chip in, and getting people to help to be able to hope for a future for their kids.”

Sagid says she is upset and surprised that Centennial Academy, the school her child with a rare condition attends, is closing. She feels this is a big failure and wants to find a way to keep the school open.

“My child, this is her second year at the school, and she’s born with a rare genetic mutation. So she doesn’t fall under the spectrum of ADHD or dyspraxia or dyslexia, but she has a rare genetic mutation, maybe a few hundred in the world, that impairs her cognitive skills. I’ve had to travel the world to come to Centennial and now realize it’s closing? That’s, I don’t know, a sign you shake. For me, it’s a failure. So we have to find a solution and find a way to get the school to stay open.”

Quick action needed

Even though the school has a very high success rate and plays an important role in the community, its financial problems are putting its future at risk. The school is trying to raise money, but the government needs to act quickly to keep it open.

Maccarone and the Coalition are asking the provincial government to give the support needed to keep the school running. They stress that quick action is needed to prevent the closure of this important school and to protect the future of its students.

Without help, Centennial Academy could be forced to close by the end of the school year, leaving students and their families without the specialized education they depend on.

“Our Coalition now includes more than 2,000 members and continues to rally support to save our school. A closure would be catastrophic for the students, and also for the parents who are witnessing their children thrive and succeed thanks to Centennial. It is unthinkable to hold children with special needs hostage in this way,” said Karine Sigouin, spokesperson for Coalition Sauvons Centennial – Un avenir pour nos enfants.

“If we do not save Centennial, we are abandoning these families. We are abandoning these students and we are abandoning many people that can contribute to the vitality of our province,” expressed Maccarone.