Francophone Partnerships

SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS

“Destination réussite”

Destination Réussite volet I (DRI) is a unique French-language education initiative launched by the Ontario Ministry of Education, within its Student Success strategy. The initiative supports partnerships between school boards and postsecondary institutions so they may offer diversified high quality learning opportunities in a Francophone setting.

Programs implemented through this initiative aim to encourage high school graduation and facilitate the transition to postsecondary studies and the workplace.

In Ontario, more than 3,000 Francophone youth benefit from this program each year strictly through initiatives developed by the Office of Francophone Affairs at Laurentian University.

Some of these initiatives are:

1. “Destination Réussite” Orientation Workshops
   • for Grade 11-12 students;
   • ~20 workshops without assessment and ~20 training sessions with assessment and acknowledgement;
   • representation from more than 30 schools in six school boards in northern Ontario and three in central and south-western Ontario;
   • nearly 800 student participants.
      
2. “Caravane des programmes”
   • for grade 11-12 students;
   • a tour of experts from different postsecondary institutions coordinated by Laurentian and tailored to meet the educational needs of the Specialist High Skills Major in schools of CSW Ontario;
   • about 15 workshops are offered to participants throughout the day;
   • three sites: Chatham, Burlington and Toronto, to cover as much territory as possible in central and south-western (CSW) Ontario;
   • representation from some twenty schools in three CSW French-language school boards;
   • more than 500 participants.
      
3. “Jeunes Voyageurs” Camps
   • for grade 7-8 students;
   • four major themes (geography, sciences, health and culture) are covered through seven different workshops during two workshop days;
   • promotion of model Francophone students from various academic programs at Laurentian through the hiring of 24 students as camp facilitators; 
   • some 250 student participants from the six French-language school boards in northern Ontario.
      
4. Virtual Experts
   • for grade 7-12 students;
   • special access to nearly a dozen Laurentian experts in sciences, math, health and the arts;
   • learning sessions offered by videoconference help to highlight course content and spark the interest of students for a particular discipline;
   • Laurentian experts include:
     • Fabrice Colin, professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
     • Hélène Dallaire, professor, Department of Theatre
     • Jacques Farine, professor, Department of Physics
     • Éric Gauthier, professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
     • Youssou Gningue, professor and chair, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
     • Paul-Émile Legault, professor, Department of Physics
     • David Lesbarrères, professor, Department of Biology
     • Mery Martinez Garcia, professor, Department of Biology
     • Sabine Montaut, professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
     • Anne Watelet, professor, School of the Environment
        

Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne

The Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne (FESFO) is the spokesperson organization for 25,000 young Francophones attending one of the 97 French-language secondary schools in Ontario. Directed by a board of representatives – a provincial board of youth elected during its annual general meeting – the FESFO informs, raises awareness and mobilizes thousands of young people so that their voices are heard and their needs are met by various decision-makers.  Through its Office of Francophone Affairs, the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Francophone Affairs at Laurentian University regularly supports FESFO-organized events.