Conseil des écoles fransaskoises

CÉF was created in 1995. Its creation stems directly from the application of section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives Francophones in Saskatchewan the right to manage their schools. It was a constitutional order that motivated the establishment of the Fransaskois school division.[2]

CÉF has constitutional obligations incumbent on it under sections 23 and 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and related case law. This responsibility takes the form of French-language school administration on behalf of entitled parents and for the benefit of the French-speaking community of Saskatchewan.[3]

CÉF has a threefold academic, cultural and community mandate to meet its constitutional obligations. Its primary mandate as a school board is to ensure that all students entrusted to it can develop to their full potential by benefiting from a quality education in French as a first language. As part of its cultural and community mandates, CÉF offers students a variety of Francophone activities that allow them to assert their Francophone identity and develop their linguistic potential and their sense of belonging withing the Fransaskois community. CÉF works hand in glove with Fransaskois organisations and the community to support the development and preservation of the language and culture of the Francophone minority in Saskatchewan.[4]

Since its creation, CÉF has grown from 890 students to over 2,000 students in 2020. There are Fransaskois schools in several cities and villages across Saskatchewan.[5]

CÉF schools are schools of excellence in French as a first language, administered by an organization that focuses on customer service and which continues to evolve in order to offer quality educational and student services. CÉF's educational offer and delivery modes meet a multitude of needs - economic, social, demographic and community - with which a French-language school system operating in a predominantly English-speaking environment must contend with at a time when globalization, cultural, social justice and sustainable development have come to the forefront.

Year after year, CÉF schools graduates obtain academic results in English and French that are superior to those of students from English language schools in Saskatchewan (including students from French immersion schools). Our graduates obtain diplomas bearing the mention “bilingual francophone” which are recognized not only by the Ministry of Education, but also clears the way post-secondary studies in the language of their choice here in Saskatchewan, in Canada and worldwide. Above all, the student success prevails.[6]

In March 2019, Conseil des écoles fransaskoises and the Government of Saskatchewan reached an agreement to build three new French-language schools in Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon over a 6-year period to meet the needs of French-speaking families in the province.[7]

• In 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan announced the construction of a new school in the northern part of city of Regina scheduled to open for the start of the September 2023 school year.
• Discussions are ongoing for the construction of a new school in Prince Albert. The possibility of acquiring former Rivier Academy and the possibility of building a new school with allocated community space is also still under consideration.
• CÉF meanwhile continues to work towards the construction of a new school in Saskatoon which under the agreement ratified with the provincial government should open its doors in time for the start of the school year in 2025 -- when the three school should be completed and welcoming students under the agreement with the Province.
• In the meantime, CÉF continues to promote its pressing needs in other Francophone communities in Saskatchewan.

In Fransaskoisie, the school is at the heart of the community. Although the Fransaskois recognize that their journey is part of Western Canada's colonization movement --and thus are the beneficiaries of the numbered treaties -- they have established their own communities and institutions knowing that to survive as Francophones in a predominantly anglophone ocean of people, they had to get their own schools. Fransaskois communities today continue to evolve, thanks to the contribution of Francophone immigration.

Fransaskois schools are now part of an inclusive undertaking aimed at welcoming Francophone students from here and elsewhere, and at fostering the development of Francophone communities by helping them achieve their full potential. The approach favored by the Fransaskois is the civic community school approach: a school that harnesses the knowledge and wisdom the community offers to train citizens committed to the development of their community, by making use of human, organizational, cultural resources and the social wealth available for the benefit of their educational journey.[8]

The governance[9] of Conseil des écoles fransaskois is ensured by Conseil scolaire fransaskois (CSF), the table of elected officials made up of 10 school trustees representing each of the Francophone school regions recognized by government authorities.[10] The table of elected officials is responsible for establishing major orientations of the Fransaskois education system and responsible for ensuring that the vision and mission of the organisation are respected.[11]

• Official website