Message from the Executive Director
To all stakeholders in the cause of student retention and educational success:
Réunir Réussir (R2) is proud to officially
launch its plan to support local efforts to keep young Quebecers in
school.
Our non-profit organization was created in December 2009 further
to a partnership agreement between the Secrétariat à la jeunesse
(Quebec youth secretariat) and the Fondation Lucie et André
Chagnon. This agreement formalizes the partners' common view
that the growing number of students dropping out of school is a
major social problem, and expresses their determination to find
solutions to this problem to ensure the future prosperity of the
province of Quebec.
The 2009 report of the Ménard task group on student retention
and academic success in Quebec,entitled Savoir pour
pouvoir, clearly identified the seriously detrimental
repercussions of a low rate of high school graduation in the
under-20 age group. Although there has been improvement, close to
30% of young people under 20 are still leaving school before
obtaining a diploma or other form of qualification. The economic
and social costs of this drop-out rate-over the short, medium and
long term-are enormous. The failure of young people to graduate or
become fully qualified also leads to a weakening of the entire
social fabric and an increasing shortage of competent employees for
our businesses.
Finally, we know that these effects are felt more keenly in
certain more remote regions, and could even jeopardize the survival
of those that have been the hardest hit. It is therefore crucial to
help young people stay in school so they can realize their full
potential, find employment, achieve financial independence and play
an active role in the social and economic life of their region and
of Quebec as a whole.
Our new signature-Réunir Réussir (R2)-was chosen to reflect the
unifying role we have chosen to take for local actors and stakeholders. We believe that every
region has the necessary resources and expertise to collectively
advance the educational success of its young people. Réunir
Réussir (R2) is intent
on supporting the development of partnerships among key actors and
stakeholders in educational success to ensure that the end result
is greater than the sum of its parts. We have to act together to
promote educational success… starting today!
During the five-year term of our adventure, we will do our
utmost to play a vital role in improving the economic and social
health of Quebec. We urge you to join in this movement that was
begun several years ago. Together, we can help young people make a
success of their lives.
Sophie Harnois, CHRP
Executive Director