Opening New Paths: Supporting Educational Success in Stanstead
What does it take to help every young person succeed?
Sometimes, it means sitting beside a Grade 5 student after school and working through a difficult reading assignment. Sometimes, it means helping a teenager write their first résumé or prepare for a job interview. Sometimes, it means giving a young person a place to spend the afternoon, a meal to share, an activity to look forward to, or an adult who notices when something isn't going well.
And sometimes, it simply means helping a young person believe that they have a future worth working toward.
On September 23, communities across Quebec will mark the Journée du Refus de l'Échec Scolaire (JRES), led by the Regroupement des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte au décrochage (ROCLD). The initiative challenges us to look beyond the idea that school success is simply a matter of individual choices or behaviour. Instead, it asks communities to consider the barriers young people face, and what we can do together to remove them.
The Stanstead Reality
In Stanstead, those barriers can look different than they do in larger urban centres. Transportation can make it difficult to access services and opportunities outside the community.
Financial pressures can limit access to activities and additional academic support.
Language can create another challenge in a bilingual region. And with fewer services available locally, young people and families may have fewer options when they need additional support.
These realities are part of why community-based support matters.
Where does Phelps come in?
At Phelps, supporting educational success means much more than helping a student finish their homework. It means building relationships, creating opportunities and making sure young people have somewhere to turn when school or life becomes difficult.
Phelps provides free educational and career support to young people throughout the Stanstead area. Its programs include elementary and high school tutoring, in-school STEM programming, youth activities, career support and leadership opportunities. Each year, more than 450 young people participate in Phelps programs, supported by more than 50 volunteers who contribute over 950 hours of their time.
For some students, that path begins with tutoring and individualized academic support. Phelps' tutoring programs give students additional time and attention outside the classroom, helping them work through challenges and build confidence in their abilities.
But educational success is about more than academics.
A young person's relationship with their community can matter just as much as their relationship with a textbook. Through programs such as Youth Club, young people have a place to connect with peers, participate in activities and build relationships with trusted adults. STEM and cooking programs give young people opportunities to discover new interests and develop skills in settings that feel different from a traditional classroom. Career programming helps older youth develop practical skills and begin thinking about what comes after high school. Phelps' Youth Leadership Committee gives young people opportunities to take part in community event planning and municipal government, helping them see themselves as active contributors to their community.
These experiences may not always be labelled "dropout prevention," but they are part of creating the conditions in which young people can remain engaged, with school, with their community and with their own sense of possibility.
In a community like Stanstead, that connection can be particularly important.
Phelps works closely with local schools, families, volunteers and community partners to create a network of support around young people. The organization is connected with the area's local elementary schools and high schools through its programming, helping create opportunities for students to access support close to home. The goal isn't to create one solution for every young person. It is to make sure there are different paths available when a young person encounters an obstacle.But creating those opportunities also requires a broader commitment to the conditions in which young people learn and grow.
What does preventing school dropout require?
Preventing school dropout requires solutions grounded in the realities of each community. At Phelps, we believe this means creating the conditions that allow young people, schools and community organizations to succeed together.
Giving schools the autonomy and flexibility to respond to local needs. Schools know their students and communities best. They need the ability—and the time—to make decisions based on local realities and adapt when those needs change.
Ensuring schools have the human resources they need. Children and youth need caring adults around them, including teachers, professionals and support staff. When these essential supports are reduced, students feel the impact.
Recognizing the role of community organizations. Community organizations are an important part of the support network surrounding young people. Their role should be formally recognized, with genuine, ongoing collaboration between schools and community organizations.
Providing stable and predictable funding. Schools, school service centres and community organizations working to promote school perseverance need adequate, stable and predictable funding to build programs, relationships and support systems that can last.
These aren't one-size-fits-all solutions. They are investments in the people and systems that surround young people, and in the ability of each community to respond to its own challenges.
This is the spirit behind the Journée du Refus de l'Échec Scolaire. Preventing school dropout is not the responsibility of one student, one teacher, one family or one organization. It is a shared responsibility, one that requires communities to recognize the barriers young people face and work together to create meaningful support.
In Stanstead, that work is already happening every day.
There is no single program that can guarantee success, and no organization can do this work alone. But when schools, families, community organizations, volunteers, partners and governments work together, we can make it easier for young people to find their way forward. We may not be able to remove every challenge a young person faces. But we can work together to make sure those challenges don't determine what comes next.
Every young person deserves the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their circumstances or postal code.
When we remove barriers, we open new paths.
Phelps Helps is a community-led non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, teens and young adults in Stanstead and the surrounding area. Through free educational, career and youth development programs, Phelps works alongside young people, families, schools, volunteers and community partners to create opportunities and remove barriers.
To learn more, volunteer or get involved, contact info@phelpshelps.ca, visit www.phelpshelps.ca or call 819-704-0799.
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