École normale d'Alma

Institution founded in 1955, Alma, Québec.

Alma Normal School was established in 1955, thanks to the combined efforts of the region’s religious and school authorities over a ten year time span. It shared the premises with Marguerite-Bourgeoys High School in Alma. The direction of the new Alma Normal School was entrusted to the Congrégation de Notre-Dame; Sister Sainte-Françoise-Céline (Françoise Payette) was its founder and director. Father Philippe Vincent was named school principal. In September 1955, twelve students enrolled for the purpose of obtaining their level C licenses. In October of the following year, the first graduation ceremony was held. The twelve registered students obtained their diplomas and were already working in different parts of the region. In 1957, a level B licence program was offered for the first time. Seven of the students returned to pursue their studies. During that same year, nine enrolled student teachers from neighbouring parishes were boarders at Saint-Joseph d'Alma Convent. In 1959, the number of registered students increased; a second level C licence class was opened. During that year, eight level B and thirty-four level C licenses were awarded. Among the graduates, twenty found employment as teachers in the different schools of the region.

 

In 1960, the students were involved in youth movements and associations, such as, Congrégations mariales, Union de la Sainte Vierge, Jeunesse étudiante catholique, Cercle des jeunes naturalistes, and a film club. That same year, new procedures were implemented in normal schools; students had to follow two years of compulsory academic studies in order to obtain a teaching licence. The following year, fifty-seven young women enrolled; for the first time, they were offered specialized courses in diction, phonetics and physical education. In 1963, Alma Normal School moved to Isle Maligne; the Alma School Commission offered space in Sainte-Marie School (a boys’ school administered by lay personnel) in order to accommodate the boarders. The more spacious building, which was left unoccupied the previous year, was better adapted to the needs of Alma Normal School whose enrollment had increased. The students who started that year were welcomed into a large, clean building comprised of about twenty classrooms. In October 1964, during the graduation ceremony, one of the normal school students was awarded a medal for having finished first in the level B exams. This decoration, awarded by Quebec’s Lieutenant Governor, was the highest distinction a student teacher could obtain. That same year, following the recommendations of the Parent Report on Education in Quebec, the formation of teachers was no longer offered in normal schools, but rather in universities. Thus normal schools gradually closed, as did the one in Alma in June 1965.

NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.

École normale d'Alma

École normale d'Alma

Alma, Quebec

Institution fondée en 1955

Dernière adresse : 351, rue Saint-Joseph

École normale d'Alma

École normale d'Alma

Alma, Quebec

Institution fondée en 1955

Dernière adresse : 1640, avenue Hamilton

First location : 351, rue Saint-Joseph
Second location : 1640, avenue Hamilton