CSDM teachers organize 'human chain' protests around schools

Teachers at 25 schools in Montreal's French-language school board — the Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) — were joined by parents and students in forming a "human chain" to protest government cuts to education.

• CSDM warns budget cuts will hurt school services

The May 1 protests, held between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., were led by Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf, a primary school in Rosemont—La-Petite-Patrie.

Lyne Duhaime, head of the governing board at the school, cited overcrowding and scaled back services as reasons for the protest.

"In Quebec, primary and secondary education is a fundamental right... However, the current situation threatens this right," Duhaime said in a statement.

"We demand adequate and stable funding for the primary and secondary public education system in Quebec, a rapid and lasting solution to overcrowding in schools and access to professional services for our children and their teachers."

Here is a list of the participating schools:

• 1. Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf
• 2. Sainte-Cécile
• 3. Saint-Anselme
• 4. Rose-des-vents
• 5. Saint-Pierre-Claver
• 6. Saint-Arsène
• 7. École Saint-Marc
• 8. Saint-Barthélemy
• 9. Saint-François-Solano
• 10. Saint - Ambroise
• 11. Saint-Clément
• 12. Laurier
• 13. Lanaudière
• 14. Charles Bruneau
• 15. Face
• 16. Ste-Bibiane
• 17. Charles-Lemoyne
• 18. Madeleine de Verchères
• 19. Hélène-Boullé
• 20. La Mennais
• 21. CPE Harmonie
• 22. École St-Donat
• 23. Au pied de la montagne
• 24. École Arc-en-ciel
• 25. École Espace-jeunesse