TRANSCRIPT

When I became director of the CMI, registration was down. Today, our main challenge is to stabilize and increase our student body. I believe we're succeeding because statistics for the last two years show a slight increase in enrolment. This is significant, because the population of the Mauricie has gone down. What's more, competition is stiff at both the elementary and secondary school levels. There are no fewer than three private high schools and two private elementary schools in Trois-Rivières, and of the three high schools, two are mixed. Attracting students in such a context is no easy matter. Many people insist we should advertise, and I think they're partly right - but I don't think advertising's the whole answer. First, we must be proudly conscious of who we are. At CMI, we carry out many valuable projects that most people don't know about. To remedy this situation, we must encourage our staff to make an effort to promote the school based on its achievements. I feel we've made considerable headway in this area since I came here four years ago.

Pierre Miville-Deschênes
Executive Director of CMI from 1999 to today.