Val-des-Monts students to be relocated to four schools after fire

Residents survey the damage the day after a fire partially destroyed Val-des-Monts elementary school in Prévost, Que., on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Courtesy of Melanie Poitras)

About 365 students from Val-des-Monts elementary school in Prévost, Que., will be relocated to four nearby schools after a fire destroyed their building last Friday.

Education Minister Sonia LeBel initially said the students would be split between three schools, but the Rivière-du-Nord school service centre confirmed in a statement Monday afternoon that four would be needed to accommodate them.

“I met with the director general of the Rivière-du-Nord school service centre on Saturday and Sunday. They already have the situation well in hand,” LeBel told The Canadian Press.

The school service centre declared Monday a pedagogical day to give students time to adjust and access available support services.

“For now, the idea is to stabilize these children as quickly as possible and for as long as possible,” said LeBel, who was recently named education minister.

“The option being considered is to relocate them and let them finish the school year. I think it’s the best solution, but we’ll take the time to analyze the situation. Once the emergency is handled, we’ll sit down again with the school service centre and the municipality to make a medium- and long-term plan.”

The students will be divided between École des Falaises and École du Champ-Fleuri in Prévost, École du Grand-Héron in Sainte-Sophie, and École aux Couleurs-du-Savoir in Saint-Jérôme. Classes are scheduled to resume on Sept. 18, with transportation and daycare services also restarting that day.

The school service centre stressed there was no connection between the fire and the heating problems the school faced last winter.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Prévost launched a fundraiser to help families whose children lost school supplies and clothing in the fire. As of Monday morning, nearly $80,000 had been raised.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 15, 2025.