Royal West Academy’s Active Learning Classroom campaign sees results

Thanks to the incredible generosity of parents, alumni, and donors, the Royal West Academy Foundation has been making remarkable progress on the Active Learning Classroom Campaign to modernize classrooms to provide more flexible learning environments for students and teachers.  

 From the anonymous donor, the result has been a complete redesign of Room 209—an English and Drama classroom dedicated to retired teacher Doug Floen. The donor, shared that his experience in Mr. Floen’s English and Drama classes had a profound impact on his life. As a way of giving back, this former student made a generous contribution to fully fund the transformation of Suzanne Amro’s classroom, room 209 into a modern, dynamic learning space that will continue to inspire future generations.

To celebrate this meaningful gift, RWA hosted a special recognition event, where members of the school community gathered to unveil the newly redesigned classroom. The highlight of the evening was the moment when Mr. Floen was invited to see the space dedicated in his name. Outside the classroom, a recognition plaque was mounted,  commemorating his years of dedication to teaching and his lasting impact on students. The event was filled with gratitude for both Mr. Floen’s contributions and the incredible generosity of the anonymous alumni donor. It was a testament to the power of education and the profound influence teachers have on their students—an influence that can last far beyond graduation.

 As for  Kelly Remai, he and his family donated  $30,000 last  January to upgrade Room 313 to an Active Learning Classroom (ALC). It is currently being used by Jody-Amélie Cayer,  who teaches English and is adored by her students, a dozen or so of whom chose to have lunch with her in the classroom everyday.  On September 15, 2025,   Room  313 will formally be dedicated as “Remai Room.”

 Melissa Remai started at Royal West last fall.  “We live in the Plateau and I personally thought it was a waste of time to go to the RWA Open House in the Fall of 2024 as I never thought Melissa would want to spend 45 to 50 minutes commuting to high school every morning and then the same coming home,” said Kelly.   “However, my wife, Tatiana, insisted we attend in order to  be thorough.  Melissa fell in love with the school at the front door of the Foundation gym with her first conversation with a RWA student.  At the end of the evening, she said to me, ‘Daddy, they are so smart and they are so confident, and yet, they are so nice.  Do you think there would be any way I could ever be one of them?’   From what we have seen and based on the information available to us at the RWA Foundation, the upgrade to ALC is a game changer.  The children who are using the three upgraded RWA classrooms report feeling materially less wear and tear on their bodies, being able to retain more knowledge and being able to perform better with less effort.”

Kelly adds that for anyone planning to discuss the tax advantage of giving to a school foundation, every $100 of donation provides a tax credit of approximately $54 between the Federal and Quebec personal income tax returns and this is for all income levels.  Accordingly, a family that donated $100 would receive tax credits of $54 so the net cost to them would be $46.  The tax advantages have been part of Canadian income tax policy for two generations as there is a recognition that charities do good work and improve the quality of life for Canadians in ways that Government is simply not able to do on its own.    

About the English Montreal School Board
With a youth and adult sector population of more than 35,000 students, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is the largest English public school board in Quebec. Established on July 1, 1998, when the province created new boards along linguistic lines, the EMSB network consists of 73 schools and centres. For more details, visit the EMSB website at www.emsb.qc.ca