ShiftED Podcast #74 Rooted in Relationships: Debbie Horrocks and the Growth of Québec’s Community Schools

What if a school was more than a school—what if it was the beating heart of its community? We sit down with longtime CLC leader Debbie Horrocks to trace how Quebec’s Community Learning Centers grew from a bold idea into a 90-school network that strengthens English education while weaving families, services, and culture into daily learning. From the early vision to today’s realities, we explore why this approach succeeds where top-down models often stall: local ownership, patient relationship-building, and a laser focus on student well-being.Debbie walks us through the origin story, the flexible framework that let each region adapt the model, and the unsung role of Community Development Agents who keep one foot in school life and one in the wider community. We dig into the hard parts too—single-stream funding, uneven job classifications, and what happens when conferences and convening go dark. Then we spotlight the partnerships that changed the game. With CHSSN, CLCs create direct pathways to mental health and family wellness services in English. With ELAN, artists help students explore identity and belonging through creative work. These are reciprocal relationships—schools offer access and trust; partners bring expertise, data, and resources—and they add up to collective impact.Rural and remote contexts bring their own stakes: in some towns, the CLC school is the last English institution. The hub model keeps those schools visible and valued, and it nurtures resilience through political swings and pandemics alike. Along the way, leaders emerge—principals and CDAs who carry the culture to new regions, proving that the community school mindset travels with people. We close with Debbie’s hopes for the future: every school as a community school, stronger cross-sector ties, and a renewed commitment to convening so the network stays alive and human.If you believe schools should be places where families connect, services reach those who need them, and students feel they belong, this conversation will energize you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review telling us what partnership your local school should build next.