Despite the fact that there will be restrictions on access to the French immersion program at the Upper Grand District School Board, parents were satisfied Tuesday night that their concerns had been heard and considered by trustees.
“At the end of the day they listened,” said Tyler Whale, one of three parent delegations to speak to the board on the contentious French immersion issue.
“This is a complex issue and we can’t be happy about everything. But they talked about every suggestion we made. I’d love more back and forth with trustees. An advisory committee would do that.”
While facing declining enrolment overall, the board’s French immersion program is increasingly popular. The surge in enrolment has had a ripple effect on school capacity, bussing and staffing issues. The board has conducted a series of boundary reviews in recent years to deal with the problem but last year a staff report recommended capping enrolment and holding a lottery for placements.
After holding public information sessions for parents and numerous delegations and communications from parents to trustees, on Tuesday the board approved eight motions that represent compromise.
They include:
- Caps on enrolment based on school capacity. Specific numbers have been assigned to specific schools in the board.
- Staff will develop a fair and transparent way to select students placed on a wait list.
- Junior kindergarten remains the only entry point into the program
- The board will explore starting core French in Grade 1 in conjunction with a provincial review.
- The status quo remains for instruction time in French.
- The differentially applied school level JK French immersion enrolment caps will be reviewed annually.
While there will be school-specific limits on enrolment in French immersion effective September 2017, the new system still allows for growth of the program board-wide, and that’s seen as a positive.
“French immersion is good business for the board,” said Jen MacLeod in her presentation to trustees. “The issue is how to manage growth.”
What parents want now is the formation of a French as a Second Language advisory committee made up of staff, administrators, parents and trustees, to guide and advise the board on its French language programs.
Trustee Susan Moziar announced her intention to present a motion at the next special board meeting in June to establish an FSL advisory committee.
