French immersion enrolment caps are coming to the Upper Grand District School Board in the fall of 2017.
At a business operations committee meeting on May 10, trustees debated the remaining recommendations from the 2015 French review that were not approved in January.
The debate focused on enrolment caps, instruction time and the entry grade.
Before the debate began trustee Kathryn Cooper presented a list of alternate recommendations.
“I think it represents maybe a compromise between having a hard cap,” said Cooper. “It actually removes the hard cap for the board so it allows for growth in French immersion within the board and also provides the opportunity for a process by which if there’s not enough room in the home school … we can divert or offer placements in other locations.”
Cooper’s list addressed parental and community concerns about limiting the number of students who can enter the immersion program at each school.
Though school enrolment caps remain, the new approved recommendations insist on an annual report to review the caps as well as enrolment and demographic changes, with caps adjusted as needed.
For the 2017-18 school year the enrolment caps are:
– Ecole Arbour Vista – 40;
– Couling Crescent PS – 60;
– Edward Johnson PS – 46;
– Fred A. Hamilton PS – 35;
– John McCrae PS – 46;
– Ecole King George – 46;
– Paisley Road PS – 46;
– Victory PS – 30;
– Brisbane PS – 40;
– Ecole Harris Mill – 30;
– James McQueen PS – 50;
– Palmerston PS – 30; and
– Princess Elizabeth PS – 90
If the immersion program within a student’s boundary is at capacity, the board will try to find those students a place in a nearby immersion school that is underutilized. However, a spot is not guaranteed.
“There could be situations in which children or students simply cannot be accommodated,” board chair Mark Bailey said.
Board staff will report to trustees in the fall with more details about the French immersion enrolment process.
Trustees also approved a recommendation stating that if there’s enough interest and enrolment in one area, there could be a new school added to the list of those offering French immersion.
For students with a sibling registered in a French immersion program, the board will try to ensure the new student entering junior kindergarten is enrolled at the sibling’s school.
Trustee Barbara Lustgarten-Evoy said she thought grandfathering could potentially create an elitist program because new families may not have the same chance for enrolment.
“I think the staff would look … at things like equity and look at some of the historical trends of how many siblings go to how many schools,” said trustee Linda Busuttil.
“I think there would be some modeling of what it would look like before it came as an option.”
Another point that was highly contested in the original recommendation was a proposal to reduce the amount of instruction time throughout the entire immersion program.
However, trustees expressed faith that board staff will accommodate current instruction times.
“I have perfect confidence in the staff of our board that they can recruit the number of French immersion teachers that we need and that we don’t need to put a qualification on this,” Cooper said.
The recommendation passed by trustees keeps instructional time unchanged and includes a caveat that if the board does not meet staffing requirements, French immersion instructional time will to be reviewed.
Trustees also agreed to:
– explore the concept of starting core French in Grade 1 in conjunction with a ministry of education FSL (French as a second language) review;
– review the high school FSL program; and
– make junior kindergarten the entry point for the immersion program.
However, director of education Martha Rogers suggested a procedure to place transfer students is required.
The committee decisions need to be ratified at the next board meeting on May 24.
