Little has changed since the Upper Grand District School Board business operations committee approved French immersion enrolment caps on May 10.
After a slight word clarification, all the recommendations regarding the French as a second language (FSL) program were ratified at the May 24 board meeting.
There will be school-specific junior kindergarten enrolment caps beginning in 2017-18.
Though the enrolment selection process is not yet outlined, students who are not selected for the immersion program at their home school will be considered for placement in an underutilized school.
New French immersion programs could also be created at underutilized schools if there is enough demand.
The board also decided it would not change instructional time unless there are insufficient teachers, at which point the instructional time will be reviewed and adjusted.
Three delegations at the May 24 meeting spoke in support of the French immersion program.
The parent delegates spoke about how happy they were with the board’s decisions thus far but stressed the conversation needs to continue and more work needs to be done.
All three delegations were supported establishing a French as a second language advisory committee (FSLAC).
“We have researched other FSL advisory committees and they are found in 16 different school boards across the province,” said Palmerston Public School parent Robin Ross.
“Our goal in requesting FSLAC is to help manage the program without increasing staff time or costs.”
The proposed committee would look at both the French immersion and core French programs in the board.
Board trustee Susan Moziar made other trustees aware that she plans to bring forward a motion at a future meeting recommending an FSLAC be established. She suggested the committee would support the implementation of the FSL action plan and provide advice for the development and review of the French immersion application random selection, wait list and program development process.
The composition of the proposed committee has not yet been decided.
