More than 100 junior kindergarten French immersion registrants will not have a place in the program next year.
A recent French Review Report identified that there were 715 JK French immersion registrants but only 603 spots available in the Upper Grand District School Board.
In Wellington County there are four schools with French immersion, two of which had enrolment numbers exceeding the cap.
The Brisbane Public School cap is 40 and there were 43 registrants, so three students will be on a wait list.
The James McQueen Public School cap in Fergus is 50, but there were 56 on-time registrants, leaving six students on the wait list.
Both Harris Mill Public School and Palmerston Public School also have French immersion programs. However, there were 30 registrants at Harris Mill, matching the school’s cap, and there were 29 registrants at Palmerston, one below the 30-student cap.
Enrolment at the remainder of the board schools include:
Guelph
– Arbour Vista PS with 57 registrants and 40 spots;
– Edward Johnson PS with 58 registrants and 46 spots;
– Fred A. Hamilton PS with 39 registrants and 35 spots;
– Guelph Lake PS with 76 registrants and 60 spots;
– John McCrae PS with 61 registrants and 46 spots;
– King George PS with 45 registrants and 46 spots;
– Paisley Road PS with 58 registrants and 46 spots;
– Victory Public PS with 29 registrants and 30 spots;
Dufferin
– Centennial Hylands ES in Shelburne with 35 registrants and 26 spots; and
– Princess Elizabeth PS in Orangeville with 99 registrants and 78 spots.
“The feasibility of offering a holding site is dependent on several factors, including the total number of on-time registrants by region who exceed the schools’ caps, availability of qualified (French as a Second Language) FSL teachers and the availability of pupil places in schools,” the report states.
“Measurement of the feasibility for establishing a holding site is based in part, on the ability to organize at least one class of students.”
This is based on the average class size of 26 students for full day kindergarten.
While there are enough students on the wait lists to create holding sites at Willow Road Public School in Guelph and Parkinson Centennial Public School in Orangeville, there are not enough students on the wait list in Fergus or Brisbane.
The wait-listed students at those schools will remain on a wait list, but attend their home regular track school.
“These students may move into JK FI if attrition provides an opportunity during the 2017/18 school year,” the report states.
Parents were to learn on Feb. 28 whether their child was registered at the home French immersion school or put on a wait list.
The school-based selection process was random, however registrants with siblings currently in French immersion were prioritized.
Background
This is the first year JK students have registered under the school-based cap process.
Registration documents for JK French immersion enrolment needed to be submitted by 4pm on Jan. 26.
