Parents prefer Boucherie

Westside parents with young children in French immersion programs would like them to attend Mount Boucherie Secondary rather than Kelowna Secondary, a survey has found.

But parents of the 14 children now in Grade 8 French immersion — currently the highest level offered on the Westside — want them to continue the program at KSS to broaden their experience.

Trustees will decide at a meeting on Jan. 6 whether to designate MBSS or KSS as the French immersion high school for students on the Westside, effective September 2022.

District staff recommend the designation be given to MBSS, reflecting the fact that almost two-thirds of parents who responded to a recent survey preferred that school over KSS.

“Crossing the bridge is a huge deterrent to most people,” one respondent wrote.

“It would be a pain for us to send our kids all the way into Kelowna. We would rather they stay in West Kelowna,” wrote another.

Some Westside parents, however, prefer the KSS option, saying that as a bigger school, it offers a more diverse array of courses for students.

“My child should have access to the best possible French immersion education available in our community, and that’s at KSS,” one parent wrote.

“KSS is a great school and I think this is the best option for opportunity for our children’s French,” another wrote.

The school district’s top capital priority is a new Westside high school, which would include an immersion program.

Photo contributed Most parents of Westside youngsters currently enrolled in French Immersion want them to continue their high school studies at Mount Boucherie Secondary.