French immersion plans approved
Trustees vote to implement changes after parents speak out against them
Ottawa’s public school board has approved controversial changes to French immersion and kindergarten that will take effect next fall.
After nearly three hours of debate Tuesday night and hearing from several delegations of parents opposed to the changes, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board approved them anyway.
All kindergarten classes will become bilingual, with half the instruction in English and half in French. The amount of French instruction in the early French immersion program will be reduced because the language of instruction for math will switch to English in Grades 1 to 3.
Board staff said the changes would be better for students and also benefit the board’s bottom line by $2.7 million a year.
Some parents have spent months passionately lobbying against the changes. They argued that the board has provided no compelling reasons for “watering down” the popular immersion program. Others opposed removing the option of attending kindergarten in English.
Bilingual kindergarten will help improve facility in French for all kids, and that is critical in Ottawa, said trustee Lynn Scott, who sup- ported the changes. “We have an opportunity here to get all of our kids off to a better start.”
Children in junior kindergarten already take 20 minutes of French each day, she said, and the proposal would simply boost that amount to 50 per cent of instruction time.
Parent Paul Dillman told the board that the issues are complex and need more study. He also said it was distressing that trustees apparently have low regard for the opinions of teachers.
Two board surveys showed the majority of teachers who responded were opposed to bilingual kindergartens.
Staff argued the extra French in kindergarten would improve “eq- uity” by nudging more newcomers, students with special needs, boys, and children from lower socio-economic groups to enrol in French immersion.
Stittsville parent Jennifer Beveridge said that if kindergarten became bilingual, she would take drastic action for her son Kyle.
It’s not right for an English public school board to eliminate the option of English kindergarten, says Beveridge, who spoke at the board meeting Tuesday.
Beveridge said she might file a legal challenge against the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, pull Kyle out of school during French instruction, home-school him or even move out of Ottawa.