Board to review French Immersion in elementary and secondary schools

At the annual Accommodation Meeting held on January 24, 2011, Rainbow District School Board Trustees decided to conduct a review of the Board’s French Immersion Program. The review will include community consultation. There will be no school accommodation reviews taking place this year.   

“We want to build on the success of French Immersion in our elementary and secondary schools, so we will focus our efforts on strengthening the program this year,” said Rainbow District School Board Director of Education Norm Blaseg.

Rainbow District School Board currently offers French Immersion in 13 elementary schools and six secondary schools. There are 2,368 students enrolled in French Immersion in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. There are 691 students enrolled in French Immersion in Grades 9 to 12.

“Our goal is to continue to offer the best programming possible for French Immersion students as they progress from Junior Kindergarten through to secondary school graduation,” said Director Blaseg. “We want to give our students every opportunity to become bilingual and gain the skills to communicate effectively in both official languages.” 

French Immersion provides a balance of English and French instruction. French Immersion is designed for English-speaking parents/guardians so they can support their children in school.

In addition to the French Immersion program review, the Board approved the following motions as part of its 5-Year Capital / Accommodation Plan:

• That an Accommodation Review Committee be considered for the following Espanola area schools within the next five years – A.B. Ellis Public School, S. Geiger Public School, Webbwood Public School and Espanola High School.

• That an Accommodation Review Committee be considered for the following Valley North area schools within the next five years – Chelmsford Public School, Larchwood Public School, Levack Public School and Chelmsford Valley District Composite School.

“While there are no accommodation reviews taking place this year, we do plan to consider the establishment of Accommodation Review Committees for the Espanola and Valley North areas at some point in the next five years,” said Director Blaseg. “This will give the Ministry of Education a clear signal that more revitalization is required in Rainbow District School Board.” He added: “During an accommodation review, we look at the delivery of education in a particular area with the view of making improvements in the best interests of students.”

-30-

Media Contact:

Norm Blaseg, Director of Education,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171, ext. 7229.