Parent input is going to help TLDSB make decisions on French programming. The Trillium Lakelands District School Board has opened an online survey about French as a Second Language classes and resources.
Currently, the board offers Core French for students in grade four to eight and French Immersion which is 100 per cent French instruction in class until the end of grade three, and then English is slowly introduced until it becomes a half-day program from grades six to eight. The school board also offers Extended French, which offers seven French credits to high school students.
The survey asks which aspects of the programming you want to know more about, and if starting French Immersion in grade one would factor into the decision when enrolling your kids.
At last night’s committee meeting, the school board also discussed French Immersion at Riverside Public School. A report from Superintendent of Education Andrea Gillespie and Superintendent of Business Bob Kaye outlined that there will likely be space at Riverside to accommodate Grade 4 French Immersion classes. The classes were moved from Riverside to Huntsville Public School in 2012, and now HPS is at its capacity. Gillespie and Kaye say they don’t think more kids should be in the current building and enrolment projections show there will be capacity issues over the next five years.
However, there is room at Riverside to retain the grade four immersion students. Because of that, the Riverside immersion program will include grade four starting in September, and the HPS program will begin in grade five.
You can take the FSL survey to provide your input online.