Late rally saves Nanaimo-based Late-French Immersion program

Capadouca’s family and around 50 others packed the SD68 meeting room Wednesday night, with a number of concerned parents and students also submitting written responses in opposition in the week prior.

Capadouca said it was great to see the board listening to the public and re-thinking their decision, calling it “very encouraging.”

He said the lack of a consultation really hit a nerve.

“The wording seemed to be taken right out of the government of B.C. guidelines for a language program, and it was something that came up repeatedly in a number of letters that I saw, was this consultation promotion of the program, and the goal to increase enrollment if enrollment is the issue.”

The SD68 board said a consultation process would not allow for enough time prior to enrollment starting in January, as they didn’t want students enrolling in the program only for it to be axed shortly after.

LFI has been implemented for over a decade now and taught at Ecole Quarterway school, with enrolled students continuing their French Immersion program at Nanaimo District Secondary School until graduation.

Currently, there are two LFI classes at Ecole Quarterway where the LFI program takes place, with 20 students in grade six and 25 others in grade seven, a lower attendance rate than regular programming.

While the program is safe for now, Capadouca and other advocates know their work isn’t done, with his fifth-grade son already worried about his younger friends having the chance to take the LFI course in the future.

“Getting the kids at 10 and 11 years old involved in a piece of grassroots activism and seeing how democracy works, really cool. As a learning experience, we’re pretty stoked that our kids got to see this, even though it was a bit intense at times.”

Families at the Dec. 18 SD68 board meeting react to the board’s decision to keep the LFI program in place for now and review enrollment numbers again in the fall. (Submitted)

School Board
Vice-chair of the SD68 board Greg Keller acknowledged the parents who wrote to them and shared their concerns during the Dec. 18 meeting.

He said they’d like to see enrollment numbers in LFI grow before the fall review, which will be aided by further promotion.

“One of the messages that I think I heard was the timing was a challenge, the lack of consultation was a challenge, and the way in which we promote the program could be improved.”

Speaking at a Dec.11 committee meeting, Secretary-treasure of SD68 Mark Walsh explained their reasoning for wanting to discontinue the program, saying while it isn’t broken, they wanted to move in a different direction.

“The board has been expanding access to French Immersion for the last number of years, and with the expansion of Hammond Bay (Elementary), it has come to the point where we actually do not have a wait list for French immersion anymore, and I believe that’s two years and perhaps even three that we have not faced that.”

Walsh said eliminating this program could potentially save the district approximately $420,000, stemming from folding two divisions into one, which could reduce the population at Quarterway school enough to no longer require a vice principal.

The LFI program was first implemented when local French immersion programs were so popular a waitlist had to be established, with students being chosen through a lottery system.

The report said based on the 10-year average enrollment numbers, approximately 22 prospective LFI students would have been affected this year, and up to 45 students over two years.

School board staff have said they will continue to monitor their early French Immersion program, with no recommended changes being considered at this time.

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by Jordan Davidson

Late rally saves Nanaimo-based Late-French Immersion program

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