Representatives for Canadian Parents for French are expressing concern the Sea to Sky School District is ending its late French Immersion program in Squamish.
Late French Immersion will continue for the rest of the school district, while Squamish will be replacing its late program with an early French Immersion program.
"Cancelling the program would be a tremendous loss for students in the Sea to Sky as [late French Immersion] provides students the last opportunity to enter and participate in the French Immersion program," reads a news release from Canadian Parents for French. "By closing this door, the Sea to Sky School District is denying a life-changing opportunity for many students."
The organization said there might be a lot of reasons why children can't get in the early program, and that eliminating the late program would put them at a disadvantage.
For instance, some students may find it too challenging to be placed in French Immersion at a very young age. Others may not make it in simply because there's a lack of capacity.
However, the school district says that this move is the result of community input.
In 2014, the Sea to Sky School District consulted with Squamish parents regarding French immersion.
The board asked the community whether priority should be given to either early or late programming.
"The results indicated that the preference was for early [French Immersion] as a priority," wrote Supt. Lisa McCullough in an email to The Chief. "The Board made it clear at that time that there would be only one program offered."
The board established the early French Immersion program in Squamish that year, but also decided that late French Immersion would be phased out as children in the early program entered Grade 5, around when the late program starts, McCullough said.
There will be no registration for late French Immersion programs in Squamish anymore.
On the other hand, Canadian Parents for French appears to suggest that federal government funding should make it possible for a late program to exist.
"We should also not forget that there are additional French federal funds to supplement the cost of education in French," stated the group's release. "These funds are calculated based on student enrolment in French times the percentage of time in these classes. The Grade 6 [late French Immersion] program is considered to be 100 per cent in French and therefore qualifies for the maximum amount of funding available."
However, McCullough said the school district has already been using that money.
"We are aware of the grant," said McCullough in a follow-up voicemail message. "We fully utilize the grant. It is helpful."
However, she noted that the money doesn't take care of everything.
"It certainly supports the idea of mitigating the cost of French Immersion," she added. "It does not cover the full cost of French Immersion from time to time."
Earlier in February, the board convened on whether to continue French Immersion in the school district and voted in favour to continue it as is.
However, under this definition, Squamish's late French Immersion would still be phased out, as this was approved years ago.
During the recent board meeting, it was revealed that schools were running into challenges concerning space and staffing. The demand for French Immersion is high, and the number of students in the program has increased dramatically over the years.
