Sea to Sky public school trustees appear to have embraced the theme of a recent local conference: radical shift.
Trustees on Wednesday (Nov. 13) approved a pair of measures that will significantly alter the face of Squamish's public school system. Beginning in September 2014, all Grade 7 students will attend Don Ross Secondary School, moving over from the elementary schools.
As well, the board voted to phase out the late (Grades 5 through 7) French immersion program in Squamish schools in favour of early French immersion beginning in kindergarten. That transition will begin next September with the launch of early French immersion for students in kindergarten and Grade 1.
Both moves came after extensive consultation with parents, teachers and school support staff. In both cases, recent surveys showed strong public support for the measures taken by the board on Wednesday, with 70 per cent of the 255 respondents supporting the Grade 7 move and 75 per cent of 245 parents with youngsters either not yet in school or in Grades K-4 supporting the move to early French immersion.
On Wednesday, though, the Grade 7 move was approved with minimal discussion, while the early French immersion vote came after a 30-minute discussion among trustees and staff. While the Grade 7 move alleviates a looming space issue in Squamish schools Don Ross is currently at about two-thirds of its student capacity the French immersion shift is much more complex and could well lead to challenges in finding enough facility space to house both French and English programs.
The French option approved on Wednesday will see early French immersion launched in 2014-15 for Grades K-1 at Squamish Elementary School and if numbers are prohibitive for space, open additional K-1 at Garibaldi Highlands Elementary School.
Kaija Blefry Munroe, president of the Squamish chapter of Canadian Parents for French, told the board before the vote that her group was heartened to see the district survey results. Comparing the results to her group's own polling of parents, she said, We see those [district results] as a conservative estimate based simply on different methodology.
While a district staff report included a long list of educational benefits of early French immersion programming, district Superintendent Dr. Lisa McCullough said French immersion is not intended as a program geared toward gifted students only.
This is just an approach to the same outcomes using a different language that's part of our country's culture, McCullough said. If we adopt this, we would be embracing a multi-age, holistic program and not an exclusionary one.
Whistler trustee Chris Vernon-Jarvis, the lone trustee to vote against the option adopted by the board, said that if he was the parent of a student entering Grade 2, 3 or 4 in 2014-'15, I think I'd be upset that I wasn't given the choice that other parents were given.
Under the current plan, late French immersion will still be offered in Squamish for several more years, board chair Rick Price said. Students entering Grades 2, 3 and 4 in 2014-'15 will be offered the chance to attend late French immersion when they enter Grade 5, he said.
Assistant superintendent Jody Langlois said launching the program for K-1 only will help reduce space challenges. She admitted, though, that doing so also leaves those 2-3-4s in a bit of limbo.
Based on student projections of growing class sizes and survey results, district officials are forecasting that they won't have enough space to house even the K-1 early French immersion program in one school while late French immersion is still going even with the elementary space being freed up by the Grade 7 move. That's why the chosen plan includes the option of also launching early French at Garibaldi Highlands if the numbers warrant it.
At its Dec. 11 meeting, the board is to consider whether to allow a French immersion entry point for Grades 2 and 3. If it does, teachers will have to find instructional materials, as there are no standard learning resources for first-year French immersion in Grades 2 or 3, McCullough said.
Squamish doesn't yet have enough students to offer both early and late French immersion over the long term, McCullough added.
District-wide kindergarten registration is set for Nov. 25 to 29. Registration for K-1 French immersion in Squamish takes place on the same dates at Squamish Elementary School.
Stay tuned to The Chief for updates on this developing story.
