The clock is ticking towards decision time to resolve under enrolment at Stawamus Elementary and overcrowding at Mamquam Elementary for September 2011 - but several parents are unhappy with the options left on the table.
The only option left for the steadily increasing population at Mamquam Elementary is to move the French Immersion program, but especially troubling for some is the idea of moving the program one class at a time to Squamish Elementary over the next three years.
"One teacher, one class, with a few of the resources left at Mamquam I think is a very difficult situation - I think it would be kind of like throwing the teacher and the students to the wolves," said Mamquam Parent Advisory Council (PAC) president Shannon Grantham during the final public meeting on the issue Monday (Oct. 18) at Howe Sound Secondary.
The PAC has requested the district limit the intake of kindergarten students in 2011 to give parents and the school district more time to review other options.
"We have a projected kindergarten enrolment for three classes in September," said Grantham. "If Mamquam were able to cap the kindergarten intake at two classes, we would have enough space for one more year to prepare, discuss and properly plan for a well-informed move of the French Immersion program.
"Is it mandatory that we take all the students that try to enrol? If our school is full, it is full."
Board members said they would take the suggestion into consideration.
Don Ross French Immersion teacher Marie St-Pierre said she was very concerned the move would have an impact on the number of students in the program, which routinely borders on the minimum number required to run a class.
"We have no real idea how many students will continue with French Immersion if it moves to another school," said St-Pierre.
"What will happen, if worst case scenario, the program does not survive the move?"
She said an adjustment period is inevitable anytime a program changes something as dramatic as its location.
Since there weren't enough students to run a Grade 11 French Immersion class at Howe Sound Secondary this year, this led Grantham to ask about school district support if the move creates dwindling numbers.
School board chair Rick Price said the school board would do everything in their power to support the French Immersion program.
"We do not believe the program will die and we do not want it to," he said.
Other suggestions from Mamquam PAC included a short-term transportation link between the affected schools and a trip to visit the Squamish Elementary in April or June 2011.
Faced with massive under enrolment yet not large enough to accommodate the French Immersion program, Stawamus is looking to attract students by making it a school of choice or introducing a program of choice.
Suggestions included focusing on Aboriginal culture, science and technology, fine and performing arts or outdoor adventure.
"First impressions are important and as a school we need to make ourselves more attractive and more visible," said Stawamus secretary Muff Hackett.
Although all suggestions were met with satisfaction by Stawamus parents, they wanted to make sure the school district would back the new program substantially - in other words, financially.
"We would really need to see a commitment from the school district - a guarantee for some sort of support for a full cycle of students," said Hackett.
"Helping out with funding for one year and then deciding it won't work isn't helpful, you can't build a program in a year."
Muff also elaborated on the school's visibility.
"We're invisible, you can't see us from the road," she said. "I feel as though I've spent half my life telling people we exist and where to find us."
She suggested making a much larger sign and clearing the pathway to the school.
"It's an amazing school and I think we're well worth promoting," said Hackett, inspiring the room to burst into applause.
Price said until the decision is made, the board is open to any options not already removed from the list after being thoroughly looked at.
"There are no perfect answers," he said. "But we are trying our best to come up with the best ones. The decisions we make this year we don't want to unmake in future years."
Parents are invited to submit written feedback until Oct. 29 and the board intends to make its decision Dec. 8, 2010.
