French immersion instruction coming to Campbellford schools

Program will start in September with senior kindergarten at Hillcrest Public School

French immersion instruction will be offered next September at Hillcrest Public School and gradually extended to Campbellford District High School as those students advance, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is expected to confirm at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

French immersion will be offered to students entering senior kindergarten and Grade 1 at Hillcrest Public School and at Brighton Public School and Murray Centennial Public School, also in Brighton. The change is part of the school board’s plan to offer French immersion instruction in the eastern part of the board where it has not been available.

Students in those schools are currently offered extended French, which means they can have French-language instruction for 50 per cent of the day. That will be phased out as French immersion expands.

Student Achievement Superintendent John Ford reported that the French Immersion program will be phased in with a grade added each year. He said an accommodation review indicated that the schools have capacity to accommodate a new French immersion program while extended French is being phased out. But up to four portables will need to be added to Brighton PS.

The board said there is strong demand for French immersion in Campbellford.

French immersion will also be offered at Campbellford District High School and East Northumberland Secondary School starting in Grade 9.

Research shows that middle-class parents are more likely to enroll their children in French immersion classes as a way of providing them with the benefits of a more rigorous program.

But some parents and researchers fear that offering such specialized programs fuels inequity in the school system, especially since experience shows new immigrants are unlikely to take advantage of them.

Interestingly, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board decided in November to phase out its International Baccalaureate, another program that has been criticized for catering to some students at the expense of others. It is currently available at Cobourg Collegiate Institute and Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute in Peterborough. but will end when current enrollees graduate in 2027.

The board said it was cutting the program due to declining enrolment, and to save money, and to ensure equity among students.