The Burns Lake Canadian Parents for French (CPF) group, represented by Beth Berlin and Nikki Shumka, gave a presentation to School District 91’s (SD 91) board at a public meeting last month.
“It was well received and we had a lot of positive feedback from the board,” said Berlin who has been fighting to keep the French Immersion program in place in Burns Lake. The presentation which consisted of 13 slides in total had detailed information, right from the ministry’s stand on French Immersion program to community feedback gathered in spring 2020. Berlin also presented case studies of similar programs in Hazelton and 100 Mile House.
So far, the CPF chapter in Burns Lake has been gathering letters of intent from families in Burns Lake, has created and is actively engaged in a Facebook Alumni page, has been distributing promotional pamphlets, released a promotional video and has also been fundraising.
They have also had monthly meetings with the superintendent and assistant superintendent of SD 91, had collaborations with CPF, 100 Mile House and Hazelton to understand and tweak the program as needed, and have constantly tried to raised awareness through media and through word of mouth.
The group has already collected 20 letters of intent with roughly 30 upcoming students from Kindergarten through Grades 1 to 4 from years 2021 to 2026.
Last year, on April 20, a report regarding the French Immersion programs’ review in the school district was released. This review, conducted by AZ Cooper Consulting was done to determine the sustainability of having French Immersion programs in the schools in the school district.
The report which detailed enrolments, budget, staffing and curriculum concerns as well as concerns over diversity within the French Immersion (FI) programs at William Konkin Elementary (WKE) in Burns Lake, WL McLeod Elementary School in Vanderhoof and Nechako Valley Secondary School (NVSS) in Vanderhoof recommended eliminating the FI program at WKE.
Later, during a board meeting held on May 2020, the board unanimously voted to table any decisions on the WKE school’s FI program until Spring 2021.
According to assistant superintendent Mike Skinner, “Trustees appreciated the group’s thorough presentation which summarized the research and activities initiated by the group over the last year. Board chair, Nadine Frenkel, provided a short overview of the SD 91 French Immersion process that was initiated in late 2019 that resulted in the April 2020 report.” After this, Frenkel told Shumka and Berlin that the board would take some time over the coming month to review all the information collected prior to scheduling an agenda item at an upcoming board meeting to decide on the Burns Lake French Immersion program.
No date has yet been decided to vote on the future of the program however in the meantime, the CPF chapter in Burns Lake is continuing to encourage parents to submit their letters of intent to WKE.
WKE is also starting their kindergarten enrolment between Mar. 15 to Mar. 19. and parents interested in enrolling their kids for the french immersion program, would need to let the staff know that they want to sign up specifically for French Immersion. WKE is also accepting late enrolments for the French Immersion program.
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Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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