Proposed changes to public French programs address student retention, increased learning

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) is wrapping up public feedback sessions regarding its review ofFrench programming.

The school board has been reviewing its French immersion, core French and extended French streams since 2017 after it says it recognizedthe need to improve programming.The board commissioned anexternal reviewanda final report waspublished in 2020.

A review committee made up of trustees, students, parents and administrators reviewed the external report and proposed changes to help reduce dropout rates andaccess to programming.The changes are reflected in a newvision statement, goals, principles and action items.

"One of the goals is to make sure that we're increasing student confidence and achievement, increasing the quality of French programming for our equity seeking groupsand increasing our student,educator,caregiver andcommunity engagement within French as a second language as well," said Della Lataille-Herdsman, who's part of the review committee and superintendent of student and wellbeing at the board.

Proposed changes

Currently, families interested in French immersionenroll their children in the programin Grade 1;however, up40 per cent of students end up dropping out by Grade 8.

The review committee considered several scenarios that came from the external review such as changing the entry point to Grade 2, Grade 4 or even Kindergarten. Ultimately, the review committee supportedchangingthe entry point to Grade 2 and increasingcore French learning in Grade 1 by 50 per cent.

In an online video about the review,school principalErica Gillespie said the goal is to support families to make the best decision about their child's education and "ensure that students entering the program are able to continue with French immersion until graduation."

The committee suggested enhancingsupport in English reading and writing as well to allow teachers to determine a full picture of student needs early on before moving to French immersion. This will be especially importantfor students who need educational supports, Gillespie said.

The committee also recommended increasing French learning over the years. For example, ifa student enrolls in French immersion in 2024 to 2025, they'll experience 58 per cent of learning in French until Grade 6 versus the current 50 per cent mark.

The committee said there may be more changes in the future related to program boundaries and its registration lottery system.

Community consultations

The school board asked the public for feedback through consultations that launched last week. The last session is on Friday.

During onefeedback session, the board received questions about entry exceptions, out-of-boundary transportation services, reviewing the registration process, supporting low-income families and connecting students in French immersion to those in other streams.

Lataille-Herdsmansaid there have been several questions related to the entry point proposal.

"I would say that there's a balance of families who have shared interest in Grade 2. Others are still thinking about it to make those decisions for their child. So it's been a variety thus far," she said.

The review committee plans to use the feedback to form final recommendations that will be presented to the board in June. If approved, changes could roll out as early as January 2023.