French immersion survives at Stephenville Primary

Parents in the Stephenville area fought to save French immersion programming at their primary school and won — for now. 

But they say what they really want is a permanent fix to the annual battle over the program's offering. 

French immersion has been a part of the Stephenville school system for decades. However, when kindergarten numbers started to drop, the program's future was up in the air.

In January, the school district sent parents a letter that said there weren'tt enough new kindergarten students needed for the program to be sustainable.

Parents and advocates rallied and the number of new registrants to the program increased. The school district then informed them the program would go ahead this year. 

"I was so ecstatic," said Samantha Tiller, whose oldest child starts kindergarten in September. "I cried and just was super-happy to hear that my daughter and all the other children who were enrolled would have this opportunity in the fall."

Tiller says the French immersion curriculum offers an incredible opportunity for students that will enrich their learning and stay with them for a lifetime.

"Bilingualism is super-important and provides incredible opportunities to youth, to their futures and the things that they can do in their lives," Tiller said.

"It gives them a sense of pride. They come home. They're super-excited to share what they've learned, a second language and just in their future opportunities. It opens so many doors and that's really important for the future."

While Tiller's oldest child will have an opportunity to enrol in French immersion, she's not sure what will be offered to her two younger kids. 

"I know that they also are going to be enrolled for French immersion," Tiller said. "I do not want to have to do this next year, or the year after or the year after that."

Tiller knows it will be difficult in future years to achieve the numbers needed for French immersion to be offered, which is why advocates for the program want other factors beyond student enrolment considered.

They're also calling on the school district to recognize the significance of culture in making programming decisions and to change its French immersion policies.

Wendy Brake, who has a child enrolled in French immersion at Stephenville Primary and a younger child who will be looking to enrol in the future, says the area's rich French history makes the region distinctive.

"Here in our region, we have a very specific cultural identity," Brake said. "And in the last few generations we've lost a lot of culture, traditions, customs and language through the school system.

"We would like to reclaim that language and in a time of truth or reconciliation, I think that the school district could really be a part of the solution by allowing our children and removing barriers to them reclaiming that language."

Brake is also pushing for a policy change that will take culture into consideration when allocating French programming.

"Being able to fluently communicate in French is what our ancestors did, is what my grandparents did, and to only teach a core program where they're learning the very basics and at the end of it they can't communicate in French — they might be able to understand a few signs — that's not investing in our youth."

Daniel O'Brien, assistant director of programs at the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, says he's pleased to see the interest in French immersion at Stephenville Primary.

"When we took the first snapshot of registrations for kindergarten and Stephenville Primary, we had 13 students that had selected French Immersion," he said. "When I alerted the school community that we had concerns about the program — there had been 18 that had selected French immersion. Currently, I think today it sits at somewhere around 23."

The student numbers decide the allocation of resources needed to offer the French immersion program. If the program can be offered with the allotted teacher resources, O'Brien says the district does what it can to offer it.

"A lot of these decisions, rightly or wrongly, come down to allocations and whether or not we have sufficient population of children in a given cohort to absorb an optional program," he said. 

Culture and heritage has not been a factor in determining  student resources, he said, but it could be something to factor in for the entire student population.

"I think we always consider or try to consider, as much as we can, what the community is telling us," he said. "We want to be partners with the community. When a community highlights a particular unique circumstance then we always listen. 

"If that is an important piece of culture for Stephenville Primary school, then whatever we do to enhance programing for that reason should benefit all of the kids in the school, not just a select few that have selected French immersion."

The school district is expected to meet with the school council Monday afternoon.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador