Bursting at the seams with students, École François-Buote and Carrefour getting an expansion

Charlottetown's French school and community centre is getting a major expansion and renovation to keep up with a growing student population. 

A total of $21 million is going into work at École François-Buote and the Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean. 

Friday, the federal government announced almost $8 million for the community centre. The province previously said it was setting aside $13.5 million in its capital budget, and most of that is going toward the expansion. 

École François-Buote was built for about 350 students, but now has more than 500 and "it's getting a little tight," said principal Isabelle Savoie-Jamieson. 

As the Island's population grows, the only Francophone school in the province's largest city has seen a big bump in student enrolment, she said. 

"The space has been a little bit of a puzzle," Savoie-Jamieson said.

Storage closets and meeting rooms are now instructional spaces, and two mobile classrooms stand outside.  

The project includes the addition of 40,000 square feet of space, and the renovation of 3,000 square feet in the Carrefour.

The community kitchen will be expanded and a second gym built, both specially designed to meet the needs of primary and secondary school students and with an eye toward hosting sporting and cultural activities for the Francophone community.

The project will also add new child-care spaces at Centre de la petite enfance l'Île Enchantée.

More students, more teachers?

But as the student population grows, so does the need for more teachers, something P.E.I.'s Education Minister acknowledges isn't easy in today's labour market. 

"Recruiting French teachers across the country is a challenge, and historically Prince Edward Island has really been in a good situation in that regard," said Natalie Jameson.

The province is working with the French school board, La Commission scolaire de Langue française (CSLF), on recruitment efforts, she said. 

Still, board is "feeling the effects of a nationwide teacher shortage," said Ghislain Bernard, superintendent of the CSLF, during a legislative committee meeting Thursday. 

"Recruiting teachers has become increasingly difficult."

Nearly all teaching positions at the French school board have been filled, said Bernard, but the list of substitutes "mainly consists of uncertified or retired teachers, with no active, certified teachers waiting for contract work." 

Future recruitment is a "growing concern for the board," he said.

"Implementing short and medium-term recruitment strategies will be essential to address the urgent need."  

We certainly want to meet the needs of the future.— Education Minister Natalie Jameson

Jameson is confident the board will be able to hire enough teachers to accommodate the growing school.

"We have a very competitive compensation package for our educators and we're hopeful that that will attract and retain educators here," she said. 

"We certainly want to meet the needs of the future." 

This is the second expansion of the school in the last decade. A three-year, $10-million project was completed in 2016.

The upgrades are something the French community has wanted "for years," said Charlottetown MP Sean Casey.

"They've been very persistent, I would say perfectly impatient," he said. "It will meet the demand for [a] ... better and modern space and allow the community to continue to flourish." 

Work on the expansion is expected to take four years, and is expected to start next summer.