Beginning in September, there will be a limit on the number of French immersion classes offered at public schools in Simcoe County.
The Simcoe County Districti School Board recently decided to cap the number of students that can enter the program. To do this, they are limiting the number of French immersion class to two per grade.
It’s bad news for Paula Ferguson, who was hoping to have her son enrolled in the program.
“I didn't want to tell Tommy he didn't deserve the same education as his brother, so I decided to fight for it,” she says.
Ferguson is on a wait list. She’s speaking out against the board’s decision, saying more needs to be done to meet demand.
“It feels like as a mother, there's nothing I can do to help this.”
Across the county, there are 107 students on the waitlist for next year. If they don’t get in at the Grade 1 level, they can’t get in at all.
The board says the cap is there to make sure the program is as good as possible.
“When we staff, we want to staff with the appropriate and qualified teachers, and we also want to make sure our facilities are used to the best of our ability,” says Dean Maltby, principal of programs.
Maltby also says there is a province-wide shortage of teachers.
“Making sure we have qualified, excellent French immersion teachers, that would be one of our biggest challenges.”
Ferguson isn't buying it and says more could be done to make space and recruit teachers.
“The trustees are elected officials, that mean to represent their constituents and in my opinion they're not doing that.”
Ferguson plans to explore the possibility of sending her kids to school in York Region if the SCDSB doesn’t change its ways.
