Kids beginning grade primary next year may find out school is like learning another language.
South Shore Regional School Board will offer early French immersion at Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg.
Director of Programs and Student Services Jeff DeWolfe says they are responding to the needs of the community.
“We had been approached the last few years by parents who were quite interested in starting a program. Most school boards in Nova Scotia do have an early immersion entry point at grade primary.”
After consulting with staff and School Advisory Committees, the decision was made to offer the program in Lunenburg.
“In the suggested revised policy we do speak to French programming being regional. Therefore a parent from anywhere could access those programs.”
DeWolfe says students from Bridgewater Elementary and Bayview would also be able to access the immersion program if parents are willing to bus their kids to Lunenburg.
However not everyone is pleased with the new immersion program.
Jenna Eason is a parent at Bridgewater Elementary.
She feels the board broke their word to parents.
“This spring there was an impromptu parent meeting. We were told that they needed 16 students to register and if they got that then our kids were going to be in the French immersion program,” says Easton. “We were given a week and a half. They still ended up with 20 parents registering their children for an early immersion class. I can’t imagine if they’d advertised way back when students were being registered for primary.”
Eason is concerned space will go to Bluenose Academy students ahead of kids from Bridgewater.
Mary Chisholm is the coordinator for French Language Programs and she says no one will receive preferential treatment.
“We will consider both Lunenburg families and Bridgewater families. And looking at the information we have now, I believe that we will have a nice solid class of 22.”
Chisholm says the Bridgewater School Advisory Council weren’t open to offering early immersion French this year.
“They’re very happy with the current middle immersion entry point at their school. We chose to go with one entry site at Bluenose Academy and offer spots for Bridgewater families who would like that option.”
Chisholm says this is just the first year for the program and they will be open to expanding it in the future.
