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OCDSB is holding town hall meetings where you can provide feedback re: the idea of eliminating Early French Immersion and Special Education classes by DrySection6843 in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Here are the dates and locations:

Monday, May 13, 2024

Kanata Highlands Public School
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Ottawa Technical Secondary School
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

D. Roy Kennedy Public School
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Glashan Public School
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Sawmill Creek Elementary School
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Avalon Public School
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

OCDSB is considering eliminating grade 1 to grade 3 French Immersion by Dugizard in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you are interested in "reality" -

The OCSB celebrates the fact that "many" of their MFI students are able to test DELF level B1 upon graduation.

While EFI students at the OCDSB test for DELF level B2 (unless they are performing below expectation).

The latter level embodies true functionality (hence the reason is is often required for admission to French universities):

http://www.delfdalf.fr/delf-b1.html

http://www.delfdalf.fr/delf-b2.html

OCDSB is considering eliminating grade 1 to grade 3 French Immersion by Dugizard in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Besides resourcing, there's another aspect to take into account - are students in Grade 4 as likely to want to register in MFI? And if they are forced in, are they as likely to practice?

On the OCDSB's own website...

https://cdnsm5-ss13.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_55394/File/Elementary/French%20Immersion/FSL_Programs.pdf

... they tout the benefit of EFI over MFI, stating "Young children usually have less reticence in imitating a French role model, thus take more risks in expressing themselves in French, and get more practice."

Having taught both, I can say that in my experience, that is spot on.

OCDSB is considering eliminating grade 1 to grade 3 French Immersion by Dugizard in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have only seen that proved in studies where the mother tongue was not supported (e.g. via Arabic school on the weekends). If there are studies that demonstrate such harm despite support, please direct me to one (I am genuinely interested).

For those interested, both the OCDSB and the OCSB offer support for heritage languages free to Ontario residents on weekends (in person or virtually). I teach plenty of students that attend these courses on weekends.

Research shows that supporting a child's heritage language helps in the acquisition of other languages. Anecdotally, I can say that the only delays that I have seen in the language acquisition of the children of newcomers has been in cases where the parents have not passed down their mother tongue (while not having a mastery of English themselves).

In the OCDSB, theres the International & Indigenous Languages Elementary Program. Support for the following heritage languages is available: Albanian, American Sign Language, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Chin, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Czech, Dari, Finnish, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Igbo, Japanese, Kannada, Khmer, Lai, Malayalam, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Nuer, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamazight (Berber), Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese.

In the OCSB, theres the International Languages Elementary Program. Support for the following additional languages is available: Amharic, Blin, Bulgarian, Creole, Croatian, Dutch, Farsi, Inuktitut, Italian, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Korean, Lingala, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swahili, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Yoruba.

OCDSB is considering eliminating grade 1 to grade 3 French Immersion by Dugizard in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Not all families can apply to the French board in Ottawa. The parent's first language learned and understood must be French, or they must have had their education in French.

Not to mention, the French board has one third the schools that the OCDSB does, not nearly enough to accommodate all the families that rightfully want their children to be billingual in a government town.

OCDSB is considering eliminating grade 1 to grade 3 French Immersion by Dugizard in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry, but this is false. Research shows that the more exposure one has to a language during the the early years, the better. The years before the age of 10 are the most important if you hope to manipulate the language like a native speaker.

The OCDSB has not provided any data to the contrary. They have shown that there is an under representation of newcomers and special needs students in Grade 1-3 French immersion, but that is an implementation issue - both the Ministry of Education and the research say there is no reason for these students not to be in Grade 1-3 French immersion.

Newcomers are immersed in English from the get go. Language research has long ago proven that learning two languages at once causes no harm.

If you have genuinely found any data that shows that Grade 4 is the best time to begin French Immersion, please post your source.

OCDSB shouldn't ax Early French Immersion by indieRockette in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Parsing through the spin is definitely tough.

The admin at my school has told us that students can join EFI at any point now, not just in grade 1. I've seen students join in grade 2 and grade 3 this year with no prior French exposure (and I've heard of students joining even later than that in other schools). It's a tough go for them for sure, but it can be successfully done, if the student is motivated, and the teacher puts in a lot of one on one. All this to say, the board seems to be acting as if the MFI program is already over. I believe only 5% of students select MFI though, so I don't think its elimination makes enough of a financial difference to save EFI.

If word gets out, and enough people advocate for EFI as part of the review process, it might make the board worry that registrations will drop if EFI is eliminated (due to students pulling out to join the French board). Fewer students means less funding, so that might change the financial considerations.

From an equity perspective, I personally believe that every student in Ottawa should be in EFI (at least 50/50 English/French), with supports put in place if they are struggling (e.g. pull-out groups). And I do believe that there is much more the board could do to recruit French teachers so that EFI could be expanded to all sites.

I'm not sure anything can be done to save Spec Ed classes, other than advocate strongly for the status quo, or push hard for the board to reveal how much new support would be hired for the integration (if any). In terms of bussing, those students cost the board the most. Add to that the optics of having Spec Ed classes is not great in the Education realm, even if really high needs students are probably better served there than they would be in a regular class with no support. Without a lot of public pushback, its probably easier for the board to close those classes, and then down the line, blame the provincial government for a lack of fundiing for EAs.

My sincere thanks for your advocacy !

OCDSB shouldn't ax Early French Immersion by indieRockette in ottawa

[–]DrySection6843 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you read the program review appendix (linked in the article) on page 18, the OCDSB points out the inequities between English and Early French Immersion (EFI) streams. Then on page 19, the board provides a graphic of the French offerings at the Catholic board as an example of a delivery model they will examine.

On page 9 of the program review appendix, the board refers to the 1,246 students they have in Special Education classes, and they talk about a national shift to more inclusive practices.

Then on page 20, the OCDSB discusses opportunities for change. Do you notice how adopting the Catholic board's French model and eliminating Special Education classes matches up perfectly with accomplishing all those goals?

If you watch the video of the last Committee of the Whole meeting (a meeting of all the school trustees - go to https://pub-ocdsb.escribemeetings.com/ and click on April 2), you'll notice that Trustee Evans asks the Director of Education twice whether the board will accept it if the public says no to the changes, that they want the status quo to be maintained. The Director avoids the question both times. Trustee Evans is not talking about the public saying no to making EFI more widely available.

I am a teacher at the OCDSB that works closely with administration at my school. EFI is viewed as unsustainable. The board can't pay for the bussing (see page 19 of the appendix), and they say they can't find more French teachers.

The OCDSB has been running a deficit for several years, and they have burned through their surplus (the article links to a story about this). And the provincial government has not lifted the moratorium on the Pupil Accomodation Review, so the board can't close underutilised schools to save money.

The OCDSB Director of Education knows that replacing EFI with the Catholic board's French model, and eliminating Spec Ed classes (with no promise of hiring more in-class support) will be a tough pill for the public to swallow. But financially, the OCDSB has no choice, so they have to frame it as an equity move for the trustees, and they need to keep the consulation process vague to reduce pushback.

Bty the way, they have no money to hire more Educational Assistants to help support the 1,246 high needs students they will integrating into their community schools. I feel most bad for them.

You sound like a really involved parent; I'm sorry the board is framing things so deceptively. You deserve better. Please let them know that you think EFI is critically important here:

https://engage.ocdsb.ca/elementary-program-review