June 3, 2005
Evelyn Funk, CPF VAncouver co-chair, dug up the Ministry
enrollment numbers for FI for the last five years.
They are most revealing. (See the work sheet labeled Analysis) In
particular, Vancouver's growth in FI has been markedly less than many
of the neighbouring communities and also significantly less than Victoria,
the other large urban center in BC.
The neighbouring communities such as Richmond, Delta, Ridge-Meadows
and North Vancouver are growing communities and have been able to
accommodate the increasing demand for FI with perhaps new schools
needed for the growing population. Interesting also that staffing
has not held them back from growing.
The comparison for Vancouver is perhaps best made with Victoria.
Both are older established urban centers, which likely have similarities
in terms of space infrastructure and teacher demographics. It would be
worth exploring how Victoria has been able to achieve this impressive
growth.
The bottom line is that as a parent your odds of getting
your child into the FI program are twice as good if you live in Victoria(15.6%
FI participation K-7) then if you live in Vancouver(7.9% FI part.
rate K-7), and significantly better for many of the districts around
Vancouver(12-14%) than in Vancouver.
We urgently need to look at what can be done to accommodate
the growing demand for FI. The trend of the last five years
and the excess demand of the last several years in Vancouver, tell
us that this is going to be an ongoing issue. Because Vancouver's
growth has been hampered in comparison with neighbouring districts for
the last several years, we will likely need some very significant measures
to begin to address this demand. A goal could perhaps be a
20-30% on the current enrollment of 440 Kindergartens for a total of
550 ± 20 spaces. This K enrollment would bring us
up to a 10.5% participation rate in FI, still behind the participation
rate of neighbouring areas.
We will need some creative solutions to find available space
and qualified staff to accommodate this growth. It wont be easy
but we owe it to the parents, who have been and will keep being turned
away, to do our utmost to allow them the opportunity to participate in
this educational adventure.
Anne Trudel, Co-Chair
CPF-Vancouver
This message is from the discussion/notices
list for parents involved in the French Immersion Instructional Review
Task Force.
Comments June
7, 2005 from Carol Kennedy, CPF Vancouver representative on the VSB
Modern Languages Board:
... percentages of FI vs total school enrollment
... just shows how much interest there is in a program
in any one area, and how that has grown over the years. There may have
always been more interest in FI in Victoria, may have been more schools
available for space, but they may still turn away more applicants than
we do.
There is no doubt that the interest in FI at this time is
larger than the space we have here in Vancouver, and so the lack of
facilities is now hampering our growth and needs to be addressed.
The power point presentation from the Task Force meeting would indicate
that spaces have been found for all applicants for 3 of the past 5 years
with the expansion of a couple of new sites. Prior to that there were
applicants turned away, and a large number the last 2 years. Any time
applicants are turned away, there certainly is an effect on growth. ...
This message is from
the discussion/notices list for parents involved in the French Immersion
Instructional Review Task Force.
Comments June
8, 2005 from Evelyn Funk, CPF Vancouver Co-Chair & Treasurer
The rate at which the FI program has grown in comparable
districts is directly related to interest in the program which in the
case of Vancouver is the number of children being turned away.
The word from across the country is that if 271 children were on the
waitlist in for example St. John's NFLD, there would be a huge outcry.
There are other reasons why the
program has not been allowed to grow in Vancouver and perceived
lack of facilities is a convenient excuse. All of this
information will come out in due course.
This is a very serious problem which must be addressed by
CPF Vancouver on behalf of all of those parents whose children are
not given the opportunity of starting in the FI program in K in 2005
and probably Grade 1 in 2006. It is clearly unacceptable.
This message is from
the discussion/notices list for parents involved in the French Immersion
Instructional Review Task Force.
Note: at past
CPF Vancouver meetings in years when the VSB has said the FI waitlist
has been looked after and therefore demand has been met, this has been
debated. The debate has been about families on the waitlist who were
offered space at a school across town and declined are considered looked
after by the VSB, however the families often feel their demand for FI
space not across town has not been met.
Note: at past
CPF Vancouver meetings there have been discussions about the growth
in demand for FI spaces likely being mostly due to a growing appreciation
of how well FI works, however:
- there may be a small part of this growth that is due to
perceived problems in the English stream such as large levels of
ESL.
Re this matter see:
http://members.shaw.ca/grp98/VSB-FI-Task-Force-May-31-2005-DPAC-Rep-Report.html
and scroll down to ' Please see a note from Dr. Patricia Lamarree,
associate professor at U. Montreal in Education'.
- there may be a small part pf this growth that is due to
increased interest in FI among families who speak a heritage language
(not English or French) at home.
Re this matter see:
http://www.geocities.com/qpac1999/PAC-Committee-Info-CPF.html
and scroll down to 'While most French immersion students
are from English-speaking homes'.
Notice from CPF Vancouver May 31, 2005
Thursday, June 16th, 2005 - CPF Vancouver AGM - time and place
yet to be announced
After the business part of the meeting, including electing a new
executive, we will plan to have a general meeting to discuss the issues
facing French Immersion in Vancouver. We think it is important
to invite all parents from all FI elementary schools and the parents
who have children registered for Kindergarten 2005, as well as those
parents with children on the waitlists. We believe this is
an excellent opportunity to bring new people with a passion for the program
on board and involved. We will need your support to get the
word out. Anne and I are preparing a notice
for all FI elementary schools that we would like included in your school
newsletter, if you will have a newsletter before that date, and if not,
to arrange perhaps sending a notice home with children.
For the new Kindergarten parents and those waitlisted, we must put a notice
in an envelope with a stamp and the school secretary will address it and
mail it. We cannot have access to the names of those parents.
Notice from CPF Vancouver
Sunday, June 12th, that the CPF AGM scheduled for June 16th is posponed
to September.
CPF Vancouver AGM (delayed from May)
Oct. 6, 2005
The September 2005 CPF Vancouver
dictionary sale was canceled.
Notice from CPF Vancouver
September 22, 2005
Hello CPF Vancouver -- put it in your calendar: Thursday, October
6th, 7:00 pm at Vancouver School Board
This is our first meeting of the school year and we want to reach as
many new parents as possible, especially Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 and
3. We would like to invite all those parents who were on the
waitlists last spring and we will need the help of all school reps to achieve
this. This meeting will also be our AGM.
Rita Parikh, CPF--BC&YK Executive Director, and Max Adrien will be guest
speakers.
Anne and I are preparing a suitable flyer that will hopefully attract
interest and we will have it ready in a few days.
In the meantime, we have circulated the French for Parents notices
and we hope you can ensure that they are posted or go home with children
at your schools.
Attached now are two NEW flyers that CPF National has prepared which
should also go home with children. One poster is We're Learning
French (1 page -- which includes info on the membership campaign which
runs to Nov 30/05) and the other is Join CPF (print double sided -- this
one includes a membership form).
Also attached is the flyer that we have used for the past two years
with our Dictionary Sale which attracted many new members.
I have updated it so that memberships will be sent directly to CPF National.
Also make note to attend the CPF-BC&YK Conference which is being
held in Richmond this year at the Hilton Vancouver Airport, October 21
- 23, 2005, hosted by CPF Richmond. REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS
OCTOBER 5TH. In order to ensure a large CPF Vancouver presence, it
has been suggested that we hold a chapter meeting at the conference so that
you could come for the day and take in a speaker or two, have lunch and get
excited about the possibilities.
More to come on our own CPF Vancouver meeting on October 6th.
E.
Evelyn Funk
Co-Chair & Treasurer
CPF Vancouver
Notice to CPF Vancouver September
25, 2005
RE: Next CPF Vancouver Meeting -- Thursday, October 6th -- at VSB
As CPF Vancouver would like to invite all those parents who were on
the waitlists last spring, just wondering if we ought to put an ad in local
paper(s) for parents with their oldest child 4 years or younger and not yet
in the school system. Those parents are arguably the largest stakeholders
in the problem of not sufficient early French immersion K places to meet
demand (as occurred for September 2005) and:
- are not in a position to participate in parent groups like DPAC and
CPF Vancouver, that are trying to work with the VSB to address the Early
FI K space shortfall issue
- are beneficiaries of CPF’s work as the only parent organization advocating
for French immersion in the public school system
- are the families most affected if the Early FI K space shortfall
issue continues and if Late FI was offered as an alternative, when those
programs are different, for example:
"While early French immersion generally works for the average child,
late
French immersion is often thought of as more challenging for students
than
continuing in the English program, and works well for students who
are
themselves motivated to be in the program."
From section 7 'Should I register my child in Early immersion or Late
immersion?' in the CPF Pamphlet 'French Immersion Q & A: answers
commonly
asked questions about the French Immersion program.' by Dr. André
Obadia, a
professor at Simon Fraser University (Faculty of Education)
Families with a child in early French immersion have priority enrolling
younger siblings in the program, hence they do not have the same motivation
to lobby on behalf of adequate early FI K spaces. Similarly, families who
were denied a space in early FI K for September 2005 (and the situation
may not be better for grade 1 entry September 2006) do not have the same
motivation to lobby on behalf of adequate early FI K spaces.
From,
Lesley Wright
Quilchena CPF Representative
Kitsilano CPF Representative
CPF Vancouver
will hold its first meeting of the new school year and AGM (delayed from
May) on October 6, 2005 7pm at the VSB offices. The VSB task force is
on the agenda. Details are at:
http://www.geocities.com/cpfvancouver/CPF-Vancouver-AGM-2005-flyer.pdf
October 8, 2005
To Vancouver families interested in early French immersion:
Information about a request from CPF Vancouver for parents to attend
a VSB meeting October 12, 2005 at 5:30pm (concerning the Sep. 2005 FI K
shortfall and other important FI issues) is online at:
http://www.geocities.com/cpfvancouver/CPF-Vancouver-Oct-12-2005-Parental-Support-Request.html
Related information from CPF Vancouver for the above meeting is online
at:
http://www.geocities.com/cpfvancouver/CPF-Vancouver-Annual-Report-2004-5-excerpt.html
CPF Vancouver also has a request to PACs for their October meetings
online at:
http://www.geocities.com/cpfvancouver/CPF-Vancouver-October-2005-PAC-meetings-request.html
As parents, we can offer our support now, for the legacy of stronger
French Immersion in the future. Please lend your voice to this important
issue.
CPF is Canadian parents for French educational opportunities.
The Vancouver Sun newspaper of
October 11, 2005 had an article titled 'French immersion expansion urged'
by Dakah Hansen that included the following:
'In an interview Monday, trustee Jane Bouey said members of the education
and student services committee, which she chairs, have yet to review the
language reports
"We're just seeing them for the first time ourselves." she said.
"It's likely they will remain on the (committee} table for discussion before
going to the board, in order to get more input from stakeholders." '.
From: Charles Menzies
(DPAC)
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 14:50:14 -0700
>
>TF presentation to Com III is on the vsb website. Please
note that
>none of the parent reps have seen the report until it was 'found'
on the web site.
>
>>
>>http://www.vsb.bc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/1D9273DB-D1B7-48EE-9FAD-84371DC4CC9D/0/agendamaterialsitem2.pdf
This message is from the discussion/notices
list for parents involved in the French Immersion Instructional Review
Task Force.
Vancouver School Board (VSB) meeting of Committee III October 12, 2005
– 5:30pm to make recommendations to Trustees from the VSB French language
instruction review task force, begun May 2005.
The report from
the VSB Task Force to Committee III
http://www.vsb.bc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/1D9273DB-D1B7-48EE-9FAD-84371DC4CC9D/0/agendamaterialsitem2.pdf
Presenting to Committee
III were:
CPF
Vancouver report -
see request
from CPF Vancouver Oct. 6, 2005 for parental support at this meeting of
Oct. 12, 2005
- see request
from CPF Vancouver Oct. 6, 2005 to PACs for support at this meeting of Oct.
12, 2005
Kitsilano
PAC
Quilchena
PAC
Note: Quilchena’s delegation included
a September 2005 FI K waitlist parent who is driving her child to Steveston
highway in Richmond to attend FI K.
From: Charles Menzies
(DPAC)
Date: Thu, 13 Oct
2005
That note should have read" "TF presentation to Com III is on the vsb
website. Please note that none of the parent reps have seen the [final]
report until it was 'found' on the web site."
The word 'final' was missing.
Charles
Trust that didn't cause any concern
At 09:09 PM 10/12/05, W Family wrote:
Hello Val, here is the e-mail. Thanks again for the opportunity to
present.
Lesley
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-fr-taskforce@interchange.ubc.ca
[ mailto:owner-fr-taskforce@interchange.ubc.ca] On Behalf Of Charles
Menzies
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 2:59 PM
To: fr-taskforce@interchange.ubc.ca
Subject: VSB French Immersion Task Force: Fwd: Task Force presentation
to
Comm III
>Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 14:50:14 -0700
>
>TF presentation to Com III is on the vsb website. Please
note that none
>of the parent reps have seen the report until it was 'found' on
the web
site.
>
>>
>> http://www.vsb.bc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/1D9273DB-D1B7-48EE-9FAD-84371DC4CC9D/0/agendamaterialsitem2.pdf
This message is from the
discussion/notices list for parents involved in the French Immersion Instructional
Review Task Force.