OLDS 鈥 Members of the Olds Chapter of Canadian Parents for French (CPF) have organized a couple of events to spur enrolment in French Immersion locally out of fear it might be dropped or lose funds, because they've heard that numbers have declined provincewide.
But Chinook鈥檚 Edge School Division (CESD) has no plans to drop the program, CESD superintendent Kurt Sacher says. In fact, French Immersion enrolment in Olds is 鈥渟olid,鈥 he said during an interview with the 51黑料.
Holy Trinity Catholic School, the only Catholic school in Olds, does not offer a French Immersion program, principal Valerie Norman-Organ says.
During an interview, CPF-Olds social media coordinator Amanda Vanderlee said her organization has seen numbers that indicate enrolment in French Immersion across Alberta fell by 1,925 students over the 2020-21 school year.
However, that could not be confirmed by press time.
Vanderlee noted the pandemic restrictions were in effect at that time so that may have been a factor in enrolment numbers.
She fears that due to the pandemic, parents enrolling their children in pre-school or kindergarten may not have been aware of the French Immersion program in the community.
She also believes two other problems are that many people don鈥檛 know the program exists and that 鈥渋n Alberta, we don鈥檛 have a huge francophone population to begin with.鈥
Vanderlee said concern was so high that a couple of weeks ago the crowd attending a meeting about the matter at the Olds Municipal Library attracted an overflow crowd.
鈥淲e had to sit outside the door, there were so many of us there,鈥 she said.
Vanderlee and other CPF Olds members want to keep the program going because they say it provides great job and cultural opportunities for their kids, such as good employment opportunities in the federal public service or overseas, as well as cultural exchanges in other countries.
Vanderlee said they鈥檙e not so concerned about their own children who are enrolled in the program. It鈥檚 their understanding that they鈥檙e 鈥済randfathered鈥 into it, but they worry it may not be available for future students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned that if enrolment doesn鈥檛 see an increase, the program could lose funding,鈥 Vanderlee said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not there yet, but if things don鈥檛 trend upwards very quickly, it鈥檚 a concern, right?鈥
She stressed that parents don鈥檛 have to be able to speak French in order for their kids to be enrolled in the program.
She herself does not speak French, although she plans to take lessons so she can converse with her kids in the language.
However, Sacher said the program in Olds is in good shape.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got enough students in the different grade levels to run a solid program,鈥 he said.
He said 143 students are enrolled in French Immersion in Olds schools from kindergarten through Grade 12.
"We offer a full immersion program for grades 1 through 8 and then for grades 9 to 11. Similar to many communities in Alberta that still want to offer a continuation, we have more programming,鈥 Sacher said.
"It would be French language arts and sciences delivered in French at the Grade 9 level and at the Grade 10-12 level. There鈥檚 French language arts 10, 20 and 30 as well as French vernacular that鈥檚 available to the high school students.鈥
He said the school division is also 鈥渜uite excited鈥 about the fact that French Immersion students at the Grade 4, 8, 10 and 12 level can take tests that, if they pass, provide them with internationally-recognized certificates in French proficiency.
鈥淚t is not even on our radar at all for consideration for reductions or different grade levels being adjusted or anything like that,鈥 Sacher said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been solid and stable for the 12 years that I鈥檝e been here as superintendent and I don鈥檛 anticipate it 鈥 a change in French Immersion programming in Olds.
鈥淔rom a viability standpoint, we鈥檝e not raised any concerns about Olds French Immersion programming viability to the board, which we would be required to do if we had concerns, and we don鈥檛.鈥
To raise the profile of the French Immersion program in the community, CPF-Olds has organized a couple of open houses, and hope to stage more in the future.
The first one is Bonsoir Lune (Goodnight Moon) scheduled to occur on Jan. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Olds Municipal Library.
Kids are encouraged to show up in their pyjamas, listen to or read stories in French with their peers and get some treats.
The second is a night of traditional French culture 鈥 a sugar shack (cabane 脿 sucre in French) planned for March 3 at the Evergreen Centre from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Vanderlee said a francophone couple will play French jigs and teach parents and kids traditional French dancing.
Other activities include making music with spoons, jambette (leg wrestling) and making taffy by rolling syrup in snow.
Both events are open to parents and their kids, whether they speak French or not, in order to learn more about the program in Olds. And they鈥檙e both free for anyone to attend.
CPF-Olds president Nicole Witcher said the group hopes to hold other special events to promote the program in the months and years to come, perhaps on a monthly basis.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lady who can help us do baking in French. So she鈥檒l lead the kids through a baking activity, spoken in French,鈥 she said.
鈥淲e would like to do an art night with painting, something like that. But we just need to find someone who can teach art in French,鈥 Witcher said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of French-speaking people, but not everybody wants to teach art,鈥 she added with a short laugh.
Another idea floated is to organize some kind of event where sports would be taught or coached in French.
Witcher said CPF-Olds also plans to participate in the community information night again this fall. She said due to organizational issues, they weren鈥檛 able to do so last fall.
Witcher stressed that CPF-Olds is not affiliated in any way with CESD. It鈥檚 purely a volunteer parent-run advocacy group.
鈥淲e want to promote it and keep it going in Alberta, across the province and throughout the country,鈥 she said.
鈥淭he more we can promote it in Olds, the more that it will be promoted in Alberta, the more it can continue its momentum that way.鈥
Sacher applauds CPF-Olds' initiative to promote French Immersion in Olds.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely room for more parents to participate in the program; we do have room in the program,鈥 he said.