13 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 28,2019 theifp.ca There's a lot to consider when putting together an education program. Despite a number of clear obstacles, the Halton Catholic District School Board has kicked off an ambitious process to fix French immersion. Cur- rently, those wanting to enter the popular program will face a long waitlist and a likely requirement to transport their child to a school further away. Patrick Murphy, the Milton trustee, said the board wants to deliver the program, but that elimi- nating the waitlist would mean resolving a number of large structural chal- lenges. "It sounds simple, but it's not simple. We're the lowest funded per capita board in Ontario. We're a growing board. The de- mand for French program- ming is in those high growth areas. I'm in Mil- ton -- portable city - it's not easy to just say we can add a classroom. Do we have the will and desire? Abso- lutely, we want to satisfy that need," said Murphy. "We understand there is an issue with the supply of teachers. Can we make the space? I'm sure there's a way we can find the phys- ical space, but finding qualified teachers who are Catholic who want to come to our system?" According to a study from the Office of the Com- missioner of Official Lan- guages, inadequate teach- er supply for French im- mersion programming has been an issue across the province. The lack of qualified teachers has become a sig- nificant issue as demand for the program has in- creased. From 2011 to 2016 enrolment in French im- mersion increased from 164,635 to 212,714 students. In November, Halton's Catholic board passed a motion requesting a com- prehensive plan to elimi- nate the waitlist and meet future demand for French programming in the next school year. It further di- rected an expansion of the French teacher recruit- ment plan. Patrick Daly, director of education, cautioned the trustees on making any rash decisions, especially as more reporting was ex- pected on the subject in the coming month. "This is bigger than say- ing we are going to add two classes here and two clas- ses there. This is going to be a much bigger process and have a greater impact I think than we realize. So I think in order for trustees to be able to really make those decisions you need as much information as possible," said Daly. As a result of extensive discussion and the three delegates who came for- ward to speak on the issue, the Nov. 19 meeting had to be extended. NEWS HALTON CATHOLIC BOARD GRAPPLES WITH FRENCH IMMERSION ROLAND CILLIERS rcilliers@metroland.com Halton Catholic District School Board trustee Patrick Murphy says eliminating the boards French immersion wait list would mean addressing significant challenges like a lack of availability of qualified Catholic teachers. Roland Cilliers / Torstar "Can we make the space? I'm sure there's a way we can find the physical space, but finding qualified teachers who are Catholic who want to come to our system?" - Patrick Murphy