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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 16, 2009 - 3 Board expected to vote on divisive issue Jan. 21 Continued from page 1 and French immersion parents and supporters speaking Wednesday night, with slightly more French immersion advocates. The majority of English track parents asked the board to choose Option C, while most of the French immersion parents requested Option A. One of the main arguments the French immersion parents had for Option A was that single-track schools provide an ideal learning environment for children. They said children learn better in a school where they are fully immersed in the language, both in and outside of the classrooms. "We are very happy with the single-track French immersion program as it exists at Ecole Forest Trail," said Marg Gillies, an Ecole Forest Trail parent. "Right now, there's over 800 students attending a school designed to house 552. It's obvious that single-track French immersion is very popular and thriving in Ward 4." Many of the English track parents, who supported Option C, asked the board to approve it with alterations. The suggested changes included having four dual-track schools rather than three, as well as a 50 per cent, rather than 60 per cent, threshold for French immersion enrolment. They also pushed for a written guarantee that dual-track schools will not become singletrack French immersion facilities. "How can we build a future together in a dual-track school, if we don't know what we are building or who is going to get to stay ... this will continue to keep us as separate groups of parents and not the new, commingling, developing parent committees we need to become. We need stability," said Lesley Dalgarno, Oakville Parents Encouraging Neighbourhood Schools (OPENS) member, Pilgrim Wood School Home and School Association President, and Pilgrim Wood parent. Among the many other pros English-track parents cited for backing dual-track schools were: shared resources and associated cost savings, creating unity between families in the two programs, stability and no need for further boundary reviews. English-track parents also asked trustees for a backup plan if Palermo is not constructed. "With new home sales in a freefall and the provincial coffers drying up, there needs to be 100 per cent assurance that Palermo will be built as planned," said Greg Bowman, chair of Abbey Lane School Council and an Abbey Lane parent. "If not, we fear there will be a return to the accommodation issue once again about what to do about the overcrowding of Forest Trail." A recurring theme among delegates with French immersion children was their frustration with students being frequently uprooted and the corresponding negative impact. Most French immersion parents said Option A would mean fewer long-term student transfers. Several parents spoke about having children who moved to Ecole Forest Trail from Pine Grove a year and a half ago, only to have them relocated again to the dual-track program at Pilgrim Wood in September 2009. Some of these parents expressed concern that the threshold at Pilgrim Wood would soon exceed 60 per cent due to the popularity of French immersion, meaning students would be moved again in two years. The impact of relocating was provided first- LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER OVERCAPACITY: At the core of the Ward 4 elementary school accommodation issue is the overcapacity of Ecole Forest Trail, a single-track French immersion school, which opened in September 2007. Built for 552 students, the school is now home to more than 800 pupils. hand by the only student delegation of the night, with Amanda McAleer, a Grade 5 student at Ecole Forest Trail and Jamshied Shamlou, a Grade 6 student at the school, saying they did not want to relocate. "I am here today because I am worried about where I am going to be going to school next September," said McAleer. "You see, that would mean another new school for me. A third new school in less than four years. New teachers, new people, new routines, less friends. I don't know how many of you have changed jobs or moved offices three times in four years, but I can tell you it is very stressful and not much fun." Shamlou would also have to go to Pilgrim Wood if Option B was approved, which is not something he said he wants to do. He presented the board with a petition signed by all of the Grade 6 students asking that the class stay together until graduation regardless of next week's decision. "Overall, moving to Pilgrim Wood would affect friendships, learning, resources and it might not just affect us, maybe the students at Pilgrim Wood will be affected, too," he said. "Since there will be about 250 more students there, the budget would be split between all these classes, which would cut down even more on important resources and school trips. The halls would be more crowded and it would be harder to maintain a safe environment during school and out at recess." Busing versus walking to school was a divisive issue for the French immersion and English-track parents. Many French immersion parents said they preferred their children be bussed if it meant they could learn in a single-track environment, while English-track parents stressed the benefits of walk-to schools. Some delegates suggested trustees wait at least one more year before making a decision on the Ward 4 Oakville issue until the results of the Ministry of Education's French program 18-month review, slated to start next month, are released. Others also asked for a deferral of the decision until more information was provided on the anticipated costs of each option. Other speakers wanted an immediate decision. They argued pressing issues like special education and gifted programs were being put on the backburner with all the attention on the Ward 4 Oakville issue. Cindy Gullett, an Abbey Lane parent, was the lone delegate who openly supported Option B, saying it offers something for both English track and French immersion parents. She said more than enough time had been spent on the Ward 4 Oakville issue and that it was time to pay attention to other issues affecting the board, such as special education. "Enough is enough," she said. "Option B is as fair of a compromise as any reasonable person can expect. You are the Board of Education, not accommodation. Put your focus back where it belongs." A survey done of Ecole Forest Trail parents by the school showed that parents would consider voluntarily removing their children from the French immersion program if it was not made available in a single-track setting. "If French immersion in Ward 4 was only offered in dual track, only 58 per cent of our FI families would continue with the program, stating they would accept it only as a last resort and citing a strong preference for single-track immersion," said Colleen Bailey, French Immersion Really Matters (FIRM) spokesperson and Ecole Forest Trail parent. "A combined 42 per cent of families would be at risk of leaving the program and return to their English-track home school, Catholic school, private school or French-only school, while some could not decide." Brian Sheppard stressed the need for reconciliation between English track and French immersion families if Option B is approved. "We are Canada, after all, and if we can't prove that diversity works here, and we can't have different languages living, working side by side in something as simple as an elementary school, then we fail and nobody wins," he said. "So let's make Pilgrim Wood a school that is a model to show that diversity works... There is no reason Pilgrim Wood can't be the best school all of our kids ever attend." The Ward 4 Oakville issue is scheduled to be voted on at a regular board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. at the J. W. Singleton Education Centre at 2050 Guelph Line in Burlington. RETAIL & WHOLESALE LIGHTING Boxing Week Sale CONTINUES Save up to * 50 % OFF on all in stock items kend Wee inal F Reg $88125 Sale $785 NOW $624 $ Featuring lighting from 550 Trump Home · Troy · Hudson Valley · Stonegate Design · Heidle and much more Oakville's Finest LIGHTING STORE ELEGANT www.conceptlighting.ca DISTINCTIVE 243 Speers Road · Between Kerr & Dorval · Oakville, ON 905.849.LITE (5483) * Cannot be combined with any other offer. Limited quantities. Offer does not include special orders.