Applications for French Immersion programming have shot up by 14 per cent at the region's public school board this year with numbers from the second phase of applications still to be tallied.
At a school board meeting Monday night, Lauren Agar, Manager of Planning at the Waterloo Region District School Board said that there were 1,358 students who applied to the Grade 1 French Immersion program in Phase 1.
This includes applications received between January 5, 2022, and January 31, 2022, for the 2022-2023 school year.
The increase amounts to about 162 students over last year, Agar said.
The Grade 1 component of the French Immersion program represents approximately 28 percent of the total Grade 1 enrolment. French Immersion Grade 1 classes are organized to accommodate the greatest number of students in the program.
Approximately 56 students have applied so far during Phase 2 which includes applications received between February 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022.
Because demand is so hight, the board uses lottery system is used to place students in Grade 1 French immersion classes, Agar said.
“Of active applicants, we have been able to place all but six per cent, who are still on waiting lists,” she said.
Students may continue to apply for the program until the 20th instructional day in September 2022.
Approximately 8 per cent of applications received as of April 3, resulted in declined offers for removal of applications from system.
“We will maintain the same 42 schools that offer French immersion," Agar said.
There is a total of 56.5 Grade 1 classes that offer French Immersion projected for the next school year. This is up by 2 or 3 classes from last year.
All schools currently offering French Immersion will continue in 2022-2023, and no other schools will add French Immersion programs.
According to the WRDSB Annual French Immersion Enrolment Status update, as of April 3, 2022:
● 1,217 students have been placed in Grade 1 French Immersion classes;
● 83 remain on waiting lists;
● 21 selected only their Home School and could not be placed there as those sites do not offer French Immersion; and
● 93 have moved out of the district or decided not to pursue French Immersion.
WRDSB began the French Immersion program in 1977. Since then, the program has continued to expand.
In 2021-2022, five schools added additional grades to their program. These same five schools will also add additional grades to their program in 2022-2023.
In Cambridge, nine schools offer the French Immersion program.
Students in senior kindergarten may take one of two pathways to learning French when they enter Grade 1 with core French or French immersion. If their parents are interested in placing them in French immersion, they must apply, otherwise the students will be placed in core French.
Students following the core French program pathway, will continue until the end of Grade 9 at minimum, and students can take French credits in grades 10 through to 12 as options.
In the French immersion program pathway, students remain in the program until Grade 12. They may also choose to continue French through an extended French or core French program through high school.
WRDSB said it will accept registrations for French Immersion programming until September, and it will also continue to try to place those students on waiting lists.
