Interest in French Immersion programs across the province continues to grow, with the last school year showing the 20th year of consecutive French Immersion enrolment growth.
At School District 69 (Qualicum), the numbers continue to climb as well.
In a report released Sept. 4 by Canadian Parents for French British Columbia and Yukon, the 2017-18 school year showed 53,487 students across B.C. were enrolled in French Immersion programs, or 9.5 per cent of the student body.
That’s a growth of .53 per cent over last year’s total of 53,206, though the total enrolment grew by from 557,630 students to 563,247, an increase of 1.01 per cent.
At SD69, 419 students took French Immersion last year, or 9.8 per cent of the student body. This year shows another increase, said SD69’s superintendent, Rollie Koop.
“At this point, we expect approximately 437 French Immersion students to be enrolled in our K-12 program for the 2018-19 school year,” he said. “This would then reflect a growth of 18 students or an increase of approximately four per cent over last year.”
Koop said that the district provides a range of school and program options, like French Immersion, to students, adding that the district has seen growth in a variety of them “which we see as very positive.”
However, he said attracting and retaining French Immersion teachers remains a challenge across the province and at SD69.
“We currently have all of our French Immersion classes being taught by qualified teachers, thanks to the hard work of our assistant superintendent and human resources department staff who have been reviewing resumes and carrying out interviews non-stop throughout the spring and summer.”
Koop noted also that that Ministry of Education is assisting school districts with French Immersion teacher recruitment, and that the government is also working with post-secondary partners to open more dedicated French Immersion seats in teacher training programs.
