Times Advocate, 1999-12-22, Page 211410
esday,December 22, 1999
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21
In the News
Limited French Immersion offered in
Avbn Maitland board next school year
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVO-
CATE
The Avon Maitland
District School Board will
introduce French
Immersion starting next
year, but the program will
be significantly less wide-
spread than the one the
board tried to implement a
year ago.
At the board's regular
meeting Dec. 14, trustees
voted 6-1 to establish a
French Immersion pro-
gram for Grades 1 and 2
at Stratford's Bedford
Public School, starting
September 2000.
Senior principal Marie
Parsons informed trustees
she expects the program
will initially comprise at
least o 1 class of students
for e : `' grade, with the
possibility of including
another split -grade class.
She called this "a manage-
able approach to get the
program."
The only dissen a ote
came from Vicki
who told the boar . she
wanted more information
about the cost of trans-
porting students to the
Bedford program. But
after the meeting, the
Goderich-area trustee
admitted her opposition
was rooted in the fact stu-
dents from the former
Huron County Board of
Education will still have
little or no access to
French Immersion.
"If there's going to be
enough money to bus kids
to Stratford, then I think
we should spend the
money and have (a French
Immersion program) In
two places," Culbert said.
A year ago, Avon
Maitland tried to start
French Immersion at
Bedford, as well as two
schools in Huron County
— Grey Central Public
School near Brussels and
Huron Centennial Public
School south of Clinton.
Accordingto a report
issued by Parsons at the
Dec. 14 meeting, "insuffi-
cient registration was
received at all three sites.
Catholic board to apply for funding
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE
HURON -PERTH — The Huron -Perth
Catholic District School Board will apply
for funding under a new program to
repair portable classrooms, but the
superintendent of business isn't holding
his breath.
"Fifty million dollars doesn't go a long
way, especially when you consider the
serious problems some of the other
boards seem to have," Gerry Thuss said
after informing trustees about the
provincial fluid at the board's meeting
Dec 13.
Thttss says the Huron -Perth board
uses numerous portable classrooms and
will continue to do so even after it elimi-
nates 11 portables through ongoing
construction projects at Precious Blood
school in Exeter and Holy Name school
in St. Marys.
However, he suggests the board's
portables are in better shape than those
targeted by the $50 -million fund.
"Boards like Dufferin and Peel seem to
have serious problems with mould cont-
aminations," Thuss told trustees. Mould
has been blamed for contamination of
classroom air supply, leading to increas-
es in environmental and respiratory ill-
nesses among students and teachers.
In contrast, Thuss said, Huron -Perth's
portables are in good shape. The board
has also undertaken ongoing- ventilation
renovations which have been financed
through the province's school mainte-
nance grants.
Trustee Mike Miller noted other
boards were forced to call on the gov-
ernment for emergency -type funding
because Health Department officials
issued orders to the boards, asking them
to remedy what had already become
serious problems.
This was not the case in Huron and
Perth.
Thuss says the board will apply for a
share of the $50 million. If any money
comes, it will go towards continued ven-
tilation upgrades.
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The major barrier as
reported by parents
appeared to be the lack of
transportation."
The rural locations in
Huron were chosen Last
year, Parsons says,
because there is excess
space at both schools. But
existing transportation is
limited in both rural com-
munities, since neither is
home to a secondary
school which would draw
bus routes from further
afield. Avon Maitland did-
n't have enough money to
provide new bus routes for
potential French
Immersion students com-
ing into these areas, so
the program never got off
the ground.
The larger community of
Stratford, Parsons con-
tends, can generate
enough French
Immersion students to
support next year's small-
er program on its own.
Many will not require
busing to Bedford, while
others from the surround-
ing area can be accom-
modated by existing bus
routes serving Stratford
Central and Stratford
Northwestern secondary
schools. She says the
three -class potential of
the Bedford -based pro-
gram may need only one
more bus route — a route
gathering students from
various locations within
Stratford.
Questioned by Culbert,
however, Parsons admit-
ted there is also enough
interest among Huron
County students to estab-
lish a French Immersion
program in Clinton. A
program within Clinton
would be more cost-effec-
tive than a rural -based
program because Central
Huron Secondary School
already sends buses into
the surrounding area.
But Parsons says a sig-
nificant number of poten-
tial Huron students would
still require more trans-
portation.
"You would probably be.
looking at somewhere in
the neighbourhood of
$200,000 for buses," she
said.
When pressed about
other possible solutions to
bussing limitations —
including sharing routes
with St. Annes Catholic
Secondary School in
Clinton — Parsons admit-
ted the board learned a
Lesson from last year's
experience.
Even in the case of
Stratford, where similar
route sharing with the
Catholic board's Jeanne
Sauve elementary school
and St. Michael secondary
school could bring in more
students, Parsons wants to
keep things small in the
program's initial year.
Ultimately, that was the
reason given by Zurich -
area trustee Bob Allan
when he spoke in favor of
next year's program.
"I think that we need , to
get this started," Allan
said. "I would hope that it
would spread to other
schools and other regions
over time."
Registration for the pro-
gram will begin in January
2000, and the board hopes
to host a parent informa-
tion night early in the new
year.
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Christmas season carry you and your
family through the new year and beyond.
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