When Marsha Bloom gave a deputation to the Simcoe County District School Board at the end of April, she was dismayed to hear some of the questions and comments from trustees.
Bloom leads a group of about 60 parents of students currently enrolled at W.H. Day Elementary School in Bradford in the French immersion program. The group has expressed concern with the board’s February decision to locate the high-school version of the program in Innisfil at Nantyr Shores Secondary School starting in 2021.
Bloom said the parents enrolled their children in the program assuming that the high-school version would naturally start at Bradford District High School (BDHS).
“I’m a parent. It’s my right to have this conversation. I’d like to be able to have an actual conversation,” said Bloom. “No one has actually given us a rationale for why they can’t run a standalone program in Bradford until a new school is built, and really make it a priority.”
The school board first introduced the French immersion program in September 2013. It is now in its eighth year, with the first classes set to graduate from elementary school in June 2021.
For our original story on this issue when it came up in February, click here.
Bloom said her group couldn’t get a delegation in February when the decision was made to proceed, so instead the board let her speak at the April 25 meeting.
She alleges a lack of transparent consultation on the issue.
Bloom says a public consultation survey sent out to parents in December 2019 did reference location broadly, but didn’t make reference to a specific location.
According to the survey results, which are included as part of the board report on the issue, parents ranked the importance of key factors such as location, the hiring of qualified teachers and variety of subjects. The survey results found location ranked ninth out of 10 factors in order of importance.
“For every year the French immersion program has existed at W.H. Day, the capital plan listed Bradford District High School as the location for the secondary French immersion program. For the past seven years, we’ve been told it would replace the extended French program at BDHS,” she said.
"When asked if we thought location was important, we felt it didn’t need to be highlighted because based on all indications, there was only one location for the (French immersion) program: BDHS,” Bloom added.
When it came time for questions, Bloom said she felt offended by the tone of what was being asked.
“I’m wondering if you know how capital planning works?” asked trustee Beth Mouratidis, who represents Barrie’s Wards 4, 5 and 6. “It could be several years before a new school is built in Bradford.”
“I’m a big proponent of the French immersion program, but you are aware it’s an optional program?” asked chairperson Jodi Lloyd, who represents Orillia, Severn and Ramara townships.
Bloom said the questions left her feeling dismissed.
“It felt like they were saying, ‘You’re just too stupid to understand what location meant',” she said.
Bloom is a teacher in York Region. Her children are enrolled in the Grade 7 and Grade 2 French immersion programs at W.H. Day.
It was important to Bloom for her kids to do French immersion, as she believed it could open a lot of doors for them down the road.
“For a lot of people, it means opportunity,” she said. “If you have a second language in Canada, you have an opportunity to work in a lot of different areas.
“Also, knowing a second language can open neural pathways, making it easier to learn other languages,” she added.
Bloom says if she had known the high-school version of French immersion was going to be held at Nantyr Shores, she doesn’t think she would have put her kids into the program in the first place.
“Probably not,” she said. “You assume your kid is going to be home. Many of us have some kids who are in the English stream, and you assume your kids are going to all be able to go together and one will be there for the other.
"I think it really blindsided the community.”
During her deputation, Bloom said there are many parents of current French immersion students at W.H. Day who are considering abandoning the program altogether so their kids can attend high school in their own community.
“This issue is not just relevant to parents of children currently in Grade 7. Many parents are coming to realize that long-term prospects for their children are not being met due to the board’s current decision,” she said.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out next year when our kids do go,” Bloom added.
In an interview this week, superintendent of program and special education Chris Samis outlined the board’s reasoning behind the decision.
“It became a decision about which of the schools could support the additional growth French immersion will bring? Innisfil is a growth area, but Bradford is also a very significant growth area," Samis said. "It became not an option to put it in Bradford because we couldn’t afford to continue to keep Bradford growing.”
Bloom disputes that Nantyr Shores has more space for the program than Bradford does.
“Both schools received portables this year,” she said.
Samis said the standalone school for Bradford isn’t an option.
“It comes down to, what is more important to students and families? If we split the program and put it in individual schools, then there won’t be enough students to be able to offer a viable program. And I think that would be the unfortunate part,” he said
Samis said there will be an estimated 40 students from each Bradford and Innisfil areas each year feeding into the program.
“Because of the growth, it was a difficult decision not to put it in Bradford. The board felt it was the better option to put it at Nantyr at this point,” he said. “The decisions we make may sometimes be difficult, but we need to be able to look forward.”
About 500 people have signed a petition to have the program stay in Bradford. Samis says he hasn’t seen the petition, but is aware of it.
Looking forward, Samis says he hopes the board can work with teachers, students and parents to make the new French immersion program as effective as possible.
“If we make a great program, then families will want to go to these schools to be able to do that. They’ll vote with their feet,” he said.
