Province celebrates French immersion growth, while Regina school division sees issues

This past week, the province praised and celebrated the growth of French immersion education programs in Saskatchewan — but that growth is posing some problems for some divisions, like Regina Public Schools.

It was French Second-Language Education Week in the province, and in a news release, the provincial government said French immersion program enrolment has risen 30 per cent over the past 10 years across Saskatchewan. In the current school year, nearly nine per cent of students in the province are in French immersion.

That number is actually higher in Regina’s public schools, at about 13 per cent.

Enrolment in the Regina Public School Division has seen “unprecedented” growth in the past five years, according to Darren Boldt, deputy director of student achievement with the division. But Boldt said the growth has been even higher for French immersion.

French immersion went from 11 per cent of enrolment in 2015 to 13 per cent now, and it’s projected to be at 15 per cent by 2027.

With more students, there’s more need for space, though Boldt said that’s a problem across the division. Each year the division grows by about 600 students, and currently French immersion students are about 78 of those.

“Growth is always a very positive thing for our school division. When you combine growth with capacity it becomes a difficult thing for us. Right now we know that, through our projections, we are growing by about a large elementary or a middle-sized high school each year,” said Boldt.

The division is hoping for more money from the province to build new schools, and once that happens it’ll have to decide which might offer French immersion.

Teachers wanted

What’s a problem specifically for the French immersion program is a lack of teachers. Boldt said the division is having issues recruiting enough teachers because there just aren’t enough out there.

“I think that’s consistent with all school divisions across our country,” he said. “Even in Quebec they’re having a difficult time recruiting French-speaking teachers.”

The division is trying different ways to entice teachers.

“We’re constantly going to the east, where the bulk of our French immersion teachers come from, and recruiting at job fairs and so on — and I think other school divisions are doing the same thing,” Boldt said.

And he said the division’s board has agreed to a bursary program which would help with tuition costs for French immersion teachers who are willing to teach for the division when they graduate.

The lack of teachers and space hasn’t had a real negative impact on the program yet.

“The fact that we are having a difficult time recruiting French immersion teachers has not got to the point where it has affected programming — not the class sizes (and) not the ability to allow whoever wants to attend the French immersion program — whether it’s a single-track school or a dual-track school,” explained Boldt.

The growth has affected the organization of some schools, as the division sometimes has to move classes around to be able to fit the growing program.

It’s also affecting the division’s future planning.

“It’s front and centre in our planning conversations, not only in elementary schools but in our two French immersion high schools,” Boldt said.

In addition to the two high schools in the Regina public division, there are two single-track French immersion elementary schools and five which are dual track with French immersion and English.

Money matters

The rising enrolment in French immersion education also potentially means a higher cost for the government.

According to the Ministry of Education, funding for instructional resources for French immersion is 33 per cent higher than those for non-immersion students and schools.

Instructional resource funding to divisions is about five per cent of total funding.