PICKERING -- The Durham District School Board has put off a plan to move hundreds of young students to a different school in September 2020 for one year after angering some parents.
Maple Ridge Public School in Pickering is a dual-track school, meaning students can attend the French track or the regular English track.
In the first week of January, the board proposed moving around 220 regular track students to Vaughan Willard Public School, which is about a three minute drive away.
A report found since 2014 Maple Ridge has experienced enrollment in excess of capacity, a trend that is expected to continue.
James Hummel is a father of three children at Maple Ridge and said the proposal had caused him a lot of anxiety.
“We were very disappointed, extremely disappointed,” Hummel said, speaking to CTV News Toronto over the phone on Tuesday.
“Our children were asking nightly, ‘Are we going to another school next year?’” he said.
“We felt that the English stream kids were being treated like second class citizens. They were being evicted from their home school with no valid reason or care for their well-being,” Hummel added.
Some of the concerns for his family included the possible changes around his kids taking the bus instead of walking, child care spaces and needs.
French immersion by the numbers
The possible shuffle comes as French enrolment at Maple Ridge surged from 263 in 2014 to 456 in 2019, compared to the regular track which saw 188 students enroll in 2014 and 220 in 2019.
In Ontario, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, enrollment in French Immersion increased from 164,635 in 2011 to 212,714 in 2016, a jump of 48,079 students.
Scool board defers decision following backlash
After learning about the concerns, the Durham board told CTV News Tuesday afternoon it decided to defer looking at the plan to move students in 2020 to 2021.
“We heard those concerns and felt after analyzing furthering that it was in the best decision to defer because the flexibility was there to defer,” superintendent of education with the Durham District School Board Jim Markovski said.
Markovski also told CTV News Toronto that the board will conduct a French immersion program review.
“To really understand the pressure points of French immersion and understand how we can best serve our entire communities—and I’m not just talking about our French immersion communities—but all parents and families impacted including dual track schools,” Markovski said.
“I’d like to say we’ve won the battle but haven’t won the war,” Hummel said, in reaction to the decision.
Parents with children in French immersion also concerned
Jennifer Iwata has a daughter in the French track at Maple Ridge.
“We felt blindsided by it,” she told CTV News about the initial plan.
Iwata still wonders how it could affect the number of kindergarten spaces as she wants her younger daughter to attend the same school as her sister.
“We haven’t really gotten into a good feeling they have taken a look at the plans from a long-term perspective and they are addressing the needs a reactive manner.”
“It's good to know they're listening and we hope they will do a better job of consultation. I'm hesitant to hope the decision will be completely reversed,” Iwata said in a text message to CTV News.
