Table of Contents:

Proposal

Background

Options being considered by the Board

Re-enrolment choices for Hudson EFI Families

Feedback Summary & Staff Recommendation

PROPOSAL

In order to ensure a sustainable French Immersion program and accommodate in-catchment students, the District is proposing the following for the Board to consider:

That the Early French Immersion Program currently located at Henry Hudson Elementary be relocated and combined with the Early French Immersion Program at Strathcona Elementary.

A report (Item 2.2) was presented to the Facilities Planning Committee on January 23, 2019.

• Strathcona is the nearest school to Hudson with an existing Early French Immersion Program that has sufficient space to increase its enrolment.
• District staff and the Board are committed to planning collaboratively with staff and families to help them transition to new schools or new programs if any changes are made.  

Your feedback is welcomed before the Board makes a decision on April 29, 2019. Please drop in to one of the public information meetings at:

Hudson Elementary School (Library) 1551 Cypress Street, Vancouver Tuesday March 5, 2019  from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm 

or

Strathcona Elementary School (Auditorium) 592 East Pender Street, Vancouver  Thursday March 7, 2019  from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm

If you missed the information session, a pop-up information session will be hosted at: 

• Hudson on March 12 from 3 - 4pm 
• Strathcona on March 13 from 3 - 4pm

To view the boards used at the public information sessions, click here. 

From March 5-20, 2019 you can submit your feedback via an online survey (govsb.ca/FI-Review-Survey) or in-person through one of the public information sessions. 

Your feedback will be gathered and incorporated into a staff report for the Facilities and Planning Committee to consider, before the Board's decision on April 29.

BACKGROUND

Coming out of the French Program Review conducted in 2018, our goal is to build a stronger and more sustainable French Immersion program across the district. This means:

• Being able to provide more spaces for families wanting to enrol in French Immersion.
• Ensuring these programs are of sufficient size to have a strong student and staff community.
• Aiming to have at least two Kindergarten French Immersion classes at each school offering Early French Immersion (EFI).

In addition, we need to consider options for addressing space and enrollment challenges at Henry Hudson Elementary. The number of students currently attending Hudson exceeds its operating capacity (118%). 

• Classroom space is not sufficient.
• In the future, there will be students living within Hudson’s catchment area that are not able to attend the English Program.

OPTIONS BEING CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD

Staff developed the following three options for the Board to consider. 

Option 1 – Status Quo:  Retain the EFI Program at Hudson, no changes. 

Option 2 – Phased Relocation: Gradually end the Hudson EFI program and grow the Strathcona EFI program. Starting September 2020, the Kindergarten EFI enrolment would end at Hudson Elementary. Students currently enroled Hudson EFI students could remain at the school and complete their EFI program to Grade 7 or purse other re-enrolment choices. The Hudson EFI program would decrease each year as the continuing EFI students move through their grades. The EFI program will be fully phased out at Hudson by June 2027.

Option 3 – One-Time Relocation Relocate the EFI Program at Hudson completely at the end of the 2019-2020 school year and provide all continuing EFI students the option to begin attending Strathcona in September 2020, or pursue other re-enrolment choices.

RE-ENROLMENT CHOICES FOR HUDSON EFI FAMILIES TO CONSIDER

If the Board decides on Option 2 or 3, current families of students currently enroled in the EFI Program at Hudson will have the following choices for re-enrollment for the 2020/2021 school year:

Enrol in the EFI program at Strathcona Any student in any grade attending EFI at Hudson in the 2019-20 school year will be guaranteed a spot at Strathcona for September 2020.

Enrol at another EFI School Hudson EFI students would have the opportunity to request a transfer to any other Early French Immersion Program in the District. Applicants from Hudson EFI would be given priority for placement over other new EFI applicants for 2020/2021 school year only. This process would be subject to availability of space in the requested programs.

Enrol in the Hudson English Program  Any student attending EFI at Hudson would be guaranteed a spot in the English Program at Hudson. Current EFI Students and their siblings who do not reside in the Hudson catchment would be grandfathered into the Hudson catchment.

Enrol in Catchment School Program We would facilitate re-enrolment at catchment schools for families who prefer this option. Where catchment waitlists exist, students returning from the Hudson EFI program would be placed behind catchment students who had already applied to attend the school.

FEEDBACK SUMMARY & STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Based on feedback from Hudson and Strathcona school communities, the District is proposing to: 

Phase out the French Immersion program at Hudson Elementary school over the next several years in order to address existing enrolment and capacity challenges at Hudson.

Feedback from Hudson and Strathcona school communities indicated that both school communities prefer to slowly phase out the French Immersion program at Hudson Elementary, rather than a one-time relocation to Strathcona Elementary.

The feedback report can be found here.

The recommendation will be presented to the Facilities and Planning Committee on April 17 and the Board is expected to make a decision on April 29.

If approved by the Board, the Hudson FI program would be phased out beginning in 2020.  In that year, there would be no Kindergarten intake to the FI program, which means an extra 20 seats for the English Kindergarten program at Hudson.