At this time we would like to remind/inform you that back in December 2013 when the last viability study was being conducted under Jeff Blackwell, HFFINS formally requested the establishment of an English Advisory Committee. If such a committee were in place today, the new primary core French would have been promoted, members of both the English and French Advisory Committees would be part of this current viability study, and it is highly doubtful that Pineland would have lost its English and/or FDK.
Here is that letter in full:
http://hffins.weebly.com/blog/formal-request-for-english-advisory-committee
Also useful is a reminder of what plagued the last study -- a very myopic scope and lack of transparency.
- It does matter why parents are choosing FI: http://hffins.weebly.com/blog/it-does-matter-why-parents-are-choosing-french-immersion
- Transparency when communicating to the public: http://hffins.weebly.com/blog/re-lack-of-transparency-another-example
Although we do feel our children and neighbourhood schools are in better hands this time around as Mr. Miller does not appear to have the pro-FI bias that was so evident in the last study, we still request that you formulate your recommendations on the fact that HDSB is an English Public School Board and French Immersion is optional, not the other way around.
In addition, please look at several other boards who successfully manage optional French Immersion: Peel, Toronto and Ottawa Catholic:
Every school in the Ottawa Catholic School Board offers French Immersion and Extended French or Core French pathways for students. This means your child can learn French at your neighbourhood school, regardless of the French pathway they choose.
We sincerely hope that all ideas and solutions are considered and 'pedagogy' is not continued to be used as an excuse in which to continue status quo. We truly wish for this study to not be just another in a long line of 'viability' studies but that real solutions are found, even if it includes an entire overhaul. Our kids and communities are worth it.
This board talks often about inclusion -- please take an honest hard look at how single track French Immersion by nature does not support inclusion as it either ejects children from their schools or prohibits some from attending in the first place. If you're going to talk the talk on inclusion, please walk the walk.
Respectfully,
HFFINS