Yellowknife (Jan 24/05) - Proposed changes to the public school district's French programs are no closer to being implemented and the uproar from parents continued unabated last week.

A meeting designed as a public information session about the district's French revitalization project quickly derailed Thursday. Unruly parents and staff defied board members' requests for order, peppering trustees and administration with questions.

Wally Lazaruk, the Evaluation Plus consultant whose review recommended a single-track French immersion program at J.H. Sissons school, was available to answer specific questions about the proposed changes, but the audience focused its anger on the secrecy of the district instead.

Ken Huss has one child enroled at Sissons and another entering Kindergarten next year.

Rather than satisfying his curiosity about the future of French programming at the district, he said the session only led to more questions.

"I believe they've bitten off more than they can chew," he said of the board.

As a new homeowner near the school and mother of a soon-to-be school age son, Megan Holsapple didn't get the answers she was looking for either.

"I thought this school board was going to be more open," she said after the meeting.

Other questions from parents and staff ranged from the cost of the changes to what options are open to parents and whether it's even possible to find enough French-speaking teachers to staff an entirely-French school.

Board has options

Assistant superintendent Mel Pardy assured the crowd that no decisions have been made on any of the recommendations in the Evaluation Plus review.

The board has already whittled 11 recommendations down to five, which include starting early and late immersion, phasing out middle immersion, turning J.H. Sissons into an all-French immersion school and implementing an intensive core French program.

Pardy explained that they want their immersion programs to be portable, so families moving in and out of Yellowknife can be confident their children's work and grades will transfer easily to programs in other communities.

The primary goals for Yk No. 1's proposed changes are to increase enrolment and proficiency in French immersion across the district, according to the board.

Backed up by statistics from the Department of Education and Canadian Parents for French, he told the crowd that early (Grades K-3) and late (7-12) immersion programs would allow the district to achieve those goals.

"The trend is middle (Grades 4-6) immersion is being phased out across Canada," said Pardy.

If the single-track school goes ahead, Yellowknife's middle immersion program will be phased out beginning in Sept. 2005 and disappear by 2008. Only english students committed to entering immersion would be allowed to stay at the school. Others would have to switch to Mildred Hall or other Yk No. 1 schools.

By September of 2010, J.H. Sisson's school could be strictly French immersion.

That is just one of many possible scenarios at the school though, said Pardy.

"If the board makes a decision, we'll sit down and decide what would be the best scenario out there," he said.

The core French program, which currently has 50 per cent participation across Yk No. 1, is facing other changes thanks to the review.

A pilot project for an intensive core French program at the Grade 6 level was included in the recommendations.

A proposed vision statement of policies, regulations and guidelines was also recommended for all French programs district-wide.

Wally Lazaruk, who flew in from Alberta for the session, told the audience that his recommendations are just that, recommendations.

"The question is what does Yk No. 1 want to do for the future in terms of French programming," he told parents.

The answer will be determined as a series of public consultations continues. Another public information session is planned for Jan. 25 at William McDonald school.