Keep French Immersion at Lansdowne, parents plead

In July 2009, Mindy Amalfitano's husband, Dan, passed away from cancer.

Teachers at her children's school, Lansdowne Public School, were quick to step up and help the family.

“Five staff members attended Dan's funeral, and they gave me a card filled with money they had collected, while the school was closed for summer vacation,” Amalfitano said. She was one of two parents of students in Lansdowne's French Immersion program to speak at an Oct. 25 Rainbow District School Board meeting.

“A couple of weeks later, I received a phone call from one of my children's teachers. She said that she and one of her colleagues would like to take Andrew and Daniella out of a few hours,” Amalfitano continued.

“They took my kids out for lunch, they took them to the movies, and they took them to Staples and bought all of their school supplies. Somehow, they knew I just wasn't up to any of it.”

She said the teachers' actions made her realize what a “special place” Lansdowne is.

Citing low enrolment in the program, school board staff recommended last month that the school no longer offer French Immersion, effective 2013-14.

Students would instead attend one of the following schools, based on boundaries: Ernie Checkeris Public School, Carl A. Nesbitt Public School, Westmount Public School and Alexander Public School.

School board trustees won't make a decision on the matter until Nov. 22.

Amalfitano said her two children, now in Grades 5 and 6, love their school, their teachers, and learning French every day.

“How can I take away the opportunities that a second language will afford them?” she asked. “How can I take them out of a school that they love so much? It's an impossible decision, one that I don't want to make.”

Nine-year-old Andrew Amalfitano, who attended the meeting with his mother, said being in the French Immersion program is “fun, because you get to confuse people with your French.”

Kate Barber, the head of the Lansdowne parent council, gave a detailed presentation at the meeting about why French Immersion should be kept at the Donovan-area school.

The neighbourhood the school serves is a “challenged” one, with high levels of low-income families, unemployment and lone-parent families, she said.

Programs at the school are geared to this reality, Barber said.

For example, the community organization Better Beginnings, Better Futures provides a breakfast program and an after school program for students.

“We never pay high fees for any of the activities at Lansdowne because there's so many families that can't,” Barber said.

“That means their child is always included. We would be concerned that if families had to move out of the neighbourhood, they would lose all those supports, and the connection to the school.”

Barber said her children would probably end up in two different schools if French Immersion were cut at Lansdowne.

Daniel, who is in Grade 1, is in the French Immersion program. Her older son, David, is in Grade 3 in the school's English program. David was placed in the English program because he has learning difficulties, Barber said.

On behalf of the school council, Barber asked the school board to “find a creative solution which will allow a high-quality French Immersion program to remain in the Downtown/Flour Mill/Donovan neighbourhood.”

Vance Hamilton, whose daughter Kayla is in Grade 2 in Lansdowne's French Immersion program, also attended the meeting, although he didn't make a presentation.

“We've asked her what she wants to do, and basically if her friends aren't going, she's not going,” Hamilton said. “She does not want to leave Lansdowne. She loves Lansdowne ... She's not going anywhere. It's unfortunate, because that means she's going to lose out on French Immersion.”

Ward 4 Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac, who represents the area where Lansdowne is located, also made a presentation at the meeting. She said she felt compelled to do so after receiving several phone calls from concerned parents.

Dutrisac pointed out that because families in the area are generally poorer, they would find it hard to get to a New Sudbury school during an emergency.

“If the French Immersion program is to be eliminated from Lansdowne Public School, this would mean that there would be no more public French Immersion schools in the downtown area of the city,” she said.

“I do hope that the board will seriously consider keeping the French Immersion program at Lansdowne.”

Along with the proposed cuts at Lansdowne, board staff also put forward several other recommendations regarding French Immersion. These include the recommendation to keep French Immersion at Sudbury Secondary School, but only if the program has an enrolment of 45 students in Grade 9 and Grade 10 on Oct. 31, 2012.

The board is still accepting written input on the subject until Oct. 28. Send written submissions to Nicole Charette, senior advisor, corporate communications and strategic planning, Rainbow District School Board, 69 Young St., Sudbury, ON, P3E 3G5, fax 705-674-3167 or e-mail [email protected].

Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen