The Rainbow District School Board said it registered 149 students who are newcomers to Canada in just five weeks in the lead up to and beginning of the new school year, reflecting the influx of newcomers to this region in recent years.
“Our aim is to ensure that children get into the schools as soon as possible,” said Melanie Bertrand, Rainbow board principal of student success, speaking at the Sept. 24 Rainbow board meeting.
“So we have a family who's starting at their new school tomorrow, three children who are thrilled. They can't wait to attend.”
Over that five-week window, the schools with the most newcomer registrations were Lockerby Composite School, Churchill Public School, Princess Anne Public School and MacLeod Public School.
Dan Koziar, the Rainbow board’s principal of program, said at this time last year, the board had around 450 students with English-language learning needs.
“This year, we currently have over 600 students for whom English is not their first language,” he said. “These students speak more than 40 different first languages and dialects. This growing diversity enriches our schools and classrooms with the growing number of students requiring English-language learning support. Our complement of English language teachers has increased. We now have a team of eight itinerant teachers serving our language learners throughout the board.”
Punjabi, Farsi, Bengali, Tagalog, Urdu, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Spanish and Mandarin account for the greatest percentages of first languages spoken by students who have recently registered.
Bertrand explained the several factors that have contributed to the recent growth in newcomers in the area, including the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Project, international students who have school-aged children, refugee claimants and immigrants who have been issued permanent resident status and are reuniting with family members.
One of the board’s primary goals when registering students whose first language is not English is completing assessments quickly to ensure appropriate supports are provided.
“This summer, we were able to complete 18 assessments prior to the start of the school year,” said Koziar.
Some of those assessments were completed at the board’s new Welcome Centre for newcomers, while others were completed at school sites.
The Welcome Centre is located at the Davidson Street Entrance of Sudbury Secondary School near the Adult Day School. It is open from Monday to Friday throughout the 2024-2025 school year, and appointments can be booked online here.
“As more and more newcomers make Greater Sudbury their home, we want them to feel safe, valued and supported,” said Bruce Bourget, director of education for Rainbow District School Board, in a press release issued this past summer.
“The Welcome Centre will provide a convenient space for newcomers to meet a friendly face to ensure they experience a successful transition.”
The family's journey to Canada, student academic history and proficiency in English will be reviewed as part of the registration process.
Rainbow District School Board said it is also proud to partner with Sudbury YMCA to support families who are new to Greater Sudbury.
Part of the partnership includes access to the YMCA's Settlement Workers in School (SWIS) program. Settlement Workers provide services to newcomer families to help them integrate into their new community and school.
“It's such a nice soft landing when you have this wraparound support,” said Koziar, during his presentation at the school board meeting.
While the newcomer population in Greater Sudbury has been on the increase, trustee Alex McCauley wondered what was going to happen, given the federal government’s current cuts to international student permits.
“That's kind of a wild card that nobody really knows where it's going to fall down,” he said. “And while we're trying to set up programs that reflect perhaps the demographics today, the demographics tomorrow may be quite different.”
While Bertrand said it’s hard to predict what will happen in terms of newcomers, based on global conflicts and federal policy, she said the way the Rainbow board’s Welcome Centre has been established is “brilliant.”
“It is in an existing space that has skeletal staff, but it's still managing to do great work, so if there is a shift in our demographics, we can respond accordingly,” she said.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
