As you know, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is exploring how to enhance its French Immersion program by increasing secondary-level retention and addressing anticipated enrolment pressures in Ardrossan. To help develop a solution, EIPS consulted school families, staff and community stakeholders over the last year.
- Phase 1 of the engagement explored ideas and the values of EIPS French Immersion families—fall 2022.
- Phase 2 involved sharing EIPS’ concerns and collecting feedback to develop a possible solution—winter 2023.
- Phase 3 examined possible solutions to address stakeholder feedback, student accommodation and program retention needs, long term—spring and summer 2023.
Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their thoughts. The feedback helped the Division develop both a vision for EIPS French Immersion and a recommendation report with a solution for the secondary program. Currently, the EIPS Board of Trustees is reviewing the recommendation report, which was also posted publicly earlier this afternoon.
Trustees will spend the next few days combing through the report and then discuss it in detail at the next public Board meeting on Oct. 19, 2023—the meeting starts at 10 a.m., is open to the public and livestreamed on EIPS’ YouTube channel. At that point, the Board will either decide to vote on the recommendation or request additional information from administration. Ultimately, whatever direction the Board takes, it will be in the best interests of all EIPS students.
In the meantime, EIPS encourages everyone to review the recommendation report and accompanying background information. For ease of access, below are links to the recommendation report, the What We Heard Report from the last engagement session and extensive background information detailing all public engagement efforts, including facts and figures and frequently asked questions. The information is also available at eips.ca.
- Report for Recommendation: Secondary French Immersion
- What We Heard Report: Phase 3, Part 2 – June to July 2023
- EIPS Public Engagement: French Immersion programming
NOTE: Any changes to EIPS secondary French Immersion will take effect when the new Sherwood Park replacement school opens. So, at the earliest, in the 2026-27 school year.
After the October Board meeting, EIPS will email all French Immersion and Strathcona County-based families to let them know what the Board decided. At that time, the Division will also collect questions from staff and families to develop a frequently asked questions document. If you have a question, simply fill out and submit the EIPS French Immersion: Question Form. EIPS will work through your questions and include the answers in the FAQ document.
Again, thank you to everyone who participated in the French Immersion public engagement. Both EIPS administration and the Board appreciate the time and thought put into the feedback provided over the course of the consultation. EIPS will continue to keep the school community informed about the process as information becomes available. For more information, or to subscribe for updates, visit eips.ca.