As the time for French Immersion students to relocate from Westview to Roosevelt draws nearer, the Canadian Parents for French brought up some concerns they have with staffing at Roosevelt via a letter to the board of the Prince Rupert School Board that trustees discussed at last Tuesday’s school board meeting.
In the letter the issue the Canadian Parents for French stated was that at Roosevelt both the study centre worker and teacher assistants in the kindergarten class are not bilingual. They argued that 25 French Immersion all-day kindergarten students are registered for next school year, so there should be the proper amount of support for those students.
Currently, non-French speaking employees fill these positions at the school and although this causes some issues for French Immersion students, they cannot be bumped out of their position. As well, the school district is not responsible for filling these positions, the kindergarten workers are funded through the Aboriginal Education Council and the Community Link Committee funds the study centre support worker.
As well, Superintendent Lynn Hauptman argued that the Study Centre isn’t exactly meant for studying purposes, it’s a place when students can go and get self regulate when they are hyper, etc. until they are ready to return to their class. Trustees compared it to a time out place. Hauptman also stated that although bilingual support would be great, it isn’t critical for the study centre.
But with that being mentioned, many trustees still wondered why the school district couldn’t include hiring a bilingual worker for the operation hours of the study centre, three hours a day.
In the end, it was decided that the board would explain their reasons to the Canadian Parents for French, and then when these positions need to be filled they would try to hire someone who is bilingual.