July 17, 2008

Please go to the Department of Education web site at www.gnb.ca/education and post your comments about the elimination of Early French Immersion and Core French in grades one to four, and the implementation of mandatory Intensive Core French for all students in grade five. Make your voice heard!

The deadline is July 25, 2008. The Minister of Education will be announcing his decision regarding which French second language programs will be offered in New Brunswick anglophone schools on August 5, 2008.

June 31, 2008

Click here to download a new response by Dr. Jospeh Dicks, University of New Brunswick entitled "The Case for Early French Immersion"

June 25, 2008

School District OPEN HOUSES.
Looking for a way to voice your opinion on French Immersion? Core French? Intensive Core French? Or have any concerns?
If so, don't be shy to attend the Open House days specified below. Your presence shows your concern. You have the right to be heard!
http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/promos/edu/openhouses-e.asp

Information from CEC, Citizens for Education Choice
Download the document

June 18, 2008

Canadian Parents for French New Brunswick Branch supports the Ombudsman's Recommendations to allow parents to register their children for grade one French Immersion this fall and to delay the elimination of Early French Immersion until September 2009 pending the outcome of a public engagement process.  Read the Report in English or French.

June 17, 2008

Please go on-line to the link below and make your comments.  
Canadian Parents for French calls for one-year moratorium

By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

The New Brunswick branch of Canadian Parents for French is calling for a one-year moratorium on any changes to early French immersion and early core French.

The group is also requesting that a working group of French second-language experts and researchers be established - similar to the working group that was set up to look at post-secondary education - to develop the best possible French second-language plan for the province.

"We know the system has to be fixed, but that doesn't mean slash and burn, and eliminating programs that produce a high level of French proficiency, like early French immersion," said Jane Keith, the group's executive director.

She said parents aren't comfortable with Education Minister Kelly Lamrock heading up another round of consultation.

"Lamrock needs to put the brakes on and remove himself from the debate," said Keith.

"He's too enmeshed in the issue to be impartial. We need impartial French second-language experts and researchers to give us good, solid, trustworthy advice this time around."

She said every other province in Canada has early French immersion, not just the wealthy provinces. Early French immersion is working well in those provinces and they deal with the streaming issue, said Keith.

"They are making it inclusive for all students," she said.

She said the proposed working group could look at how other provinces are making it work and come up with cost information.

Keith also said an Aug. 5 decision date for early French immersion is too rushed.

For example, she said, in the Woodstock area students go back to school Aug. 15 because for the potato break in the fall.

"We don't want to see schools in chaos in September with not enough teachers trained," said Keith.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/328101

June 13, 2008

Canadian Parents for French, New Brunswick Branch supports parental choice in education for all parents and students.  We believe the Department of Education and School District must offer quality Early French Immersion, Late French Immersion, Core French and Intensive Core French programs and these programs should be offered as a CHOICE.  Please follow the link to our national CPF Position Statements.

http://www.cpf.ca/english/Members/Position_Statements.htm

June 11, 2008

Judge quashes N.B. gov't plan to cut early French immersion

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Parents fighting a New Brunswick government decision to scrap early French immersion scored a victory in court Wednesday that throws the province's plans into doubt.

Justice Hugh McLellan of the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench sided with parents who argue Education Minister Kelly Lamrock didn't allow enough time for debate before making his decision on the program.

"Thus the decision of the minister was unfair and unreasonable," McLellan wrote.

The judgment quashes Lamrock's decision in March to scrap the program and sends the matter back to the government for further review.

"Any further decision by the minister should not be influenced by any expectations, consequences or possible waste caused by the March decision that has been quashed," McLellan says.

"Also any further decision should be made in accordance with the principles of fairness after an appropriate opportunity for interested citizens and organized groups to be heard."

There was no immediate reaction from the provincial government.

The court was packed for the decision as parents brought their children, including babies, to hear McLellan's ruling.

Instead he handed out his seven-page written decision, which parents quickly flipped through before they began applauding, hugging each other and crying when they realized they had won.

Two parents, Paula Small and Patrick Ryan, filed affidavits with the court in Saint John asking it to review Lamrock's decision while also seeking an injunction to reverse all decisions related to it

Paula Small's husband, Ray, spoke for his wife who wasn't able to attend the decision, saying he hopes this will save early immersion, which is prized by many parents as the best approach to teaching French as a second language.

"We're back to square one," Small said.

"The way we understand it, early French immersion is reinstated as of right now and he (Lamrock) has to go through an entire consultation process, a fair and open process, before anything can move forward."

Both Small and Ryan have children in kindergarten and registered them in early February for the Grade 1 early French immersion program in September.

Jane Keith of Canadian Parents for French in New Brunswick said she hopes Lamrock doesn't try to get around the court decision and move ahead with his plan to cut early immersion in September.

"It wouldn't be smart for him to do so given that the court has said it wasn't a proper review, it wasn't based on sound decisions and parents weren't given a chance to have input."

McLellan rejected an argument that the move by the province violates the parents' Charter rights that guarantee minority language education.

"In my opinion, early French immersion for anglophones in New Brunswick, the linguistic majority in this province, is not protected by the Charter," he wrote.

In his ruling, McLellan says the parents who initiated the legal action had a reasonable and legitimate expectation the program would not be cut without having a real opportunity to be heard.

"The government just got handed a speeding ticket," Michael Wilcott of the parent group Citizens for Educational Choice said after the judge's decision.

Ryan, who recently moved to New Brunswick with his family, has said he was most concerned about the limited amount of consultation before such a major decision for the province's educational system.

The New Brunswick government cancelled early French immersion in March in favour of an intensive French program in Grade 5 that will be offered to all students.

A French immersion program will not be available to students until Grade 6.

Early French immersion, which was offered beginning in Grade One, was held by many educators and parents to be a Cadillac program for second-language training.

The government took the step because it said the program wasn't working and it was effectively separating and streaming children based on language ability.

June 11, 2008

Small Ryan v New Brunswick

June 10, 2008

The ruling of the Application for Judicial Review of the Minister of Education's decision to eliminate the Early French Immersion program will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11th, at the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick in the Judicial District of Saint John.
The Court is located at the Saint John Provincial Building, 110 Charlotte Street, Saint John, NB.
A number of parents of kindergarten children will be available after the hearing to provide comments to media.

May 29, 2008

Get the Facts about Early French Immersion from FSL Experts and Colleagues

May 26, 2008

A Response to Lamrock's FSL Plan
Prepared by the CEC of New Brunswick