French Second Language Review

June 2, 2008 The hearing of the Application for Judicial Review of the Minister of Education’s decision to eliminate the Early French Immersion program will take place at 9:30am on Wednesday June 4th at the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick in the Judicial District of Saint John. The court location is at the Saint John Provincial Building, 110 Charlotte Street, Saint John.

The public is welcome to attend. A number of parents of kindergarteners will be available after the hearing to provide comments to media.

For more information, please contact Tim Jackson at (506) 674-1597 or (506) 476-0951.

Legal papers were filed today in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Saint John seeking a judicial review of changes made to French Second Language programs following the March 14th, announcement of Education Minister Kelly Lamrock. Concerned parents across the Province have joined together and retained Fredericton lawyer, Thomas Christie, after it became clear that the Government was not willing to postpone the changes to FSL education to allow for a proper consultative process with all stakeholders.

“At no time in the FSL Commission’s process was it clear that Early French Immersion was on the chopping block,” says Tim Jackson, one of the group organizers leading the Judicial Review. “Minister Lamrock gave New Brunswickers only two weeks, one of those being March break, to look at the report and its recommendations before he implemented them fully. This is not even close to the kind of consultation period required to determine if such sweeping changes are appropriate.”

The FSL Commission Report, authored by Dr. James Croll and Mrs. Patricia Lee, neither of whom are experts in second language education, was made public on February 29th. This report has been widely criticized for its shoddy analysis of Department of Education data, the lack of statistical support for its own recommendations and bias in the report’s language. The recommendations of the report were fully implemented by the Minister on March 14th.

In addition to claiming the process has been flawed, the group makes particular note of the Minister’s commitment that disruption to children currently in the public education system would be minimized as these changes are rolled out. From what they have seen and experienced disruption to families is being felt on a number of fronts, particularly for parents of kindergarteners who were registered to enter Grade 1 French Immersion in September 2008. Examples of how these parents have been affected by this policy change are varied but include:

Paula Small, just one of many parents with a Kindergartener registered for EFI for the 2008-2009 school year, provided an affidavit with the application for Judicial Review. “On January 21st, as requested by School District 8, I registered my daughter for EFI. On February 4th I attended an District-hosted information session on the program outlining the positive benefits of the program and its results, and a mere twenty-five days later, with almost no notice, the Minister of Education eliminated an established program which was more than three decades in the making. I was shocked. Aside from highlighting poor communication and governance processes between the Minister’s policy setting body and the District’s registration process for 2008, the rapidity of this policy implementation displays a complete disregard for a large number of citizens of this province.” stated Mrs. Small. “According to the Department of Education, parents are considered ‘partners’ in the education system. We feel that the government has effectively shut one of their major partners out of this process.”

Patrick Ryan, who recently returned to the province with his young family, also provided an affidavit with the application. "Our expectation, moving home to New Brunswick last year, was that both our children would have the opportunity to participate in Early French Immersion. What concerns us most is the limited consultation and the lack of transparency for such an extreme upheaval to our province's education system.”

“If neither the Minister nor our Government is going to provide New Brunswickers with due process, then we will demand it,” says Jackson. “French Second Language education is too important to New Brunswickers, culturally and economically for it to be trifled with. We would rather have had an honest and informed debate on how FSL programs should be delivered than be backed into taking legal action to getting one.”

The group has established a Fund for donations to offset legal costs of the case. Donations and more information can be found at www.educationnb.org.

May 8, 2008: Questions about French second language education? Wondering about French Immersion or Intensive French? Want answers?

Canadian Parents for French (CPF) presents a public lecture entitled:

When: Wednesday May 14, 7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
Discover how bilingualism can help support the development of learners from the earliest days of childhood. A dynamic lecture that will highlight the many advantages that come from learning more than one language and will confront the myths that continue to dominate public discussions on bilingualism.
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/NR/rdonlyres/A861EC70-2F26-4BD3-A178-65D0FD9E7CB3/0/Fred_Genesee_April2008.pdf

Dr. Genesee is a world-renowned scholar of bilingualism, language development and language immersion programs, a Professor of Psychology at McGill University and the author of numerous scientific research books and reports on language learning in children.
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/minervaseries

March 23, 2008: Education Minister Kelly Lamrock recently announced his decision to eliminate early years French Second Language education and the Early French Immersion program in New Brunswick. In the wake of this decision, a grassroots movement of parents has organized in opposition to the move. With the cooperation of this grassroots movement, two members have created an e-book entitled Beyond Hysteria: The Facts about FSL and the Lamrock Plan. This e-book was not prepared in conjunction with CPF-NB and we are simply hosting the document on our webserver.

March 19, 2008 You are all concerned with the elimination of Early French Immersion. You can do something about it. Run for your local DEC and make your voice heard. The DEC elections are coming up. MONDAY, May 12 is Election Day. Nominations for election as a DEC member close at 2:00 p.m. on Friday April 11, 2008. More information can be obtained by calling:

District 2 (Moncton) 506-856-3222
District 6 (Sussex Rothesay, Hampton) 506-847-6262
District 8 (St John) 506-658-5300
District 10 (St. Stephen, St. Andrews) 506-466-7300
District 14 (Woodstock, Grand Falls, Edmundston) 506-325-4432
District 15 (Dalhousie, Campbellton, Bathurst) 506-684-7555
District 16 (Miramichi) 506-778-6075
District 17 (Oromocto) 506-357-4010
District 18 (Fredericton) 506-453-5454

March 19, 2008 The Canadian Association of Second Language Teacher’s has responded to the Minister of Education in New Brunswick regarding the report of the French as a Second Language Commission and the elimination of Early French Immersion programs.

March 27th is the date for action on the Legislature with buses leaving from various areas of the province to Fredericton. This will be during the day. Plan on coming with your children, parents, friends and neighbours

March 27th at 6:30 pm CBC radio has organized a meeting in Moncton at the Capitol Theatre with experts, informed people, parents .

District 18 public meeting : 6:30pm at Crown Plaza. We need as many parents who are interested in EFI & Core French to attend. Although this meeting is to encourage parents to run in the next DEC elections, we need as many parents to attend as we can get. Please call 453-5454 (District Office) to register.

March 18 CBC St.John : "New Brunswick needs to address the problems they already have in schools instead of implementing more and more programs that just cause more and more problems."

March 14, 2008 Parent-led advocacy group Canadian Parents for French, New Brunswick (CPF NB) is shocked at the Education Minister’s announcement to dismantle the Early French Immersion program.

March 14, 2008 NB government today issued a press release introducing changes to French second-language programs and services (Anglophone sector).

March 13, 2008 Education Minister Kelly Lamrock will outline the government's response to the report on French second-language programming and services within the Anglophone sector during a media lock-in at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 14.

March 12, 2008 An interesting blog was just started about the FSL Report by two prominent New Brunswick statisticians. You are encouraged on to their blog and post comments thanking them for helping New Brunswickers get access to real data on which to base their decisions.

Dear Parents,

We are writing you with regard to the French Second Language Review and its recommendation to eliminate Early French Immersion from New Brunswick schools. In the days following the release of the review we have had conversations with the Minister of Education and have come to the conclusion that the Minister is determined to eliminate Early French Immersion.

The only thing that can turn the Minister away from his plan is sustained action on the part of parents and concerned citizens. Only action from you can save the program for future generations of New Brunswick kids.

Since the Review, many parents have expressed a need for information on how they can help save this program, and what we can do to stop the Minister of Education from eliminating a program that is such a vital part of our provincial education system.

Other parents have asked us to give them feedback on the report itself and suggest ways to address problems raised by the Review effectively without eliminating early immersion.

We have included both a bullet point list of problems we found with the report and a list of constructive comments for your review.

We also are including several important actions you can take to help the fight to keep Early Immersion.

Submit your response to the FSL Review online at http://www.gnb.ca/0000/eng-submit-e.asp. Submitting to this site is VERY VERY IMPORTANT.

(Unfortunately, in the report, parents who supported Early Immersion’s ideas were discounted. One of the ways this was done was by dismissing them as “members of an association”. Sadly, for this reason, we think it best you not mention your membership in CPF but introduce yourself only as a parent)

It is also important that, along with criticism of the report, we offer constructive comments on how we can improve the program and solve problems mentioned in the report as justification for Early Immersion’s elimination. Parents who care about Early Immersion have been accused of caring only about their own kids. I know this is not true, and that the majority of parents want access to this program for all children and parents who make the choice.

Write Premier Shawn Graham’s office and your MLA’s office. It has been suggested that the best campaigns involve everyone writing the Premier at least once a week, preferably on Friday, so that every Monday his office hears from us about our concerns. The Premier can be reached at premier@gnb.ca though it is just as effective to send a letter by regular mail to:

Office of the Premier
Centennial Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Canada

Write your MLA, and write them often. You can find your MLA’s address and contact information at: http://app.infoaa.7700.gnb.ca/gnb/pub/ListMLA1.asp.

4. Contact CPF New Brunswick toll free at 1-877-273-2800 or at cpfnb@nbnet.nb.ca, if you want to help organize a bus trip from your area to the Legislature of New Brunswick to protest the elimination of Early French Immersion. Please contact us about this bus trip or with any ideas you have about how we can approach this challenge.

If you follow through with action and take the steps outlined in this letter, we can make a difference for the good of this province and for the future of its children.

WE NEED EACH OTHER TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM.

Thank you for your support and for your help on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Walter Lee
President

Problems with the Report

The FSL Review Commissioners are basing the success or failure of Early French Immersion on a 15 minute oral French proficiency test at the end of grade 12. The proficiency test is not mandatory so many early immersion graduates did not write it, though they did finish the program.
The authors are not French Second Language (FSL) experts.
The report contains almost exclusively negative anecdotal comments regarding Early Immersion even though the authors admit that most of the comments they received were supportive of Early Immersion.
The analysis of the data concerning the attrition from the early and late immersion programs is incorrect. The numbers used to say that early immersion students are leaving the program are wrong. (Ask us for details if you need more information about the specific errors in the report).
the performance of the students in Early French Immersion is higher than the report states, 85.9% met the expectations of the program.
The results of Intensive Core French, although very encouraging at the grade 5 level, have not been tested above grade 9.
The financial evaluation is misleading. Immersion teachers and English stream teachers are paid the same salary, so whether a student is in an immersion class or a regular stream class the cost is basically the same.
There is no proof that gutting the Early French Immersion program will improve English literacy skills. In fact, years of solid, objective research tells us the opposite is true.
Research proves the earlier the entry point to French Immersion, the less streaming occurs in the English classrooms.

Solutions to improve the education system in New Brunswick:

Have more French subject options at grades 11 and 12.
Districts must be made to follow Department of Education policies.
The Department must keep attrition statistics for individual districts and find out why there is such a great disparity from one district to the other.
Districts with poor attrition rates in French Immersion should follow the best practices in the districts with better attrition rates.
There should be a District administered test in reading in grades 1,2, and 3
Method and Resource help for ALL struggling students, no matter which program of instruction so that the English classes and the Early French Immersion classes are more balanced. Research proves that children with learning disabilities can benefit from Early French Immersion and they need to be given the opportunity.
Summer tutoring for the students in grades 1,2 and 3 not reading at their grade appropriate level.
District administered demand writing evaluation in French of individual students in grades 4,5,6,7,and 8. Students writing skills must be expected to improve from one grade to the next. Proper resources must be put in place to help struggling students before they move to the next grade.
Test the students at the end of grade 10 and at the end of grade 12 in oral French proficiency, as well as reading and writing.

March 05, 2008 Our New Brunswick Minister of Education has opened up a new web site for comments about the French Second Language Report and Recommendations, the most inflammatory of which are "eliminate Early French Immersion and Core French in all New Brunswick elementary schools and offer mandatory Intensive Core French for all students in grade five". Please send in your comments.

March 05, 2008 ACPI Open Letter to Honourable Kelly Lamrock

March 04, 2008 Canadian Parents for French (CPF) position statement on the Government of New Brunswick’s commissioned report titled:
A Comprehensive Review of French Second Language Programs and Services Within the Anglophone Sector of the New Brunswick Department of Education

Feb 18, 2008 Report of the French Second Language Commission A Comprehensive Review of French Second Language Programs and Services Within the Anglophone Sector of the New Brunswick Department of Education Submitted to Honourable Kelly Lamrock, Minister of Education February 18, 2008

The New Brunswick Government has released it's French as a Second Language: A Review of Programming and Services in New Brunswick. Parents are requested to share their views. It is very important that parents who value the French Immersion program speak out and share their views with the Department of Education. And if you are a French Immersion graduate and you are using your French for work, travel, socially, etc., it is very important for you to share the positive effect that knowing two languages has had on your life and/or career.

Nov 21, 2007 Walter Lee, Canadian Parents for French, New Brunswick President; Joseph Dicks, Director of the Second Language Research Institute of Canada, University of New Brunswick; and Madeleine Dubé, Conservative MLA and former Education Minister for New Brunswick; will be on Rogers TV, Voice of the Province, on Thursday evening, November 22 from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. They will be discussing the Department of Education's French Second Language Review, and the possible elimination of Early and/or Late French Immersion. This is a phone in show, so please call and encourage others to call and ask questions. The toll free number is 1-866-414-3628.

Nov 16, 2007 Letter from Walter Lee to all supporters of Early and Late French Immersion.

Nov 22, 2007 This report was commissioned by the NB Department of Education in 2006 by some of Canada'a leading experts in FSL Education. Why was it not released? What is there in this report that the government doesn't want the people of New Brunswick to know? |Part 1| |Part 2|

Please submit your comments to the FSL Commissioners, Dr. James Croll and Ms. Particia Lee at:

A Telegraph Journal article on how French programs in N.B. do work is available here.

If you wish to post comments in support of French Immersion you can do here.

Canadian Parents for French, New Brunswick has responded to Questions on the New Brunswick Department of Education Web Site.

CPFNB President, Walter Lee has written an article on a French Advisory Committee - an idea whose time has come.