A motion to introduce a French immersion program at Cambridge Street Public School was defeated by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board last month.
Local trustee Justine Bell proposed starting the program in September 2022 as a second track along with the current English program. She said it would increase enrolment and supplemental programming at the school.
At the meeting May 11, five parents and former students of the elementary school spoke in support, citing the importance of the school to its neighbourhood and of being able to walk to school, and the need to support the marginalized community that Cambridge serves. Christopher Paine said the school’s parent council supported the motion, and argued that the school was not sustainable as English-only. Cambridge PS can hold 323 students, but currently only has 54 in person, and another 18 virtually.
Normally, adding a French program would only be done after an “accommodation review” examining schools in a general area. However, the province has had a moratorium on these reviews for seven years, with no end in sight.
Board staff said it would be difficult to determine without a review how many students would enrol in the French program at Cambridge, and that students already in immersion at another school might not want to transfer out to Cambridge. About 166 elementary students in the school’s catchment area have left to attend other schools.
According to the board minutes, Director of Education Camille Williams-Taylor argued that a broader area analysis was needed before introducing French immersion at Cambridge, and that it would be challenging to undertake the complex review requested in the motion. She said it would take possibly two years to examine adding the program because of other priorities and uncertainties. Staff will also develop a plan to review the use of school sites, she said, “in a reasonable scaled timeframe.”