Mais non: francophone group unhappy with Calgary schools nixing mandatory French

<p>CALGARY – A francophone group is unhappy that the Calgary Board of Education is dropping French as a mandatory subject in Grades 4 to 9.</p> <p>Public school officials say they are making the change to give parents extra flexibility.</p> <p>It will be up to individual schools whether to provide French in those grades or whether to offer other languages. </p> <p>The Canadian Parents for French, Alberta branch, calls the move a giant step backwards for French second-language education in the province.</p> <p>Group spokesman Michael Tryon says all students should have the right to receive education in both of Canada’s official languages.</p> <p>He also says that making French classes optional will put students farther behind in the global economy.</p>