TORONTO – A group of parents in Brampton say the Peel District School Board’s decision to move dozens of French immersion students to another school in September is punishing their children.
All of their kids attend Ingleborough Public School and are enrolled in the French immersion program. But starting next year, a boundary change means some students in the grades one to three program will be forced to move to Credit Valley public school a few minutes away, separating them from older siblings who will remain at Ingleborough.
“I’m very frustrated with the changes, everything changes for my children,” said Tajinder Dhadwar whose two children will be separated next year.
“Their routine is going to be disrupted and theyre worried,” added Lumina Purantare whose daughter will be sent to Credit Valley while her older son will stay put.
The move would affect more than 40 students currently enrolled at Ingleborough but that number will be even higher when more students enroll into grade one.
“If this split happens all my three kids will be going to three different schools, three different timings,” said Nizar Jindani. “Whenever my son thinks about splitting he starts crying.”
It’s been a frustrating few months for the parents who say they have been back and forth with the Peel District School board trying to find a compromise that won’t leave their children attending separate schools. After community meetings and a survey sent to parents and students, many believe their concerns were not taken into consideration when the final decision was made to move the small group of students.
“It seems like theyre just moving our children around from one pen to another like animals,” said father Aman Sur. “They dont really care.”
Peel District School board officials say they tried to find a solution that would not inconvenience families, but in the end, issues of over-crowding, class size and funding made it difficult to reach a decision that worked for everyone.
“If we didn’t make the decision that we made as we went through each year the numbers would just become impossible to have the space,” said coordinating superintendent Shirley-Ann Teal.
Over-crowding in schools is a big concern in Peel especially in Brampton where communities are booming. Five new schools are slated to open in September including Credit Valley which will already be operating at capacity when the new school year begins.
The board said parents of students affected by the move could try to get their kids back into Ingleborough through a flex boundary program, but there are no guarantees and decisions wouldn’t be made until after the school year begins which could still disrupt class time. But it’s a situation that’s not just unique to Brampton. The Peel District School board says there are up to six other areas faced with the same predicament of moving students to other locations because of space.
“As a parent I absolutely empathize,” said Teal. “We said, can we make it work? We looked at all the centres, we couldnt on a long term basis.”
The board points out that French Immersion is not a mandatory program. But for parents of students now left figuring out how to juggle two or three young kids forced to go to different schools next year, they feel their students are being penalized for choosing French immersion in the first place. If they knew they would have been faced with the prospect of moving their kids from school to school, they might have made a different decision when they enrolled years ago. For now, they are hoping to work with the school board to find a better option for their children.
“Keep the children together please for the children’s sake and the familys sake,” said Dhadwar.
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