WATCH: With French immersion courses across B.C. facing long waiting lists, why is one program in Surrey facing possible cancellation? Julia Foy reports.
The Maggo sisters are counting down the days to the start of the school year, and they are keen to learn a new language.
“I like French,” said Arshdeep. “Our teachers say that if you learn many languages, that’s better for you.”
The sisters attend Cougar Creek Elementary, which is offering a brand new French immersion kindergarten class this fall, with plans to expand each year up to Grade 7.
Doug Strachan of Surrey Schools said the new class was “in response to a lot of surveys and consultations with our parents as well as outside groups that were urging there be more French immersion.”
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The District was shocked to discover more than 200 families who were on a wait list for the program turned down the opportunity to take part.
“We assigned staff to personally call and continue calling until we reached them and got an answer,” said Strachan. “We’ve concluded that just in the last week or so and we have six people out of 222 families.”
This despite the fact enrollment in French immersion programs throughout the province appears to be at an all-time high and advocates say more spaces are needed.
“There were 23 communities around the province where there was more demand for French immersion than there were spaces,” Glyn Lewis of Canadian Parents for French told Global News last September.
So what’s the reason behind the low registration?
“It appears the No. 1 reason given was they didn’t want to travel,” said Strachan.
Others suggest there may be another reason, saying that roughly 60 per cent of the community is made up of residents of South Asian descent, who likely already speak a second language.
Surrey is inviting anyone who wishes to attend the new French immersion kindergarten to contact the district as soon as possible.
-With files from Julia Foy
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