Rebecca Davis is breathing a sigh of relief.
Now, all five of her children will be able to enter French immersion following the reversal of a switch to a 50-50 learning model for all students in English schools.
“I really didn’t believe that the government would budge on this,” she said in an interview on Friday. “I really didn’t and I’m so pleasantly surprised that it feels like they did listen.”
About 13,000 New Brunswick parents and teachers made their voices heard during public consultations on the province’s decision to abolish French immersion.
Those consultations revealed strong push-back and resistance to the government’s plan.
Through watching her kids, Davis said she knows French immersion works.
“I would say they are on their way to being bilingual now if not fully bilingual,” she said. “It’s beautiful to see her be able to switch back-and-forth between languages.”
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Her older kids really wanted to help advocate for their younger siblings, including the youngest.
“When it comes to my three-year-old, I really hope that we look back on this and he’s proud of his sisters and his parents for advocating for him to make sure we can give him every opportunity possible,” she said.
Chris Collins, the executive director of Canadian Parents for French in New Brunswick, said he feels like this reversal was a result of parents and teachers standing up for what they believed in.
“We’re very relieved,” he said in an interview on Friday.
He said the past four months have been difficult for all those involved in working to fight against the province’s overhaul of French language instruction.
He did give credit to Education Minister Bill Hogan for listening and responding accordingly.
“And the decision has been reversed,” he said. “It doesn’t mean there is no damage. There is still some damage, there is still some damage from this, it’s been very hard on, and very emotional for the teachers and the parents.”
No one from the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association was available for an interview on Friday, but in a written statement, president Connie Keating said the organization is encouraged by the decision to slow down before making any systemic changes.
“The NBTA continues to emphasize that a focus on learning conditions for all teachers and all students is essential.”
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