There’s been a 15% jump in the number of students enrolled in French Immersion in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district.
Heather Bartlett with the BC & Yukon Branch of Canadian Parents for French says parents who were in french immersion want their kids to have the same experience.
“French Immersion came to BC in late ’60s, and started spreading in the ’70s,” she says. “Parents who went into French Immersion are putting their kids in French Immersion as well because they want their kids to have that same experience.”
Bartlett says there are more than 1,790 SD68 students taking French Immersion, ranging from kindergarten to grade 12.
There’s a waiting list at Hammond Bay Elementary, and some parents in Ladysmith are asking the District to start offering French Immersion at Ladysmith Secondary.