French immersion is increasingly becoming a first choice for parents in Prince George's school district.
That upward trend has been paired with a decline in overall student enrollment in School District 57, a recent report from Canadian Parents for French showed. Ten years ago French immersion students represented four per cent of the school district's population, and now they represent eight per cent - or 1,044 students.
That's just under the provincial reality, with 9.5 per cent of all students in the second language program. And just like SD57, the province showed an ongoing rise in registrants over more than a decade.
The district numbers also translate to an almost 40 per cent increase in enrollment from five years before.
"I think basically parents are seeing the real advantages of speaking in another language and also they're perceiving it will help in the future with job prospects," said board chair Tony Cable.
"It just opens up so many other avenues for you."
Bilingual Canadians earn more and have lower unemployment rate than those with one language, according to Canadian Parents for French.
But when it comes to a good education, correlation isn't causation, said the District Parent Advisory Council's former chair.
"(Often people) say the kids are doing well in French immersion ergo French immersion is a good program. That isn't necessarily the case," said Sarah Holland, who takes issue with the methodology behind the Fraser Institute's annual school rankings, which puts Lac des Bois as Prince George's top-ranked elementary.
Parental involvement has more impact, she countered: A parent engaged in their child's education often means the student will find success.
"Any kind of choice situation, you've got the parent looking at the school, thinking about the school, making a decision about the school," she said."You get people who don't necessarily realize wherever their child ends up because their involvement ... chances are good their kid's going to do well."
While French immersion was right for her two daughters, both now at Duchess Park, a child can find just as much success in the English track.
Jeff Daniel, executive director of Le Cercle des Canadiens Francais de Prince George, said becoming bilingual is a good idea.
"Speaking French and English is a good idea for a kid and it will permit to get good opportunity even in Prince George," said Daniel, adding the organization has also seen a slight uptick in its adult registrants - around 10 for the beginner class and more than 10 for the intermediate.
Typically it has about five or six students, he said, and the non-profit also offers workshops at the local immersion schools.
Finding teachers and administrator to fill key positions is a problem in Prince George and one that's felt throughout the province.
"French immersion teachers are in demand," said Cable, as are administrators. "We have sent recruiters to Quebec and other places."
Local demand for a French education has been an ongoing discussion at the district level, Cable noted, with administrators keeping a close eye on its four French immersion schools: Lac des Bois, Heather Park and College Heights elementaries and Duchess Park secondary school.
"The French immersion numbers is a good news story but it is causing some problems with enrollment," he said.
Duchess Park is already over capacity and forecasted to hit 128 per cent capacity by 2023. College Heights and Lac des Bois, too, are projected to push capacity with Heather Park the sole option that is sitting under.
The long range facility report, published last year, recommended trustees consider removing the program from Duchess Park, which got push-back from parents.
"We are going to encounter some resistance no matter which way we go, but we have to find some solution," Cable said.
That said, it looks like the district is leaning away from pulling out French immersion from Duchess Park and instead rethinking feeder schools.
Thursday afternoon Cable met with new superintendent Marilyn Marquis-Forster and others to start planning a consultation process to deal with a number of recommendations, including addressing Duchess Park's enrollment, combining McBride's elementary and secondary schools, and shifting Grade 7 students at Mackenzie's Morfee elementary.
"There's been all sorts of proposals that we need to look at but we haven't made any decisions," Cable said.
