The Ottawa Carleton District School Board has reopened the debate about the delivery of French language instruction and educating special needs students in a sweeping review of its elementary program.

The review was launched last spring and is the first major attempt to look at how the board is serving its students and families since the former Carleton and Ottawa boards of education were amalgamated in 1998.

The main goal of the review is to find ways to allow students to attend their program of choice at their neighbourhood school rather than have to attend a school outside their neighbourhood based on what program or stream they enter.

The most common example of the latter is French immersion. For instance, not every school offers Early French Immersion (EFI), which provides a 50/50 split between English and French instruction, beginning in junior kindergarten. This means that parents who wish their children be enrolled in French Immersion must send them to a school outside their area.

During the first phase of the program review last spring, parents and teachers were invited to compete a survey on how things could be improved. The answers the board received are all over the map, with some respondents wanting to increase access to EFI, and others wanting to do away with it altogether in favour of the Middle French Immersion program, which begins at Grade 4, in order to give students a stronger base in math and science in their mother tongue.

As an example, some respondents felt that not enough resources were being allocated to the French immersion program while other respondents whose children who aren’t in French Immersion said the exact opposite, inferring that too much is being allocated to the French immersion at the detriment of the students enrolled in English Core French program.

One of the solutions proposed in an interim report recently issued by board staff suggests that every elementary school offer a dual-track program – French immersion and English Core French – making them accessible to everyone. The report does not suggest, however, how this would be done in practical terms. Some schools don’t have enough students to make a dual-track system viable, or the necessary number of bilingual teachers.

The survey responses have also placed a spotlight on the underlying perception by many parents and students that the French immersion program is exclusive and that the regular English Core French program is somehow “lesser”.

In paraphrasing the responses, the report states that many parents and students feel the English Core French program is “not as valued as the French immersion program and is thus viewed as less important.”

The report does not suggest how this perception can be overcome.

Another area of contention included in the survey is the delivery of education to special needs children and whether they should be integrated into the mainstream classes or continue to be educated in special needs classes which are often in schools far from home. Most parents of special needs students who responded to the survey want the board to maintain the current special needs classes.

The argument against integration is the potential negative impact it would have on the classroom, especially if not enough support and resources are offered to the teachers who may or may not have adequate special needs training.

The 89-page interim report was presented to the board of trustees on Sept. 10. Further discussions will be held over the coming weeks with recommendations on what do and how to move forward expected to be tabled in December.