Powell River students enrolled in bilingual education continues to rise and set records, according to a report by Canadian Parents for French BC and Yukon released on Tuesday, September 3.
The report stated that as of the 2018/2019 school year, 164 students in School District 47 were registered in the French immersion program. This amounts to 7.16 per cent of the entire student body of about 2,200 students enrolled district-wide.
Provincially, the average is 9.49 per cent. The report showed bilingual education has increased dramatically since the program was first introduced at James Thomson Elementary School in 2010/2011 when only 19 students were enrolled, or 0.8 per cent.
“We continue to grow as our program nears maturity,” said superintendent of schools Jay Yule. “The original immersion students are in grade 10 now, therefore we expect to continue growth for two or three more years until we have full classes at every grade level.”
According to Statistics Canada, Canadians who speak both French and English earn on average 10 per cent more, and have a lower unemployment rate, compared to Canadians who only speak one of the two official languages. There are also cognitive development benefits to learning an additional language, such as an increased ability to understand complex problems and higher tolerance, insight and understanding of other cultures.
“This year we celebrated 50 years of French immersion in British Columbia,” stated Canadian Parents for French BC and Yukon president Greer Cummings. “From modest and determined beginnings, this exceptional education program has grown to expand into almost every corner of our province.”
