The two schools initially believed to be a bad fit for inclusion of French immersion are the two schools now being recommended for just that.

The preferred option from Stratford’s accommodation review committee to create a second dual track site at either Anne Hathaway or Avon school was formally presented to school board staff at  a meeting last Thursday.

The committee also offered a series of additional recommendations including adjusting school boundaries across the city and phasing in changes so students are not displaced from their current schools.

In a brief presentation, committee member Kathy Vassilakos said she believed the committee had come up with an “optimal recommendation” that achieves the targeted goals set out in the beginning of the process –  balance enrollment in schools across the city and alleviate the overcrowding at Bedford school, which is presently the only  site in Stratford to offer English and French streams.

The committee’s decision to focus on dual track options rather than a stand-alone French site boiled down to committee members not wanting to strip any communities in the city of its English-stream school.

“I think everyone in this room would agree that community schools are the heart and soul of communities,” said Vassilakos, who noted the dual track option also ensures  educational continuity for families with students in both streams and students who enter or leave the French program.

And while the committee recognized a dual track site is more difficult to administer, Vassilakos said “we feel the benefits to students in the communities outweigh the challenges to administration.”

The dual track option is likely to be costlier than the alternative. The dual track option will result in a loss to the board of about $4,000, while a single track school would net the board a savings of about $100,000.

Vassilakos said the cost gap was not significant in terms of the board’s overall operating budget, and suggested under the committee’s recommendation there would likely be money saved on busing as more students could walk to their community school.

From the committee’s analysis, Vassilakos said Avon and Anne Hathaway are the only two schools aside from Bedford they believe have the space and accessibility to accommodate French immersion while still maintaining a healthy English stream at the same time.

The schools, when paired with Bedford, would create either a north/south or east/west split for the French program, increasing access across the city, she added.

Vassilakos said a case can be made for either school. Avon, for instance, would be a good fit since its catchment area has the second highest number of French immersion students in the city.

But, Avon might also be better left alone so it has capacity down the road to accommodate the growth in the city’s north end, which makes Anne Hathaway a more attractable option.

Either scenario is not what staff with the Avon Maitland District School Board envisioned when setting out on the review process.

The board has been been reluctant to include the two schools in the mix – Avon due to the north-end growth and Anne Hathaway because of concerns about disrupting the school’s special needs students.

According to superintendent of education Mike Ash, the board will not move its special needs students which means additional English students would be displaced to accommodate the French students coming in.

In addition to the committee’s recommendation, the board’s report to school board trustees on Feb. 28 will also contain an option from staff for either Bedford or Romeo school to be used as a French-only site.

“At this point in time staff are still thinking that a single track (school) is the best option for the French immersion program as well as balancing enrollments in the City of Stratford,” Ash said.

When questioned about the committee’s report, Ash indicated staff would have to take a closer look at the figures presented, but indicated “there are things that we would question” such as the committee’s claims about reduced transportation costs.

Ash said trustees, who are expected to vote on the matter in early May, will have to consider the bottom line when making their decision.

“All we have to do is listen to the discussions at the provincial level about pending funding restraint, and we are going to have to abide by those restraints at a local level as well,” he suggested.

“If there is a way to (cut costs) through this accommodation review, trustees will not be able to ignore that consideration.”

Speaking with the Gazette after the meeting, committee member Steve Wells argued the money lost or saved between the single and dual track options “really doesn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things,” and suggested trustees consider the whole picture when voting.  

“It just doesn’t come down to money. It’s got to be quality of education, quality of access and a happy community,” he said.

“I don’t think we would have brought forward the dual track concept if we didn’t believe it was going to offer the best for the kids and the communities.”

Prior to trustees voting, a special board meeting will be held on March 29 at Hamlet Public school for the sole purpose of hearing delegations related to the accommodation review. Anyone wishing to speak on the issue can also do so as a delegation at any regular board meeting between now and May.