What is French Immersion?
Provides opportunities for students to develop enhanced proficiency in French.
Students receive instruction in French from teachers who are fluent in French.
Begins in Grade 1 and is designed for children whose first language is not French.
In Grades 1, 2 and 3, all subjects are taught in French. Starting in Grade 4, instructional time is shared equally between French and English.
Program continues in secondary school.
Secondary school students must earn at least 10 French Immersion credits to qualify for the French Immersion Certificate upon graduation.
Information Sessions
This year, our Information session for Grade 1 entry into the French Immersion program will take place in French Immersion schools on January 18, 2024, at 7 p.m. Program locations and additional information is available on our website. If families are unable to attend the information session, they can hear about the French Immersion program on the Tune In YRDSB: French Immersion Podcast.
Registration
FI registration will begin on January 19, 2024. Parents or guardians of Year 2 Kindergarten students entering Grade 1 in 2023, and wishing to enrol in the FI Program, can email or call their home school office and indicate their intention to enrol. The home school will notify the French Immersion school, and the French Immersion school will contact families by phone or email to collect any necessary information. Families are asked to register by February 6, 2024. Registration during this period is not first come, first served.
Important Considerations
Grade 1 is the only entry point into French immersion in YRDSB.
Communication with parents/guardians is in English including, but not limited to, report cards, newsletters and parent-teacher interviews.
For the first few months of Grade 1, children may not acquire skills identical to those learned by children in an English program as the focus is on learning in French.
During the first few years of the FI program, students may not develop the same level of English proficiency as their peers in an English program, however children should acquire these skills by the end of Grade 8. Families are encouraged to continue to read to their children in their first language.
FI Accommodation Plan
YRDSB’s FI Accommodation Plan provides long-term consistency and equity of access to all students in York Region and will enable YRDSB to continue to offer the FI program to all who wish to enrol. The FI program is offered in Dual Track or Single-Track settings, in a variety of configurations. In order to meet community needs and optimize available space in our schools, a community's Grade 1-8 FI program may be provided over more than one school during the course of a student's FI education. Space requirements at some schools may mean that siblings are in different schools for primary dual track French Immersion programs due to differing grade structures. Like any of our schools across the Board, changes to school boundaries, and/or the accommodation model for the French Immersion program may need to be considered when new schools open, a school experiences enrolment growth, and program changes occur. This will allow flexibility in addressing community needs and the opportunity to use existing space in schools.
More information is available on the Board’s website. Please note: Some of the FI accommodation plans will require facility modifications or the development of new schools and will require short-term transition plans that might include overflow while we work toward the long-term vision. Overflow refers to situations in which the Board directs students to attend a school other than their community school or optional program for a specific period of time, as defined in Policy #108.
Late Registrations
Late registrations are those submitted after February 6, 2024. Late registrations will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis and will be considered subsequent to registrations received during the registration period should overflow be necessary.
