Multi-language Elementary School a Possibility in Toronto

The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) is considering the possibility of converting an existing school and turning it into a multi-language elementary school where students could learn French as well as three other foreign languages. Toronto is a multi-cultural city, where English and about 140 other languages are spoken. While the schools under the TCDSB use English as the medium of instruction, there have five schools that offer French language immersion programs beginning at Senior Kindergarten while 20 schools offer Extended French Immersion programs starting in the fifth grade.

The plan, if it pushes through will convert a school, the St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic School, that closed in 2011 into a multi-language school that will teach children as young as four years old to learn traditional French immersion as well as Mandarin, Spanish and German.

Traveling through Europe inspired Michael Del Grande, the chairperson of the TCDSB to think of the plan to offer multi-language classes. He saw that in many European countries such as Switzerland, elementary schoolchildren are taught other languages such as Italian, German, French and English.

He said that it could be an opportunity for Canada, which is a trading nation, as the scheme could open up various job possibilities internally or internationally for young Canadians.

Although details are still being finalized, it would more or less follow the scheme of having the students learn history, science and math in French then they would study two or three languages within the school week. There is also a proposal for after-school language programs to be available.

Giving the students the choice to learn either Mandarin, Spanish or German, according to Del Grande is due to the reason that education must be relevant to the economy of the world. And with the majority of Canada’s economy coming from trading, offering such languages would be very beneficial to the future generation as well as to the economy of Canada.

Del Grande added that it is important to start the program early to help future graduates have a bigger advantage in the international job market. He is basing his thinking on research, which indicates that various languages are more readily absorbed by younger minds. The Toronto Catholic District School Board’s plan is to start the program at the kindergarten level and see if they would be successful with it. If they see remarkable success, their next plan is to extend the offering to high school level.

The TCDSB seeks feedback from parents by posting an online survey on their site until May 15, 2015. Del Grande said that if there is widespread interest, they plan to have open registration, meaning that students, regardless of where they live, will be able to enroll although they have made it clear on their website that no transportation services would be available for some of the children.

The target opening date of the multi-language elementary school is September 2016. They are looking at having 75 students at the kindergarten level at the start, and plan to include more grade levels eventually as the school can accommodate about 260 students.

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