A group of Castlegar families is banding together to petition for a francophone school for the community.
Public francophone schools in British Columbia are managed by the Conseil scolaire francophone (CSF), a French-language public school board. The interested families must apply to CSF and prove a sufficient level of interest before the board will consider creating a new school.
French language education is a right under the Canadian Charter of rights and Freedoms, but it is limited to children who have a parent whose first language was French, or who received their primary education in French (this does not include French immersion).
According to 2021 census figures, there are close to 100 children in the Castlegar and Robson area that would qualify to attend the school.
Roxelane Bellec is leading the efforts to try to connect with those families and see how many would be interested in attending the school.
She also presented the idea to Castlegar City Council on Oct. 21 and asked for a letter of support.
Bellec explained that while French immersion programs are great for encouraging people to learn the language, they don't offer the same level of preservation of language and culture that francophone schools do.
At a francophone school, everything is done in French including recess, transition times and socializing. Students in immersion programs typically resort back to speaking in English as soon as instruction time is over.
Bellec says many francophone parents fear that their children will lose their culture and language. She adds that all it takes is one generation losing out on language opportunities for Canada to no longer be a bilingual country.
In order for their children to remain francophone in language and culture and avoid assimilation, the group thinks a new school is the way to go.
The closest francophone schools are in Rossland and Nelson, but the distance makes them inaccessible to most families.
Bellec also believes that the creation of a francophone school would encourage more families to move to the area.
It doesn't take a large number of students to start a school. In recent years schools have opened in Kimberly, Creston and Duncan with just 6-7 students.
But in addition to students, a location would also need to be secured for the school.
The group's goal is to make an application to the school board by January 2025 so that a school could potentially open in the fall of 2026.
Bellec wants to ensure that local francophones know their rights, their strength and their options.
Interested parents of children born between 2018 and now are encouraged to contact the group through their Facebook page "Pour une école francophone à Castlegar" or by emailing ecolefrancophone.castlegar@gmail.com.
