Rebecca Davis is breathing a sigh of relief.
Now all five of his children will be able to enter French Immersion following the reversal of the switch to the 50-50 learning model for all students in English schools.
“I really didn’t believe the government would budge on this,” he said in an interview on Friday. “I really didn’t and I was very pleasantly surprised that it seems like they listened.”
Nearly 13,000 New Brunswick parents and teachers made their voices heard during a public consultation on the province’s decision to end French immersion.
Those consultations revealed strong pushback and resistance to the government’s plan.
Seeing her children, Davis said she knew French immersion works.
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“I would say they are on their way to being bilingual now, if not fully bilingual,” she said. “It’s great to see them able to switch back and forth between languages.”
Her older children really wanted to help advocate for their younger siblings, including the youngest.
“When it comes to my three-year-old, I really hope we look back on this and he’ll be proud of his sisters and his parents for giving him every opportunity we could,” she said.
Chris Collins, executive director of French Canadian Parents in New Brunswick, said he thought the reversal was the result of parents and teachers standing up for what they believed in.
“We are very relieved,” he said in an interview on Friday.
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He said the past four months have been difficult for all those working against changes to French-language education in the province.
He credited Education Minister Bill Hogan for listening and responding accordingly.
“And the decision has been reversed,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been damage. There’s still some damage, it’s still been very difficult, and very emotional for teachers and parents.
No one from the New Brunswick Teachers Association was available for interview Friday, but in a written statement, president Connie Keating said the organization is encouraged by the decision to slow down before making any systemic changes.
“The NBTA continues to emphasize that it is essential to pay attention to the learning situation for all teachers and all students.”
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