Kincaid Central School will be discontinuing its Core French program for elementary school students beginning this year.
The discontinuation of the French program received approval from the Prairie South School Division Board of Education during their meeting on Tuesday.
In a letter to the school board, Kincaid Central School principal Shane Onraet said French language instruction is optional for Saskatchewan schools and Kincaid Central School has been having ongoing discussions about the Core French program for over 20 years.
“They discontinued high school French just over 22 years ago, they discontinued the middle years French in 2006-2007, and they are looking to have the support to discontinue elementary,” said Dustin Swanson, Prairie South School Division’s superintendent of school operations – South K-12 schools.
The school said they had two qualified French language teachers on staff for the past several years. One of those teachers has accepted a position outside of the school division, while the other is a high school math and science teacher.
“This would leave Core French in the hands of teachers who do not have the skill base to adequately teach French language content,” the letter said.
Onraet’s letter came with a letter of support from the School Community Council for Kincaid Central School, saying the change would better serve the educational needs of their students.
Swanson discussed the school’s next steps with the Board of Education.
“They’re looking to use those units alternatively to support reading, writing, and student well-being with their school goals and have found, like other schools, it particularly challenging to find qualified staff to be able to do the French instruction,” Swanson explained.
Swanson added that the school has a teacher who is willing to offer a French Club as an extra-curricular activity if there is interest from the students. Students who wish to continue with French language education can access Core French courses through the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation.