Parents Federation’s Update

Another school year is underway, with approximately 3000
students enrolled in the francophone education program in some
42 schools, including 14 all-French schools. This means that
our education system is gradually expanding. When the
Francophone School Board (CSF) was created in 1996, there
were about 2,500 students registered in francophone programs
administered by Anglophone school boards and only 4 all-French
schools. Since that time, many things have changed, but parents
still want their children to receive the best possible French-
language instruction; and the FPFCB continues its commitment
to achieving this goal. Here is a brief glimpse at some of the
issues we will be addressing during the coming year.

School Planning Couneilss Ap#$ATHTUYHH_
With the adoption of Bill 34 last May, the Schools Act stipulates
that, henceforth, a school planning council (SPC) will be
established in every school in the province. The council will be
composed of the school administrators, one teachers'
representative, and three parents. The council will be responsible
for drafting and submitting to the school board a plan to enhance
student performance and address other issues specified in the school
board's strategy for that school. Student performance includes
intellectual, personal, and social development as well as
introduction to career selection, and the bill stipulates that the
school's primary goal is intellectual development.

School planning councils are expected to advise the school
board on matters pertaining to:

s‘¢ Allocation of personnel and resources to the school;
sc issues stipulated in the school board strategy for that school;
sc educational services and programs offered by the school.

The goal of the school planning council is to recognize officially
the importance of parents' involvement in ensuring students'
success. We know that mechanisms are already in place
at the CSF and in many of the francophone schools to promote
parents' participation in planning. We have only to think of the
school-community partnership approach and partnership
committees. For this reason, and following discussions with
the FPFCB and other provincial partners, the CSF Board
of Directors opted to establish these planning councils,
integrating them into existing structures.

There is still much work to be done to support the establishment
and efforts of these SPCs. FPFCB has already had two working
meetings with its provincial partners to set up an
implementation schedule and outline the bases of operations
for the planning councils. In cooperation with the CSF, FPFCB
will offer a training session on the topic in November
during the annual conference. For more information on
the planning councils, visit the Ministry of Education
website: http://www.bced.gov.be.ca/spc/

Intercultural Families — ———_—_—__
The issue of intercultural families (one parent is a non-
Francophone) has always been a top FPFCB priority. This is a
reality of life in our schools, and gives rise to some rather
delicate issues that may affect school climate. Questions

concerning access to information in both official languages is
just one of the important issues that need to be discussed.

In the May 2002 issue, we reported on progress to date on this
issue. We identified four strategies, i.e.:

s‘¢ distribution of a guide for intercultural families, which should
be published before the end of the school year;

sc preparation of a brochure based on the guide;

+‘ discussion concerning the CSF/FPFCB Liaison Committee;

sc development of a training workshop for school parents
associations.

The guide, published by the Fédération des parents francophone
de l'Alberta, was finally released in early September. This guide
will be officially launched here in British Columbia during the
CNPF (Commission nationale des parents francophones) Annual
General Meeting. This organization combines the francophone
parents associations of all Canadian provinces and territories
outside Quebec. We have already received copies of the guide
and forwarded one to each parents association. Look for
information on content and obtaining a copy next page.

Now that we have the guide, we will produce a brochure to
ensure maximum distribution of the information it contains. We
are also preparing a workshop that should be ready some-
time in the spring. Lastly, we will discuss with the CSF possible
strategies to promote the involvement of non-francophone parents
in their child's education and in the life of the school in general. Stay
tuned...

Preschool ——@
During the past few months, the Federation oversaw the
preparation of a support document concerning the
francophone preschool curriculum. This document, designed
for francophone preschool and daycare facilities, suggests
activities, resources, and evaluation charts. We are currently
formatting the document, which will be launched officially
during the conference in November 2002. This project was
made possible through financial support from the Secrétariat aux
affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes du Québec (Quebec
Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat) and Heritage
Canada. The grants also enabled us to retain the services of an
educator from the Centre québécois de ressources a la petite
enfance (Quebec Early Childhood Education Centre). She will
travel to British Columbia to lead a workshop for preschool
educators during our conference.

We have also received funds from the Department of Children
and Family Development for the purchase of resources for pre-
school services and parents. We owe a debt of thanks for this
funding to the Honourable Linda Reid, Minister of State for
Early Childhood Development. Among other things, this grant
will enable us to enhance the Tire-Lire collection (Centre de
ressources pour la petite enfance Tire-Lire) and purchase Paul
et Suzanne Francization kits for future francophone preschool
programs, such as the V'la I'bon vent Preschool, which will open
in October. Parents have managed to set up this service in less
than a year. We congratulate these people for their commitment,
their efforts, and their persistence! Mrs.Carmen McIntyre will

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