It’s kindergarten registration season and the usual competition between school boards over students has taken an unhealthy turn.
The Centre Franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques (CFORB) has received $1 million per year over four years in federal money to target students in English boards across the province. The funding comes from Heritage Canada’s minority-language program.
As reported in local media last week, this controversial advertising campaign by French school boards in Ontario targets parents whose children have a right to French-language education, either because their parents speak French as a first language or attended a French elementary school. For various reasons, 30,000 to 40,000 of these students are enrolled in English boards, often in French Immersion programs.
Advertisements, run in newspapers across Ontario, state “French school and French Immersion are not the same thing,” and direct parents to a website for more information.
The CFORB campaign was first launched in 2009, but has returned to the forefront with the new kindergarten registration session.
School boards have an incentive to poach students from each other because they are funded on a per-student basis. A board or school that experiences declining enrolment can face tough decisions such as closing schools and cutting programs.
While French school boards can be forgiven for wanting to attract students, this is not the way to go about it.
When advertisements are funded with public money, the message should be informational rather than divisive or brand-oriented. It should focus on key pieces of information, such as registration dates and school locations.
While elements of the CFORB’s campaign are factually true – French Immersion and French schools are not the same thing – comparing the two systems with an eye to winning over parents to one side is counter-productive. Education is a public good and educational resources should be directed to achieving that good rather than competing over whose system is better.
The total amount spent on the campaign is relatively small compared to the total spent on educating the 91,000 students in Ontario’s French-language education system, but there are many better ways to spend $4 million than attempting to brainwash parents.
Most parents are already aware of the existence of French as an option. It is quite plausible that many of these parents have chosen French Immersion so their children can learn both French and English, not because they are ignorant of the existence of French schools.
The current overcrowding problems in Centretown schools are due in part to a high demand for French Immersion. The solution to this is to create more French Immersion spots, not to spend millions attracting students to French schools.
Parents are unlikely to be swayed by this campaign. Those who are unaware would be better served by ads pointing them to schools in their communities, rather than a website. A million dollars a year is too much to spend on branding.