By Ryan Baker
Cuts won’t run as deep as originally thought for English as a Second Language programs in Ottawa schools , thanks to recent funding changes made by the provincial government.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board budget committee recently decided to pump about $1 million back into ESL programs for next year. The board originally planned to chop $3.8 million from ESL, but will now cut only $2.8 million.
This comes as a result of the province changing its funding model to include more money for ESL, which allowing school boards across Ontario to change their budgets accordingly. Most of the $1 million will be taken from the board’s instructional supplies and services budget.
“Additional funds for ESL will translate into additional teachers for our ESL population,” says trustee Lynn Graham, who introduced the funding motion.”They’re going to get more service and hopefully more course selection and smaller classes and overall, a better chance to integrate into the mainstream once they’ve had that kind of intensive support.”
The board originally planned to re-assign 58 ESL teachers out of ESL classrooms next year. This amounted to a 40-per-cent cut in the board’s ESL teaching staff, which now numbers 140. But now, 15 of these positions will be saved, 11 in elementary classrooms and four in secondary ones.
Cambridge Street Community Public School will be the most affected in Centretown since 243 of its 337 students are enrolled in ESL.
“Every little bit helps,” says John McKinven, the board’s elementary ESL co-ordinator. “But it still means about a 25-per-cent reduction to our current levels of staffing.”
McKinven warns that students who aren’t ready for regular classes will be forced into the mainstream and get left behind.
“The students aren’t going to get the individual attention that’s going to help them reach an equal footing as quickly as possible with native speakers,” he says. “And that becomes critical the higher up the grade level they go.”
When ESL students are integrated into regular classrooms before they’re ready, mainstream students are disadvantaged as well because the teacher is often forced to give the ESL students much more attention, says McKinven.
Under the proposed budget, only students deemed to need it the most will receive help beyond what’s offered in a regular classroom. And students who have been in Canada for more than three years would not eligible for any special assistance.
But McKinven says the three-year rule is ignored by school administrators.
“That’s the way we get the money. But we deliver to all our ESL learners,” he says.
The proposed budget already earmarks $1 million to help mainstream teachers cope with the transition and provide for ESL students moved into their classrooms.
The additional $1 million will only be a one-time gift. Next year, many of the positions will probably be lost to further cutbacks.
“We’re still looking at a cut,” says Centretown trustee and board chair Albert Chambers.
“It’s a significant cut. And it’s going to have a big, drastic impact,” he adds.
Chambers says the additional funding is good news, but ESL students still face inadequate service. He says the next step is for the community to form a coalition and pressure the province for more money.
The budget has been chopped from $540 million in 1997-1998 to $521 million this school year. The board plans to cut it to $514 million next year and to $471 million by 2002-2003.