Section 1:Setting a vision - developing an FSL program as a Catholic Secondary school administrator
- Reflecting on the Big Picture.
- Setting a vision.
- The importance of visibility and routines.
Consider your purpose, strengths and challenges and set your baseline.
Take a minute and ask yourself some BIG questions as prompted by the assignment below:
Assignment 1
Complete the self-assessment tool for administrators entitled “Reflections for School Administrators leading Secondary French Programs”.
Identify the key areas where you are “on your way” and identify examples of what you are doing to support FSL programs in your school. Consider what actions you can take to explore your areas of need.
Reflect: Based on the results of the assessment:
- What are some ways you support the FSL program in your school?
- To what extent are staff and the community aware of your support for the program?
- What might be some changes that may need to happen in order for the FSL program to grow in your school?
Reflect on the prompting questions and write your responses down. Collaborate with a trusted colleague to discuss the most common issues. This feedback conversation is helpful. Sometimes we don’t see ourselves in the same way others perceive us.
“All schools, regardless of the programs offered, function best when their administrators base their practices and decisions on sound leadership and pedagogical theory. Principals should take a hands-on approach even if they do not speak French. A positive personal attitude, sound leadership and management skills are key ingredients for success.” - French Immersion in Manitoba - A Handbook for School Leaders
As the principal of a Catholic French Immersion or dual track school, an emphasis on encouraging an inclusive and proud FSL culture within your staff, students and community is essential in fostering the success and sustainability of your school’s FSL program. Many principals in Ontario who are not fluent French speakers find themselves charged with the task of developing practices that support and define a vision and approach to French in schools. Encountering, accompanying and supporting a positive school culture that includes French, encourages staff, students and families to embrace all aspects of what makes their school an inclusive learning environment for all.
Catholic secondary schools that see the French program in the same light as other subjects for which the school is proud are more likely to see positive attitudes develop. Best leadership practices that work with other subjects and school approaches also work for French, yet there are also some more unique challenges presented by FSL and immersion programs, especially within primarily English speaking schools.
----------------------------------------------
Assignment 2
Watch the following video: “Transforming FSL". Start at 14:58 and watch to the end.
Consider your vision for FSL in your school. Take a moment and discuss this with a trusted colleague.
You may also find www.transformingfsl.ca a useful resource.
A couple of strategies to consider:
Visibility as a strategy:
Similar to other courses such as math, science and art, encourage teachers of French to display student work in high-traffic parts of the school. Include French accomplishments in newsletters and the school’s website as well (i.e., public speaking successes, CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) results, etc.)
Balance is helpful in this regard so as not to be seen as favoring FSL over other accomplishments in the school, or imposing one’s FSL vision in an untoward fashion at the expense of other important aspects of the school.
Routines as a strategy:
Incorporate some French into the regular routines of the school such as morning announcements, the playing of “O Canada” in French from time to time, or inserting some rehearsed French phrases into public speaking events (assemblies, graduation, parent nights, etc). A cheat sheet of some common educational words and phrases can be kept handy when addressing French classrooms, families and staff. Asking a French teacher for help with some of these efforts will only reinforce the importance placed on the subject’s status within the school, and your role in leading it.
Non-French speaking administrators are encouraged to visit FSL and FI classrooms in much the same way they do for other teachers and subjects. There is always much to learn, and teachers and students alike are always pleased to work with their principals when they feel valued as a regular part of the administrator’s interest in supporting learning throughout the school.
----------------------------------------------
Assignment 3
What are some routines currently in place in your school in relation to the FSL program? Are they supportive of all learners - or just some? Do they support retention in the FSL program?
Choose one current routine (for example: timetabling, Grade 8- 9 orientation, announcements) and consider how this could be improved to better support FSL teacher retention.
What intentional actions must be taken in order for these changes to be put into action?
Record this strategy and commit to making a change.
Section 2:Scheduling Strategies and Considerations
One of the most important roles of the school administrator is the allocation of sections to courses and ensuring timetables are equitable for all students. This includes determining which course loads for teachers. FSL courses are no different than other courses, but there are strategies and considerations that may support the retention of students and teachers.
Strategies and Considerations:
- Staffing
Get to know your staff.
- Who is French qualified?
- Who can speak French?
- Who is willing to try something new?
A staff survey followed up by one on one discussions can be helpful in fleshing out who is best suited to teach immersion. Assessing a teacher’s fluency level is also necessary. If a principal is not fluent enough to do this independently then perhaps someone from the board staff or another trusted French speaking colleague could help identify proficiency.
Having a wider variety of teachers involved in the program provides more options for students and can lead to more fulsome collaborations among French teachers, thus enriching all FSL programs. Too few teachers to carry a French program in a school can lead to teacher isolation and stagnation of the program.
Getting the right people on board to commit to your school’s FSL program is the single biggest factor to sustaining and growing FSL in a secondary school.
2.Options:
Consider which pathways and options can make up your program other than the mandatory French classes totaling four of the credits required in French Immersion (FI) or Extended French (FEF). Are the other classes one-off mandatory courses taught in French (i.e., Canadian Geography or History) or are they based on your French-speaking staff’s other qualifications (i.e., drama, art, foods, etc.)?
Open level courses offer the greatest access for FSL students regardless of their French pathway as students from all levels of French are eligible. For example, a course in Grade 9 Drama (ADA1O in Ontario) could be taught in French and open to core French students, FI students or Extended French students. They would be asked to communicate and collaborate in French on a daily basis, and develop their abilities to express themselves in a variety of creative ways in French regardless of their end French goal.
Have you considered:
In Ontario, a number of Indigenous Studies courses are available to schools at a more favorable staffing ratio, which can be taught in French and counted not only as a course included in one’s FSL certificate needs, but also as a credit toward another subject area as an associated discipline (i.e., NAC1O may be counted as a student’s art credit needed for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma even though it is a First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies course taught in French ).
This kind of approach and option can address a number of considerations when looking at what to offer in an FSL program. Culturally speaking, given that most Métis were historically polylingual and often spoke French in addition to other languages, offering a First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies course as part of your school’s FSL options may have added significance and value.
If possible, take advantage of your staff’s experience, qualifications and passions in all areas to provide variety to the program and to maximize French-speaking staff’s repertoire and course contributions to the program. For example, if Grade 9 physical education is mandatory, it could be taught in French for the entire French Immersion class cohort. This would provide an authentic opportunity to practice French in a familiar environment, provide a credit toward the program’s requirements, and not interfere with a student’s other options. Of course, not every school has a French speaking teacher qualified in Physical Education, but most schools have passionate and qualified teachers to call upon to take their expertise in different or new directions. Accessing and utilizing the talent in your current building is the most sustainable and reliable way to keep FSL programming thriving.
In most cases, a good understanding of your board’s administrative guidelines or policy regarding French Immersion is needed to support whether or not your choice of course, staff and approach meet or surpass the criteria for FI in your school district, and therefore, ministerial requirements.
3. Flexible Pathways
When constructing a secondary timetable, a principal looks at each individual pathway and program through a number of specific lenses. French programming is no different. Depending on numbers, one has to be very strategic and forward thinking when trying to ensure successful completion of a student’s FI or FEF certificate requirements in four years. It should not be mutually exclusive of other interests or programs; for example, if a student wishes to complete a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program while in secondary school, that should not come at the expense of also doing FI or vice versa.
In order to ensure that pathways are flexible enough to accommodate as many student needs as possible, principals must run through many timetable scenarios with FI or FEF (Core French) students in mind to ensure that there are no roadblocks.
Offering French programming in a balanced way is a key to achieving this. Almost all board FI guidelines stress the importance of having multiple daily opportunities to interact in French and having authentic communication.
Key things to consider
Access this Resource >>>>>> Scheduling Strategies for FI Courses
----------------------------------------------
Assignment 4
Choose one of the following to consider within the context of your own professional situation:
a. During a spring meeting with the staffing committee/leadership team/department heads, board allocations require you to reduce the number of teaching sections in the school in preparation for timetabling for the next year. One teacher suggests that FI sections should be cut because it is a non-mandatory program and cuts to other, less subscribed, areas of the school such as locally developed programs or in the skilled trades are certain to suffer. It is suggested that putting off certain FI courses for a year or combining FI students with their English-running counterparts in courses like Grade 10 History should be considered in order to make up the staffing gap or deficit.
How might you respond?
What are some possible responses?
b. Familiarize yourself with your board’s French Immersion or FSL administrative guidelines or policies, and assess how well your school meets the guideline. Consider your role as the Catholic leader in your school and how your staffing and timetabling decisions provide opportunities for your students to be successful French learners and for your school’s FSL program to grow and thrive.
What are some possible changes you may want to implement?
c. In collaboration with the FSL teaching staff responsible, brainstorm some ideas regarding which new taught-in-French courses may be considered in the future for your FSL program. Encourage out-of-the box thinking and demonstrate your willingness to consider some new directions to capture and develop student interest and evolving needs.
Prior to the meeting, review FSL teachers’ qualifications and past teaching assignments and maybe make a few suggestions yourself. A firm grip on the next four years’ enrolment numbers may be useful data to draw upon during the discussion, depending whether or not growth is expected or revamping or re-envisioning is necessary.
Record the brainstorming ideas.