Ottawa public school board to only offer Enhanced English and French Immersion in new elementary program model

Changes to OCDSB programs Ottawa's largest school board is looking at major overhauls to its elementary programs. CTV's Matt Skube explains.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is looking at consolidating elementary school programs into two – Enhanced English and French Immersion – eliminate Middle French Immersion and will phase out some special education programs as part of changes to its elementary schools.

The plan would see the board "minimizing" the number of single-track English-only schools across Ottawa and providing better access to French Immersion to allow students to go to a school around their neighbourhood, "providing better access to (French Immersion) for students in these communities who wish to have that option."

Ottawa's largest school board launched a review of its elementary programs last spring, the first stage of a review to ensure "inclusive, high-quality and accessible programs and/or services" offered by the board.  The possibilities included changes to French immersion, eliminating English-only education in schools and integrating children with special needs into classrooms.

The goal of the review was to determine whether the current program model still serves the needs of the community.

The OCDSB currently offers six programs in elementary schools – Full-Day Kindergarten, English with Core French, Early French Immersion, Middle French Immersion, Alternative Program and the Ottawa-Carleton Virtual School. There are also special education and English as a Second Language services.

A report for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Trustees recommends the OCDSB consolidate existing program offerings to provide two program pathways for elementary students in grades 1 to 8: Enhanced English and French Immersion, and eliminate the middle French immersion programs that start in Grade 4.

"Of importance to note, both pathways offer varying degrees of English and French as languages of instruction," OCDSB Director of Education Pino Buffone said in the report. "The benefits of a more streamlined and robust program offering at elementary sites include: improving program quality and accessibility for all students and allowing the District to focus resources (human, financial, capital) more efficiently and effectively, system-wide."

Buffone says the "successful implementation" of the proposed program model will ensure that "all programs and/or services" are accessible to all students across the district in a "community-based focus."

Under the proposed model, kindergarten students will continue to be provided with a 50-50 bilingual program, with students enrolling in either Enhanced English or French Immersion when entering Grade 1. The board says students would be able to enter the French Immersion Program at either Grade 1, 2 or 3, and any entry beyond Grade 3 will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

The plan would see English and Math taught in English in the French Immersion program starting in Grade 1, while the amount of French instruction in the Enhanced English program will increase from 200 minutes per week to 240 minutes per week.

Here is a look at the proposed programs:

Enhanced English Program (Grades 1-8)

French Immersion Program (Grades 1-6)

French Immersion Program (Grades 7-8)

Buffone says the proposed model means the discontinuation of the current Middle French Immersion program beginning in September 2026 and an end to the Alternative approach within a district.

For the 2023-24 school year, 52 per cent of elementary students were enrolled in Early French Immersion, compared to 38 per cent in the Regular English Program with Core French and four per cent in Middle French Immersion.

Specialized Program Classes

The proposed new model for elementary school programs recommends phasing out 39 specialized program classes.

The report notes the programs are located in a "school outside of the student's community."

"This is the least inclusive intervention in the service delivery model continuum. Currently there are 11 distinct, exceptionality-based SPCs at the elementary level, totaling 142 classes. This is not in line with other school boards' approaches across the province, as most districts have significantly fewer specialized classes and a greater emphasis on inclusionary practices."

Under the plan, the OCDSB will phase out the following specialized program classes:

Approximately 42 teachers and 13 educational assistants will be moved into general classroom support as the specialized program classes are phased out.

The specialized program classes continuing include the Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, Behaviour Intervention Program, Gifted for Junior/Intermediate and Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program.

All English Literacy Development classes across the school board are expected to remain in place.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says the proposed program model will reduce grade configurations, improve transitions between feeder schools and re-balance enrolments where possible to provide "more stability for low enrolment schools and their communities."

The board does say some schools may only offer French Immersion and "a few" will only offer Enhanced English in various areas of the city.

Buffone writes revised attendance boundaries and grade configurations will ensure all schools remain open and keep students closer to home.

"The proposed elementary programs should be more accessible to all students across the District and more students will attend a school in or in close proximity to their neighbourhood," Buffone says.

"The proposed boundary changes, therefore, have the potential to positively impact transportation planning for the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) by reducing at least some bus runs, and by having more children able to walk to school."

Buffone says the exact number of students and staff required to move schools under the proposed new education model is still to be determined ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

The OCDSB says elementary schools range in size from 188 to 938 students, and the majority of schools offer dual track programming, "usually English with Core French and Early French Immersion."

Trustees will finalize the proposed program model in the spring, with a transition plan developed next fall and the changes implemented in September 2026. Three OCDSB staff Town Hall meetings and five community meetings will be held in March for OCDSB staff to gather feedback on the proposed plan.