French Immersion

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Durham District School Board (DDSB) has a French Immersion program that allows students to become proficient and fluent in French as well as English. French Immersion is an optional program that begins in Grade 1. Students in Grades 1-3 spend their entire day in French. Beginning in Grade 4, French Immersion students spend half of their day in French and the other half of the day in English. Students who do not register for French immersion will study Core French. Core French begins in grade 4 and students spend 1-2 periods a day learning French.

Students who complete the elementary and secondary French Immersion program should be versed and confident enough in French to allow them to study French in post-secondary or accept employment in a French-speaking environment. We offer French Immersion at 17 DDSB elementary and 7 secondary schools.

Parent information nights

Join the next parent information night if you are interested in enrolling your child(ren) in French Immersion. You do not need to register to attend.

Thursday, February 6, 2020 — 7:00 p.m. @ all elementary schools offering the French Immersion program
Thursday, April 23, 2020 — 7:00 p.m. @ DDSB Education Centre, Whitby, Ontario

French Immersion schools

We offer French Immersion at these DDSB schools:

Dual Track: schools offer Kindergarten - Grade 8 English programs and French Immersion in Grades 1-8
Single Track: Kindergarten programs are in English and French Immersion in Grades 1-8

Ajax

Cadarackque Public School —Dual track
Michaëlle Jean Public School —Single track
Southwood Park Public School —Dual track
Ajax High School —Dual track
Pickering High School —Dual track

Brock

McCaskill's Mills Public School —Dual track

Pickering

Frenchman's Bay Public School —Single track
Maple Ridge Public School —Dual track
Sir John A. Macdonald Public School —Dual track
Dunbarton High School —Dual track

Oshawa

David Bouchard Public School —Dual track
Jeanne Sauvé Public School —Single track
Walter E. Harris Public School —Single track
R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate Vocational Institute —Dual track

Scugog

R.H. Cornish Public School —Dual track
Port Perry High School —Dual track

Uxbridge

Uxbridge Public School —Single track
Uxbridge Secondary School —Dual track

Whitby

Brooklin Village Public School —Dual track
Captain Michael VandenBos Public School —Dual track
John Dryden Public School —Dual track
Julie Payette Public School —Single track
Meadowcrest Public School —Single track
Donald A. Wilson Secondary School —Dual track

Use the school locator tool to see which French Immersion elementary schools feed into which French Immersion secondary schools in the DDSB.

Canadian Parents for French (CPF)

Parents can join the Ajax/Pickering CPF to learn more about French Immersion and other language programs in the DDSB.

Resources for students and families

French Immersion students and families may be interested in these resources:

French Immersion guide for parents and caregivers
Supporting your child's success in French Immersion and Extended French
Treasure chest for families new to French Immersion
Ontario curriculum elementary expectations for French Immersion, Grades 1 to 8, Core French Grades 4 to 8, Extended French Grades 4 to 8
Ontario curriculum secondary expectations for Core, Extended and Immersion French Grades 9 to 12.
A framework for French as a second language in Ontario schools
Including students with special education needs in French as a second language programs