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Space crunch at Woodstock schools prompts review by Thames Valley board

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The Thames Valley District school board is looking at new options to meet heavy demand for French immersion and balance uneven attendance among schools in the Woodstock area.

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A new board report has prompted a review that may result in changes to school attendance areas.

“We recognize there is a lot of growth in Woodstock; we recognize there needs to be some redistribution of students,” said Mark Fisher, education director of the Thames Valley board. “We want to make sure every kid in Oxford County has access to French immersion. This will allow us to do that and potentially set us up down the road to get a new school in that community.”

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The report, published this week, recommends Oliver Stephens elementary school in Woodstock as the site of a dual-track English and French immersion school to relieve bursting-at-the seams Roch Carrier French immersion elementary school — currently the only French immersion school in Oxford County.

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The report outlines two options. The first is to create two French immersion regions, with Roch Carrier for north Woodstock and Oxford and Oliver Stephens hosting both English and French immersion students at the southern end.

The second option would have all French immersion students from Oxford outside of Woodstock and the walkable neighbourhood attend Oliver Stephens.

The report also recommends adjusting enrolment throughout Woodstock to balance out attendance at Algonquin, Eastdale, Springbank and Winchester Street elementary schools.

Board chair and Oxford trustee Bill McKinnon said “the much-needed review will help set the stage for future capital investment in Woodstock schools.

“This will also help meet the growing demand for high-quality French immersion programming,” he said.

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Roch Carrier school is operating far over capacity due to its size and demand for its programs, McKinnon said.

Schools such as Oliver Stephens and Eastdale, in the south-central areas of the city, are operating at 65 per cent of their capacity.

Meanwhile, Springbank in northeast Woodstock, where the city has seen rapid growth, uses 10 portable classrooms to manage its overcapacity.

Enrolment growth is expected to continue in Woodstock in the coming years, McKinnon said.

The board can apply for provincial funding for new projects only if space at under-utilized schools is used first, McKinnon said.

Community engagement will be part of the process and school committees can review the proposed options.

A final report is expected later this year.

hrivers@postmedia.com

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