French-as-a-Second-Language

The Renfrew County District School Board (RCDSB) understands that parents/guardians want to make choices for their child/children that strengthen their education. That's why we have a five-year plan to build equity of access to French-as-a- Second-Language (FSL) programming to complement English with Core French programming offered by the District.

This plan is aimed at ensuring that any student, regardless of where they live within Renfrew County, who wishes to take French language programming, will be able to do so.

Why?

Canada is a story of rich cultures existing together; a nation of two official languages. Here in Ontario, we are first among Canada’s provinces in terms of the French speaking population, with over 622,000 French speakers. In eastern Ontario - our backyard - we border the province of Quebec, the single largest population of French speaking Canadians. 

These compelling facts provoked us to consider how we could better reflect the needs and trends of our communities.  What additional educational choices could be provided to inspire and empower under-represented segments of our student population within our school communities? 

The answer was clear.

The RCDSB could provide a rich bilingual learning environment unlike any other. We could complement our English programs - robotics, arts, sciences and athletics, etc., - with the expansion of FSL programming across the system.

Click here to read our FAQs. 

It has a name, but what does it mean?

  • English with Core French - Students learn French as a subject. At the elementary level, students must accumulate a minimum of 600 hours of French instruction by the end of Grade 8 (150 minutes per week).

  • Early French Immersion - Beginning in Grade 1 and extending until Grade 8, students may choose to receive French instruction in the classroom. This means a bilingual program of up to 60% of learning occurs in French with the balance in English.

  • Middle French Immersion - Begins in Grade 4 after a student has had several years of English language instruction that includes 150 minutes per week of Core French. In Grades 4 to 6, students receive 64% of their instruction in French. Most subjects, with the exception of English Language/Science and Mathematics, are taught in French. Grade 7 and 8 students receive 50% of their program in French.

Find Your School 

Please click on the School Locator button to find schools available for the 2024-2025 school year for your home address. 

School Locator 

If no search results are found, please contact us to confirm the designated school for your address. Boundaries are subject to change/verification.  Should there be any discrepancy, the District shall make the final determination to confirm the designated school. The registration process begins at the designated home school.

DISCLAIMER:  The user agrees to view this information for general illustrative purposes only and accepts responsibility not to copy, modify or circulate the map information for any other purpose (ie. public or commercial).  The user agrees that the school shall confirm the school of attendance only when a completed registration application has been validated during the registration process.  The RCDSB is not liable for any misuse, misinterpretation or decisions made by users of this information.

Additional References

Below are links to additional resources with information on the topic referenced above. The RCDSB, other government departments (provincial or federal) or third-party organizations may provide these additional resources:

 Extra-Curricular Opportunities