For September 2001, only students from the kindergarten immersion program or students with comparable French proficiency can enrol in grade 1, because these students will already have 450 hours of proficiency in French. There is no research which directly supports starting early French immersion in kindergarten as opposed to grade 1. Most research states that second language learning should occur before age 11. The immersion program offered by the Dufferin-Peel board starts in grade 5. This is not considered an early immersion program.
Students leave the early French immersion program for a number of reasons.
The attrition rate is much higher for French immersion than the overall attrition rate in the board. The board's goal is to make sure more of the students who enter the program are successful, thus reducing the attrition rate. The Ministry of Education defines French immersion as a program of no less than 50 per cent French instruction. The ministry requires 3,800 hours of French instruction before students can enter grade 9 French immersion courses. There will be no change to the schools offering French immersion for the 2001-02 school year.