Action Plan
Canada - Prince Edward Island Agreement
on Minority Language Education and
Second Official Language Instruction
2005-2006 à 2008-2009

Preamble

Introduction

The action plan developed by the province under the Canada - Prince Edward Island Agreement for Minority Language Education and Second Language Instruction 2005-06 to 2008-09 outlines various measures for Regular Funds and additional strategies.

The measures in this action plan for additional strategies are complementary, yet different from those for the Regular Funds. The initiatives planned within the scope of the Regular Funds are geared toward pursuing the activities funded in the past to offer Francophone community members the opportunity to get an education in their mother tongue and to contribute to cultural enrichment by becoming more familiar with their own culture. They also aim at pursuing initiatives that make it possible to offer PEI residents the opportunity to study French as a second language and to enrich their cultural life thanks to better knowledge of the provincial Francophone culture.

Education in the Language of the Francophone Minority

"Offering members of official language minority communities a quality education in their own language in their own community is a major factor contributing to the vitality of these communities." (excerpt from the report Evaluation of the Official Languages in Education Program, Canadian Heritage, 2003). The Government of Canada, in its Action Plan for Official Languages, presents the key official language priorities in education.

Following the submission of this document, the Province planned to implement measures to help attain the objectives in the federal Action Plan for Official Languages. It is also planning to take various measures to satisfy its complementary objectives, particularly the objectives identified in its report on academic achievement entitled Excellence in Education: A Challenge for Prince Edward Island.

The strategic plan of the Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF) was also an important guide in preparing this multi-year provincial action plan. The province is working with representatives of the CSLF and consulting them on a regular basis to ensure that their interests are adequately represented. In this context, this action plan presents the priorities developed by the Department of Education, together with the CSLF.

Since 2000, the Commission scolaire de langue française has opened four new schools and student enrollment continues to rise. In 2005-2006, the total number of students in the French-language schools was 699, an increase of 96 students (15.9%) since 2001. The future also looks promising in the regions served by a new school, since the potential number of eligible students in the province is thought to be 1,620. One of the objectives in the federal Action Plan for Official Languages is to increase enrollment of students eligible for French school by 12% by 2013. In order to attain this objective, the province plans to boost the number of students enrolled in French schools from 699 to 800 in 2008-2009.

A second objective in the Action Plan for Official Languages aims to encourage the provinces to offer quality programs comparable to those of the majority. In this respect, new challenges include students entering Elementary Cycle 2 and Secondary Cycles 1 and 2 in new schools, the implementation of a program in West Prince for Grade 10 to 12 students, and the implementation of a new program for Grade 7 to 12 students in Eastern Kings. In order to satisfy the specific needs of this clientele, it is important to add homeroom, special education, guidance, music and other teachers. It is also important to complement the curricula with educational resources (books, manipulative equipment, software, learning tools and others). The province has outlined measures in this action plan to adopt these measures.

The situation of small schools requires unique and creative planning to meet their particular needs. In these schools, the number of students per class, the choice of courses and teachers' expertise in arts, math and science are all limited. The province also plans to offer quality programming to recruit and retain students and to increase the number of enrollments at the secondary level. This action plan specifically outlines the creation of a program geared toward integrating the arts into the learning outcomes of the curricula. Thanks to this program, students can participate in various enriching learning activities involving the arts.

Furthermore, the province wants to examine the needs of secondary students more in depth and propose a restructuring of the delivery of the secondary program, particularly with regard to the importance given to the instruction of trades. The provincial government also intends to test a distance course between schools in the province in order to satisfy the academic needs of students who attend small schools and to make use of the expertise of teachers from larger schools, who are most often specialized in one subject.

This provincial action plan also contains measures for training qualified teachers to teach in minority communities. Preventive intervention in reading and writing is one such measure implemented in the past few years; now, it must reach more students. It will be possible to do so by training teachers throughout the province. Teachers will also require specialized training for teaching multi-age classes. In these circumstances, on-the-job training for teachers is essential.

In Spring 2005, the Société éducative de l'Î.-P.-É. adopted a new strategic orientation for offering training services to more of the Island adult population. To do this, the Société éducative set an objective to establish a training centre in the Greater Charlottetown area, then two others in West Prince and Eastern PEI, respectively. In the coming years, it also intends to diversify its partnerships with postsecondary Francophone educational institutions in order to be more up to date with the current and future labour force training needs in Prince Edward Island.

Second Language Learning

The Government of Canada's support of various projects involving teaching the second official language is more important than ever. The report Evaluation of the Official Languages in Education Program points out the importance of learning a second language, educationally and professionally speaking. Knowing the two official languages contributes to the quality of education and job readiness of young Canadians.

One of the recommendations in this report is to improve Core French programs so that young people acquire a working knowledge of their second language. Following these findings and publication of the federal Action Plan for Official Languages, provincial education departments tested new intensive French programs. Using the positive experiences of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island decided to implement an intensive French program; incidentally, Canadian Parents for French had asked the Department of Education to test this program in the province.

Enrollment in French immersion has been very strong in PEI. According to the most recent report from Canadian Parents for French, the province ranks third nationally for number of enrollments. Moreover, enrollments in the Late Immersion program and Secondary Cycle 2 immersion could still see increases.

Since 2001-2002, enrollment in the immersion program has risen from 3,792 to 4,164 in 2005-2006. On the other hand, enrollments in the Core French program have dropped, from 10,607 students in 2001-2002 to 9,391 in 2004-2005.

The literature confirms that the immersion program has had success and that it is considered to be a quality program. This provincial action plan includes the establishment of a new quality immersion program, which will require more human and educational material resources. To help teachers meet certain needs of immersion students, the province has included measures in its action plan to bring specialized support to at-risk students. As such, the province wants to expand the preventive intervention program in reading and writing available to students enrolled in Grade 1 immersion programs. It also wishes to implement various initiatives aimed at encouraging students to opt for the Late Immersion program or to continue their secondary and post-secondary studies in French.

The governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island have the same priorities with regard to the importance of recruiting qualified teachers. In this respect, the province wishes to continue supporting the Specialization in French Immersion program offered at the University of Prince Edward Island. Major spin-offs from this program have been seen, namely in training and research, and the province is determined to remain a leader in this field.

The Core French programs attract a greater number of students. With the collaboration of Canadian Heritage, the province can renew the educational approaches and tools and support the study of alternative methods.

The priorities below were determined following a consultation and collaboration with the program branches of the Eastern School District and the Western School Board. The province also often meets with representatives of Canadian Parents for French.

The province has defined initiatives to help attain the objective in the federal Action Plan for Official Languages to double the proportion of high school graduates with a working knowledge of their second official language by 2013. Its also wants to boost the enrollment of Anglophone students in Core French and immersion programs by 4% by 2008-2009.

Other Considerations

In January 2006, the province presented the final report of the Task Force on Student Achievement entitled Excellence in Education: A Challenge for Prince Edward Island. This report contains 20 recommendations. In order to implement these recommendations, the French Programs Division and the school boards must adopt an action plan. Some of these recommendations cover the work already initiated by the educators, such as the literacy program, the academic redesign of the secondary level and preventive intervention in reading and writing. However, the province may have to build on this action plan in order to meet the other recommendations in the report, once it has identified its priorities. Three of the most important recommendations are: 1) learning to read by Grade 3; 2) student assessment, which requires that the province, in conjunction with stakeholders, administer common assessments to Island students at grades 3, 6 and 9 and at the senior high school level; and 3) the Department of Education create and provide clear outcomes, standards and benchmarks in all areas of the curriculum.

Data Sources

The province can relevantly measure the outcomes in this action plan and identify the data sources to be used for this purpose. Moreover, the province believes that the recommendations in the report Excellence in Education: A Challenge for Prince Edward Island will help to establish reliable performance indicators for a more consistent assessment in administering the French, First Language, French Immersion and Core French programs.

Conclusion

The statements in the Evaluation of the Official Languages in Education Program report refer to equity in distributing funds. It is very difficult to come up with the ideal formula to meet all official languages needs in teaching. Two elements stood out during the discussions with stakeholders:

1. "One of the main factors that justify federal intervention in this area is the necessity to encourage and support the jurisdictions where the critical mass of students is lowest, which leads to significant additional costs."

2. "The further a province/territory gets in establishing mother tongue and second language systems of comparable quality to those offered to the majority, the bigger the investments (number of schools in the minority, number of immersion programs, level of expertise with the departments of education, etc.)."

It is increasingly difficult to deliver a quality program. Prince Edward Island is living this reality in all aspects and with all the challenges that the various education bodies face. It is also increasingly complex. The province is still counting on contributions from Canadian Heritage to continue implementing various projects our province would like to see through in order to provide everyone with an education that contributes to the development of the Francophone identity, and to the learning and enrichment of both official languages.

There is no question that, in our society, parents, schools and cultures can and do shape each succeeding generation, both in terms of the cognitive skills they acquire and the character they possess. In shaping our children for the 21st century, it is imperative that we encourage them to reach beyond their comfort zones, to exploit each and every learning opportunity, and to seek to do things right (taken from Excellence in Education: A Challenge for Prince Edward Island, page 9).

Action Plan for Regular Programs
2005-2006 to 2008-2009

Education in the Language of the Francophone Minority

1: Support and administration of education

Second Language Learning

1: Support and administration for education
Action Plan: French as a Second Language 2005-2009 – Regular Funding

Canada – Prince Edward Island Regular Programs Action Plan for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Education 2005-2006 to 2008-2009

Summary Spreadsheet

Minority Language
	2005-2006	2005-2006	2005-2006	2006-2007	2006-2007	2006-2007	2007-2008	2007-2008	2007-2008	2008-2009	2008-2009	2008-2009
1. Support and administration of education	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Support and administration of education
1.1 Administration and coordination of programs and policies on first-language instruction. This will be the Department of Education's responsibility.	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	796,256
1.2 Subsidy to the French Language School Board to defray extra costs related to administration and minority-language instruction at the elementary and secondary levels.	334,583	149,025	483,608	334,583	149,025	483,608	334,583	149,025	483,608	334,583	149,025	483,608	1,934,432
1.3 Promotion of La Francophonie among and by board members, advisors, parents and the community	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	20,000
1.4 Support for research into minority-language education	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	20,000
Subtotal - Support and administration of education	422,981	269,691	692,672	422,981	269,691	692,672	422,981	269,691	692,672	422,981	269,691	692,672	2,770,688
2. Program development	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Program development
2.1 Creation and updating of curricula for French, social studies, mathematics, health, personal and social education, physical education, technology and careers.	190,087	117,623	307,710	170,785	117,623	288,408	170,785	117,623	288,408	170,785	117,623	288,408	1,172,934
2.2 Update, purchase or development of teaching resources, including support for school libraries.	40,000	60,000	100,000	40,000	60,000	100,000	40,000	60,000	100,000	40,000	60,000	100,000	400,000
2.3 Integration of new technologies in instruction and learning and development of learning outcomes.	1,852	2,778	4,630	1,852	2,778	4,630	1,852	2,778	4,630	1,852	2,778	4,630	18,520
Subtotal - Program development	231,939	180,401	412,340	212,637	180,401	393,038	212,637	180,401	393,038	212,637	180,401	393,038	1,591,454
3. Teacher training and development	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Teacher training and development
3.1 Individual and joint bursaries for teachers to participate in professional courses or internships	9,200	0	9,200	9,200	0	9,200	9,200	0	9,200	9,200	0	9,200	36,800
3.2 On-the-job training of teachers by means of development projects for minority-language instruction	15,550	23,325	38,875	15,550	23,325	38,875	15,550	23,325	38,875	15,550	23,325	38,875	155,500
3.3 Support for teachers' associations.	750	2,250	3,000	750	2,250	3,000	750	2,250	3,000	750	2,250	3,000	12,000
Subtotal - Teacher training and development	25,500	25,500	51,075	25,500	25,500	51,075	25,500	25,500	51,075	25,500	25,500	51,075	204,300
4. Student aid	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Student aid
4.1 Bursaries and trips for minority students to study in their mother tongue and support for projects allowing minority students to participate in training projects.	30,080	0	30,080	30,080	0	30,080	30,080	0	30,080	30,080	0	30,080	120,320
4.2 Cultural exchanges and activities	4,500	4,500	9,000	4,500	4,500	9,000	4,500	4,500	9,000	4,500	4,500	9,000	36,000
Subtotal - Student aid	34,580	4,500	39,080	34,580	4,500	39,080	34,580	4,500	39,080	34,580	4,500	39,080	156,320
Total – Minority Language	715,000	480,167	1,195,167	695,698	480,167	1,175,865	695,698	480,167	1,175,865	695,698	480,167	1,175,865	4,722,762

Second Language
	2005-2006	2005-2006	2005-2006	2006-2007	2006-2007	2006-2007	2007-2008	2007-2008	2007-2008	2008-2009	2008-2009	2008-2009
1. Support and administration of education	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Support and administration of education
1.1 Administration and coordination of programs and policies for teaching in a second language. The Department of Education will be responsible for this activity.	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	85,898	113,166	199,064	796,256
1.2 Support for research into education in a second language.	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	20,000
1.3 Promotion of teaching and learning a second language among board members, advisors, parents and the public.	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	1,250	3,750	5,000	20,000
Subtotal - Support and administration of education	88,398	120,666	209,064	88,398	120,666	209,064	88,398	120,666	209,064	88,398	120,666	209,064	836,256
2. Program development	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Program development
2.1 Creation and updating of curricula in French second language and immersion, social studies, science, mathematics, etc.	176,434	117,623	294,057	175,336	117,623	292,959	175,336	117,623	292,959	175,336	117,623	292,959	1,172,934
2.2 Update, purchase or development of teaching resources, including support for school libraries.	100,000	300,000	400,000	100,000	300,000	400,000	100,000	300,000	400,000	100,000	300,000	400,000	1,600,000
2.3 Integration of new technologies in teaching and learning and development of learning outcomes	10,418	3,473	13,891	10,418	3,473	13,891	10,418	3,473	13,891	10,418	3,473	13,891	55,564
Subtotal - Program development	286,852	421,096	707,948	285,754	421,096	706,850	285,754	421,096	706,850	285,754	421,096	706,850	2,828,498
3. Teacher training and development	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Teacher training and development
3.1 Individual and joint scholarships for teachers to participate in professional or language courses or internships.	36,800	0	36,800	36,800	0	36,800	36,800	0	36,800	36,800	0	36,800	147,200
3.2 On-the-job training of teachers by means of professional or linguistic development projects.	64,530	96,795	161,325	64,530	96,795	161,325	64,530	96,795	161,325	64,530	96,795	161,325	645,300
3.3 Support for teachers' associations.	500	1,500	2,000	500	1,500	2,000	500	1,500	2,000	500	1,500	2,000	8,000
Subtotal - Teacher training and development	101,830	98,295	200,125	101,830	98,295	200,125	101,830	98,295	200,125	101,830	98,295	200,125	800,500
4. Student aid	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Canada	PEI	Total cost	Subtotal - Student aid
4.1 Study and travel bursaries for students to study in the second language and support for projects allowing students to participate in training projects	16,920	0	16,920	16,920	0	16,920	16,920	0	16,920	16,920	0	16,920	67,680
4.2 Cultural exchanges and activities	13,500	13,500	27,000	13,500	13,500	27,000	13,500	13,500	27,000	13,500	13,500	27,000	108,000
Subtotal - Student aid	30,420	13,500	43,920	30,420	13,500	43,920	30,420	13,500	43,920	30,420	13,500	43,920	175,680
Total – Second Language	507,500	653,557	1,161,057	506,402	653,557	1,159,959	506,402	653,557	1,159,959	506,402	653,557	1,159,959	4,640,934

Action Plan for Additionnal Strategies 2005-2006 to 2008-2009
I - Promotion of access and integration
Project 1 - Offer programs of comparable quality to those in the majority language.

Context: One component of the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages is setting up francization measures and specialized support for students at risk. The provincial government wants to broaden the Reading Recovery Program in the province's six Francophones schools. This program targets students with the most difficulty in literacy, or the lowest 15% to 20%. The program requires very intensive teacher training, one day every two weeks. In 2004-2005, one teacher was trained and is now certified to train teachers around the province. Teachers in the province will now be trained locally to offer this service to Francophone students in the province.

II – Program quality and cultural enrichment of school environment

Project 3 – Advisor on high school special projects

Context: The Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages clearly states that we have to encourage young people to continue in the Francophone system, especially in high school. Now that there are new schools in the province, we have to implement the recommendations of the French Language School Board's strategic plan to retain students, especially in high school. There are three challenges: the number and choice of courses, the mode of delivery of these courses and the promotion to high school students of the importance of their participation in the Island community as Francophones. We also want to reduce the dropout rates in schools under the French Language School Board. In the Excellence in Education report, the province proposes a trades strategy emphasizing postsecondary studies in this area. The report also recommends that delivery to the high school system be evaluated. Minority high schools could benefit from this strategy, which will surely increase retention in high schools and reduce the transfer of students to English schools.

Project 4 - Distance education

Context: Creative, unique planning is needed to meet the special needs of the limited clientele in the French Language School Board's small schools. It goes without saying that distance education can fill these students' academic needs. To take advantage of the expertise of teachers from larger schools, we want to take steps to offer distance courses between schools in the province using teachers with expertise in teaching sciences, math, etc. We also want to develop an on-line professional development module so teachers can benefit from this training locally.

Project 5 – Arts and culture advisor

Context: Research over the last few years has shown that students need to be exposed to the arts as it improves their self-esteem, communication and performance. Students, teachers and artists collaborate so that students can acquire new knowledge and carry out projects related to learning outcomes. In a minority area, arts and culture need to be emphasized so that students will have rewarding experiences.

III - Teaching staff and teaching support services

Project 6 - Literacy

Context: In January 2006, the government of Prince Edward Island adopted the report of the Task Force on Student Achievement. The report made several recommendations and brought out two major priorities:

1. Ensure that all students can read by the end of Grade 3.

2. Implement a program to evaluate academic performance in mathematics and French at the end of Grades 3, 6 and 9.

The literacy project has been expanding for three years and continues to serve both clienteles, around 60% in immersion and 40% in French first language. The goal of the project is to improve the performance of all students from kindergarten to Grade 12. Elementary schools have developed action and improvement plans for youth literacy. Intermediate school staff are starting the training and preparing their plan. These plans vary, but may include:

• offering on-site training to personnel on evaluating students' performance in reading;
• broadening their base of teaching strategies;
• reducing the number of students needing support from special education services and preventing long-term learning difficulties;
• promoting reading for pleasure.

At the end of the 2003-2004 school year, the literacy team identified benchmarks for evaluating the reading performance of students from Grade 1 to Grade 3. In 2005-2006, after studying their students' results, the school literacy teams were able to identify gaps in the program and in the strategies used. In 2006-2007, these steps will be adopted in the upper primary grades and there will be a pilot project in the two levels of high school.

Mentors will help implement these plans in the province's schools and will support resourcing with the addition of literacy teaching material. Literacy rates among adult Francophones, mainly in the region west of Summerside, are the lowest in the country. It has become a priority for the government of Prince Edward Island to improve this situation. One important strategy is to put in place preventive intervention (Reading Recovery TM), another is to have students better prepared throughout their first years in school. The report of the Task Force on Student Achievement recommends that all students master reading by Grade 3 at the latest. These mentors will also help to implement the francization projects of the Council of Ministers of Education (Canada) [CMEC] and the Atlantic Provinces Council of Ministers of Education and Training, and will train parents.

Numerous research projects show that one of the best forms of training is on-the-job training. Mentors, working directly in the schools, will help to target the specific needs of regions and various clienteles. It is also our intention to research the effects of this project on students' performance in reading and writing.

Multi-age instruction

Context: In 2005-2006, the French Language School Board adopted the multi-age approach for its primary schools. Given the small number of students in each class, schools have to group students together for instruction. Multi-age instruction involves a group of students of different ages, having different aptitudes and interests and representing a random sample of the school population. The curriculum is not divided by levels. Emphasis is on learning outcomes rather than on content. Evaluation is holistic and qualitative, not competitive and quantitative.

The proposed training shows how to integrate this type of instruction into a class with various age levels. The trainers will present existing research in the field. The trainers will also give the participants the tools they need to implement this program in schools where staff will then be able to work more effectively with multi-age classes.

IV - Improved access to postsecondary studies

Project 7 - La Société éducative

The Société éducative de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard is the Francophone postsecondary institution serving Acadians and Francophones on Prince Edward Island. Since 1992, it has been committed to excellence in its training programs and to promoting life-long learning. In collaboration with its partners, it contributes to the development of the knowledge economy.

Since the principal delivery mode for its programming is videoconference, the Société éducative wants to diversify its delivery modes while at the same time maintaining close ties with the Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia. Since the recent fusion of the Collège de l'Acadie with the Université Sainte-Anne in 2003, new programming is gradually being introduced at the Université Sainte-Anne. This is already causing changes in the Société éducative's programming and that of the Université Sainte-Anne. These repercussions on the Société éducative's programming will also continue for the next few years.

In the spring of 2005, the Société éducative adopted a new strategic direction aimed at offering training services to a broader range of adult Islanders. In order to do so, the Société éducative has set itself the objective, over the course of the current development plan, of establishing a training centre in the greater Charlottetown region, first, and then of setting up two more in West Prince and in the eastern part of the Island. This initiative will help reach a new clientele, either full- or part-time, and ensure the vitality and viability of the Société éducative as the only organization offering postsecondary courses in French in Prince Edward Island. The establishment of satellite training centres in all regions of the province will certainly help to slow the brain drain among youth by making postsecondary training and adult education more accessible in the regions where Island Acadians and Francophones are found.

The Société éducative also intends to diversify, over the next few years, its partnerships with other Canadian Francophone postsecondary institutions so as to be more in line with the current and future training needs of the Prince Edward Island workforce. The Société éducative must be able to meet numerous emerging needs for workers in areas such as the trades, health and the service sector. By establishing partnerships with Francophone postsecondary institutions offering training services in these fields, and by developing its own training programs in these fields on occasion, as needed, the Société éducative will be in a better position to fulfill its mandate as a Francophone adult training institution.

This action plan is also designed to meet this new mandate of diversifying clientele, programs and partnerships.

Recognition of Postsecondary Education in French in Prince Edward Island

Summary Table - Expected Annual Investment Société Éducative

Summary Table - Expected Annual Investment Language of the Francophone Minority

Second Language Learning

I – Improve core French programs

Project 1 - Intensive French

Context: Since 1998, an intensive French program has been implemented in most provinces to improve second official language skills among late primary students. The program aims for better linguistic skills among students. After taking the program, students should be more confident in completing the rest of their core French program.

II – Revitalize immersion programs

Project 2 – Reading Recovery

Context: One component of the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages related to second language teaching is setting up specialized support measures for students at risk. We want to broaden the Reading Recovery Program in immersion schools. This program targets the students who have the greatest difficulties in literacy or, the lowest 15% to 20%. The program requires very intensive teacher training, one day every two weeks. In 2004-2005, one teacher was trained and is now certified to train teachers around the province. Teachers in the province will now be trained locally to offer this service to immersion students in the province. This training lasts two years and the program will be shared between the two clienteles, immersion and French first language.

Project 3 - New immersion program

Context: The Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages considers the creation of more classes and the continuance of the new immersion programs started in 2001-2002 to be desirable. Besides continuity with the program begun in 2002-2003, there is increased interest in certain regions in the eastern and western parts of the province. Several high schools offer an extra credit in immersion. It is important to renew the teaching tools and approaches used.

Project 4 - Promotion of the immersion program

Context: To double the proportion of young people 15 to 19 years old with a functional knowledge of their second official language by 2013, some promotional activities will be organized to encourage students to choose the late immersion program or to continue their secondary and post-secondary studies in French.

III - Teachers and education support services

Project 5 – The specialization in immersion program at UPEI in collaboration with the Université de Moncton

Context: The program has been running since September 2004. The programs in the two faculties were very different and the two partners had to make several compromises to meet the needs of immersion programs. Course development is on-going to make necessary adjustments in order to better meet the needs of future teachers at different levels (primary, elementary, intermediate and high school). The Université de Moncton also needs to hire staff to offer these new courses and supervise internships. The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is currently offering a M.Ed. program. Teachers in this program can do research on immersion rsion and be supervised by professors who are specialists in the field.

Summary Table - Expected Annual Investment Second Language Learning

Summary Table - Expected Annual Investment Language of the Francophone Minority and Second Language Learning