Parents want answers as OCDSB phases out alternative schools, middle French immersion

Parents are facing tough decisions as the future of some OCDSB schools remains uncertain. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson reports.

Kindergarten registration is now open in Ottawa, but some families say they’re still waiting for clarity regarding the future of their schools.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is moving forward with the elimination of alternative schools and Middle French Immersion. Parents say they’re being asked to make long-term decisions, including whether to move schools or separate siblings, without clear timelines or confirmation of what programs, if any, will replace those being phased out.

Bob Gordon’s daughters are in kindergarten and Grade 6 at Lady Evelyn Alternative School, one of four K-to-6 alternative schools in the OCDSB that is being phased out.

“The loudest voice we’ve heard in this community is that parents want their kids here in the neighbourhood,” Gordon said.

Gordon says he understood the alternative program was being eliminated but hoped there would be a clear plan to support enrolment and stability moving forward.

“We’ve come to accept it,” he said. “What we were really hoping for was that programming would continue.”

Former trustees approved the elimination of the alternative school program last spring, along with Middle French Immersion. That direction has been maintained since the province took over the school board last year, leaving families with two options moving forward: English with core French or Early French Immersion.

Gordon says parents had hoped Early French Immersion could be introduced at Lady Evelyn.

“We hoped at some capacity they would start including immersion,” he said.

Parents were told in December there would be no new kindergarten intakes and no transfers into the alternative system going forward, a move families worry could contribute to declining enrolment at schools like Lady Evelyn, even as nearby schools face overcrowding.

But in a December email to parents, the director of education said there is no immediate plan for phasing in new programming.

For Gordon, that lack of clarity raises questions about what comes next.

“That’s when you start to worry, when you see an empty school,” he said. “What’s the board going to decide happens next?”

At First Avenue Public School, parents say the elimination of Middle French Immersion has left families in a similar position, waiting to find out whether new French programming will be offered.

“We love First Avenue,” parent Erin Gilmer said. “I want to keep my son here, but I’m really uncertain about the future of the school without French immersion.”

Gilmer’s son is in senior kindergarten and in an email to parents, the school’s principal said the 2026–27 school year will be the last opportunity to register for Middle French Immersion before it is phased out. The principal added the school board has not yet determined whether Early French Immersion will be offered at First Avenue.

Gilmer says parents are being asked to plan without the information they need.

“Parents are very concerned about having to make decisions without knowing what this is actually going to mean,” she said. “For us if we wanted to pursue a transfer to the same school his friends will be going to for French immersion, we’ve got until Feb. 6 to apply. That doesn’t leave long to make a decision.”

Parents say the uncertainty is compounded by long waitlists for before- and after-school care, making the possibility of switching schools even more complicated.

In a letter sent to families in December, Education Director Stacey Kay said the board is working through accommodation challenges, including overcrowding and boundary planning for new schools under construction.

Kay said long-term planning for the future use of alternative school sites and surrounding schools is also underway, with more specific messaging expected in the coming weeks.

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