A group of Castlegar residents are hoping to open a francophone school in Castlegar, and are looking for community support.
Roxaline Bellec represents a group of local francophone families who are hoping to submit an application to the The Conseil Scolaire Francophone (CSF), the governing body of public francophone schools in the province, in January 2025.
However, the application must demonstrate significant community support before it can be approved.
There is no minimum level of support required. Bellec notes that some francophone schools in B.C. have opened with as few as seven students, but she says the application needs to show that enrollment can be sustained in the future.
“That’s why we want families with children born between 2018 and now to contact us. When we apply to the CSF, we need to demonstrate that the school will grow after it opens.”
According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, children have the right to francophone education if at least one parent’s first language learned and still understood is French, or received their primary education in French.
Currently, about a dozen families in Castlegar support the project, representing around 17 potential new students, but there’s likely more.
A 2021 census indicated around 95 school-aged children in the community eligible for francophone education.
While Kootenay-Columbia School District 20 offers a French immersion program, Bellec emphasizes that a francophone program would better ensure the preservation of francophone culture.
“In order to keep our culture and language alive for our kids and pass it along to future generations, we need a school that helps balance their lives with exposure to their culture and language. Parents in a minority environment alone are usually not enough to sustain cultural life. We see, within one generation, that without a school, culture and language can be lost.”
Although French immersion programs are valued, Bellec explains they do not effectively maintain French culture and language.
“In immersion, we learn a new language through immersion in that language, but outside the classroom, English resumes in the corridors, hallways, and community. In a francophone school, everything is in French—corridors, administration, and playtime—providing much more exposure to keep the culture alive.”
There are two francophone schools in the region: one in Nelson and another in Rossland. However, Bellec states that these are nearly inaccessible for many francophone families.
“When you have to drive 150 km per day to Nelson or Rossland in winter conditions, especially for a five-year-old, it’s not a feasible option. The school schedule also makes it almost impossible for families with two working parents.”
A potential location for the new school has yet to be determined, but Bellec suggests the building would only need to accommodate about 2-3 classrooms.
She presumes it will take about a year and a half after the application is submitted before the new school could welcome students, which ideally would occur in September 2026.
In the meantime, Bellec says they need the community to jump on board with their support, even if they’re not francophone themselves. Â
“We need all families who would be interested and eligible to attend the school to contact us and apply. We must demonstrate to the CSF that families will be registering their children, not just for 2026, but for the years to come. Even if you have a newborn or want your kids to attend in five years, we need your support now.”
Anyone interested in supporting the proposed project is encouraged to join the group’s Facebook page or contact them via email at [email protected].
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