York Catholic board green lights French immersion program for new schools being built in Stouffville

St. Katharine Drexel Catholic High School, Blessed Chiara Badano Catholic Elementary School scheduled to open in 2023

Yorkregion.com
June 21, 2022
Heidi Riedner

The York Catholic District School Board will be offering French immersion at schools set to open in Whitchurch--Stouffville in 2023.

Trustees approved the implementation of the program in the two new schools currently under construction on Ninth Line, north of Stouffville Road, at a board meeting in June.

The program will be offered to grades 7 to 12 at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic High School.

Blessed Chiara Badano Catholic Elementary School, which will be sharing the multi-use space set on 15 acres, will serve as a single track French immersion school for grades 1 to 6.

The school board began an early immersion program starting in Grade 1 at St. Edward Catholic Elementary School in 2009. As a result of this latest expansion, the program will now be offered at 16 elementary schools and six high schools throughout York Region.

The new Stouffville schools and child care centre are scheduled to open in September 2023.

Due to unforeseen delays with respect to final approvals, construction on the 153,000 sq. ft. facility did not begin until July of last year, which put the project five months behind schedule to open for the 2022-23 school year, according to school officials.