Premier Pat Binns advised today that the provincial government has provided the Eastern School District with new funding of $216,500 to support over 100 new immigrant students attending Charlottetown schools this year.
“We are very pleased to welcome these young people to our province and we look forward to the many ways that they will enrich our classrooms and communities,” said the Premier. “The new funding will ensure that we can provide the students with the language and social supports they need to learn and to integrate into our school communities.”
Of the 108 new immigrant students who registered in Charlottetown schools this school year, 30 students are at Colonel Gray Senior High, 30 are at Queen Charlotte Intermediate, 15 are at West Kent Elementary and 10 are at Prince Street Elementary schools. The remainder are at other schools in the Charlottetown area.
Honourable Mike Currie, Minister of Development and Technology, said most of the new families have been actively recruited by the Province. The new immigrants are professional and skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and partners who invest in Island companies. “We are very pleased to welcome these new people to our workforce. Government departments are now working together to ensure that they feel welcome and remain in Prince Edward Island,” he said.
The new government funding will be used to hire four English-As-A-Second Language teachers, and to provide tutors, textbooks and assessment tools.
Education Minister Mildred Dover advised that the students are from countries like Korea and China. Some of the students are fluent in English while some do not speak English at all. “More teachers are being hired to help the students learn English as quickly as possible. Many of them are high achieving students and we do not want language issues to hold them back,” said Minister Dover.
Sandy MacDonald, superintendent of the Eastern School District, said the new teachers will be assigned to various schools as needed. “We are extremely pleased to have government support to help us get these students off to a good start in our schools. With these four new teachers, and the two additional English-As-A-Second-Language teaching positions added this past year, we now have adequate resources to support the students’ language needs and their social integration,” he said.
Kevin Arsenault, executive director of the P.E.I. Newcomers Association, commended government for responding so quickly to a critical opportunity. “We are very pleased that these supports have been put in place in a timely manner. Other provinces have not been able to move so quickly and, as a result, families have moved to other provinces,” he said.
Enrolment by immigrant students in Prince Edward Island has increased steadily over the past three years. In 2004, there were 25 new immigrant students. This was followed by 55 new students in 2005, and 103 in 2006.