Language barrier falls

At Braeburn Junior School, principal Monica Francis can’t believe the difference a year makes.

About two thirds of her Etobicoke students speak a language other than English at home — with parents insisting it’s closer to 80% — and despite new immigrants continually arriving into the largely Somali community, their school had not a single ESL teacher to assist them.

The alarming gap we found last February at Braeburn was hardly unique: Almost half of all Ontario elementary schools with ESL students lacked an English-as-a-Second Language teacher. The Toronto District School Board was one of the worst offenders, by consistently diverting half of its provincial ESL grant to pay for school pools, heating costs and other budget shortfalls.

Yet thousands of kids were landing on Toronto’s doorstep unable to speak a word of English and too many were set adrift with no school program to help them.

But that has finally changed.

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Language barrier falls | News | Toronto Sun.