Get them while they’re young

Ukrainian language program facing declining numbers

A language program that’s echoed through halls in the River East Transcona School Division for nearly 27 years has begun a campaign to counter its declining popularity.

The English Ukrainian Bilingual Program operates in nine schools around Manitoba, and currently 140 students are enrolled in classes at Chief Peguis Junior High, Springfield Heights elementary and Bernie Wolfe Community School.

But the student-teacher ratio of 17 to one is in threat of seeing declining students.

“We have problems with getting enough students right now...and if we don’t do something we don’t want to have to go into potentially losing the program,” Darryl Prociuk, recruitment chair for Springfield Heights said, noting that enrolment has been in steady decline for the past 10 years.

To combat this, the program’s administrators are running ads on city buses, posting signs around schools, and visiting nursery schools to tell parents about the program.

“It’s about getting the families before they enter the school system,” said Laurie Gingera, former chair of the River East Transcona Ukrainian Parents Committee.

There are a few reasons for the languishing linguistical learners.

Prociuk said poor promotion and human laziness are likely culprits.

“People go the path of least resistance. They see their neighbours go into the French program or the English because no one told them about another program...we have people within the same division who aren’t aware of our program,” said Prociuk.

Gingera is perplexed about why numbers are falling.

She eagerly listed attributes the program offers, from cultural enrichment and quality educators to a “significant” art, choir and dance component.

She notes that Grade 6 students in Springfield Heights’ Ukrainian program, on average, scored 10 to 20 per cent higher overall than other students in their school on a provincial assessment done three years ago.

At Chief Peguis school last year, only 14 of the school’s 240 graduating students were in the Ukrainian program, yet three of them were placed in the top 10 for highest marks, Gingera said.

“Why aren’t people coming is the real question,” she said.

She wonders if people think Ukrainian is not an important language.

But Springfield’s principal Syd Enns points out that more than 50 million people speak Ukrainian in the world and as globalization brings cultures together, any language will be an asset.

Besides, Enns said, “kids in the Ukrainian program seem to do well in other subjects,” adding that the focus the students require to learn another language can transfer over to other subjects.

Enns reckons a part of declining enrolment may be due to geography – the schools are not in the heart of the Ukrainian speaking community.

What’s more, for a program that, for the most part, relies on word of mouth, with less mouths to pass the word along, fewer ears will get the message.

But a few years ago parents, administrators and the superintendent did a study and found the program should continue as it is.

It was also decided to group classes within the schools together, so Grade 1 and 2 work together, Grade 3 with 4s and Grade 5 with 6s.

This, Enns said, shows the school division that schools are responsible with their numbers and are not wasting resources.

“We’re hoping that the success with the program will allow it to continue. We feel it is a successful program even though our numbers may not be where we would like them to be,” he said.