IMPORTANT UPDATE AND CALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Dear Footscray Primary School families and friends, Thank you for signing the petition regarding the school’s bilingual immersion program. As the authors of the petition we are writing to update you on progress towards the petition’s goals. The online and paper versions of the petition were signed by 600 people within a week. Both asked for a community consultation process to be run by an external facilitator to review the decision to abolish the program. The petition was instrumental in getting the Minister for Education to direct the school to continue the bilingual immersion program in 2017 and review its decision in consultation with the school community. On Friday 14 October 2016 the school published a six-week consultation process which has only four more weeks to run. The consultation will involve a single survey sent to parents, the results of which will be analysed by an external facilitator. We are a group of parents who believe strongly in the benefits of bilingual immersion and want the program to continue at Footscray Primary School. We believe that a more meaningful consultation process is required for a decision of this significance. It would include: - Informing families about the benefits of bilingual immersion - Providing the community with opportunities to share and discuss views about the future of the bilingual program at the school - The importance of bilingual opportunities in the western suburbs and the cultural significance of this program in the west. At the request of the principal we are writing individually to the school, with our concerns and suggestions. We are also seeking support and ideas from the local Vietnamese community, bilingual educators, and other schools running bilingual immersion programs. To find out more about the benefits of bilingual immersion and the views of other parents go to the FPS Bilingual Immersion Facebook page. Read the enlightened and insightful comments from people who have signed the petition. While the strength of our collective voice has certainly been heard through the petition, we believe that our strength now lies in the broad and rich range of ideas and insights that our parent body and other interested and expert individuals and organisations can offer. So, we want to encourage all concerned and interested parties to seek clarification, ask questions, offer ideas and express their views (and doubts) as they engage with and/or follow the consultation process. You can write to the school principal (Philip Fox) at footscray.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au. If you feel comfortable with sharing your correspondence please send a copy to fpsbilingualprogram@gmail.com or the FPS Bilingual Immersion Facebook page. Thank you for signing the petition and for your time in reading this message.