Ms. Jorgelina Falcon

Busing is provided, unlike the Catholic board next door. But a 20% cut to grade 1 spots this year means the draw is tighter, and odds shift by city.

90% French from grade 1, a real lottery, and one logistics detail that catches almost every family off guard: there’s no bus.

Extended French enrollment is down 20.7% since 2019-20, driven largely by TDSB’s 2019 phase-out vote. Here’s what’s happening and what to do if it hits your board.

Peel DSB’s 2026-27 Grade 1 French Immersion applications are already closed, random selection, waitlist. What actually happens if your child doesn’t get in.

Ontario’s 50% French-time Immersion rule is a floor, not a fixed number, and start grades vary board to board. Two schools calling themselves Immersion can mean genuinely different programs.

YRDSB, YCDSB, and two French-first-language boards all serve York Region families, and the programs genuinely differ. A warm, factual guide to what each actually offers.

They’re not badly made. They’re built for native French toddlers, not for a learner starting from nothing. That difference explains the whole complaint.