Rob Padyk’s daughter and her Grade 9 peers were just getting settled in at North Park Collegiate and Vocational School when he says they had the “rug pulled out from under them.”

The letter came home 10 days into the school year, telling families French immersion programming was being discontinued at the school. Students wanting to continue in the program would need to transfer to Brantford Collegiate Institute next year.

Now, Padyk is one of 190 parents — and counting — who have signed a petition urging the Grand Erie District School Board to allow current students to complete their program at North Park.

“These kids have already been through so much. They survived years of uncertainty during the pandemic, then transitioned into high school with excitement and hope. They joined cl

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