Series 2 - Ukrainian Bilingual Program

39 cm of textual records

The series consists of name lists of teachers and pupils enrolled in the Ukrainian-Bilingual Program (in Edmonton Catholic as well as in Edmonton Public Schools) from 1974 to 1985. Also, there are baptism records with names of prospective students, as well as information on the children who left the program.

There are also various documents on Ukrainian Bilingual Transportation from different Ukrainian bilingual associations. The files include correspondences, budget and fees, name lists of pupils, who needed transportation, etc.

The Ukrainian Bilingual Program (UBP) is a partial immersion program, in which the basic subjects, consisting of science, mathematics and English, are taught in English, and the other subjects, including social studies, music, arts, physical education and Ukrainian language, are taught in Ukrainian.

The UBP was implemented by the Edmonton Catholic School System in the fall of 1974 and started as a three-year pilot project under the auspices of the Department of Education. An integral part of the UBP project was the annual evaluation of the extent to which the pupils in the program are achieving in their academic subjects, acquiring skills in the Ukrainian oral language, and the attitudes of the pupils and parents, teachers, and administrators towards the existing program. After the pilot phase, the Bilingual Program was offered in 1978 in the Edmonton Separate School System as well as in the Edmonton Public School System. The Separate, i.e. Catholic Schools offering the UBP included St. Matthew, St. Martin, and St. Bernadette. In Public Schools, the UBP was provided in five schools: Delwood, Holyrood, Northmount, Rundle and Rio Terrace. During the first year of the pilot project, 101 students were enrolled in the program and its success led to its permanent approval and simultaneous extension to Grade 6 by the Government of Alberta in 1976. The program was further extended to Grade 9 in 1980 and to Grade 12 in 1983.

Parental groups played an essential part in the existence of bilingual programs in general and the UBP in particular. They lobbied governments and made presentations to local school boards, convincing them to open their school to the concept and teaching of bilingual classes. When the UBP was first implemented, the Ukrainian Kindergarten Association assumed responsibility for acting on behalf of parents who had children enrolled in the Ukrainian Bilingual Program in the Edmonton Public and Catholic School Systems. However, this association was dissolved when the Ukrainian Bilingual Association was incorporated.