The nerve centre of French-language public schools in B.C., the central office of the Conseil scolaire francophone, is located in Richmond and is being recognized by the province as one of 23 places in the province “rich in francophone history.”
March 20 has been declared B.C. Francophonie Day by Adrian Dix, who is the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs in B.C., in addition to being the Minister of Health, and the theme of the day will be “Honouring our B.C. Francophone History.”
La Journée de la francophonie en Colombie-Britannique celebrates French language and the diversity of francophone cultures. Last year, British Columbians nominated places of significant historic value to the francophone community through the B.C. Francophone Historic Places Recognition Project. The B.C. government is now formally recognizing 23 historic places rich in francophone history, including the Richmond French schools office.
“Today, we celebrate the great contributions made by francophones to the development of the cultural, social and economic life of British Columbia,” said Dix in a press release. “This heritage recognition project demonstrates just how much the francophone community has contributed to the building of B.C.”
The Conseil scolaire francophone, established in 1983, is the province-wide French-language school district. There are 38 schools with about 3,500 students. Students who attend come from families whose first language is French.
Richmond has one French school, L’Ecole des Navigateurs on Kilgour Place, which goes from kindergarten to Grade 7.
The central office of the Conseil scolaire francophone, at 13511 Commerce Parkway, also houses the Ecole virtuelle, the French-language virtual school.
