Response to an education program which caters to Low German Mennonites has more than quadrupled over the last few years.

Palliser School District started offering the alternative program out of the Nobleford Community Hall with only 12 students.  When the student population grew the Barons School was reopened in May of 2008, after more than a decade, and is now bustling with more than 120 students.  PRS is expecting between 130 and 135 students to be enrolled next term.

Principal Terri-Lynn Duncan says her students are immigrants, who in most cases don't know any English.  "They come from all over actually.  They come from a place called Chiwawa, Mexico.  Some families have come from Beliz.  They come to work, usually in the agricultural areas but also in dairy farms, and feed lots.  A lot of them still have a home or family in Mexico and travel back home often."

While you might be among those who would assume that every child in grade three knows the basics... knowledge of the ABC's, the 123's, communication, and values... this is not the case in this instance.  "Because it's English Language Learning (formerly English as a Second Language) a lot of [the students] do not have the comprehension or vocabulary that we might enter kindergarten with.  A lot of our kindergarten and Preschoolers start with absolutely no English.  So, we have a Low German assistant in our kindergarten room.  She helps the kindergarten teacher translate, and you see a real growth in the kids in June when they are ready to go on to grade one.  Sometimes we do have students, like last year, that were in grade five or three that had never been to public school and had no English.  Then the teachers, myself, and the parents work as a team to teach them some reading and language skills.  In that case we just progress them as much as we can from year to year."

The success of the program has spawned an outreach program, for the children's parents.  "It's an adult English literacy class.  So, mothers are coming to learn English vocabulary and comprehension on Tuesday mornings.  Our Low German Liaison Don Derkson teaches that course.  [I] and some of the junior high girls are downstairs with the babies and preschoolers while the mom's are learning English."

A large number of the students in the schools that arrive uneducated are girls.  "We don't have very many girls that have [attended school before].  We have a lot of mom's that were not able to get public education.  I do have some girls that have come from a home schooling situations, which is not best because the mom's themselves don't know English.  But, most of our students may be two or three grade levels behind, but if they stay with us as long as we can keep them, we try to get them so that they can graduate and go on to college or university if they wish.  We are not at that point yet.  We have not had a graduate yet.  But my hope is that in the next five to ten years that we will some of these students graduating.  I know some of my girls have said to me that they would like to graduate."

While the majority of teaching is done in English, the students of the alternate program do receive some instruction in their cultural language.  "Low German is generally not a written language, it's spoken more often.  There are some parents in my school that can read and write Low German.  But, the parents have asked us to teach High German because that's what's used in the church, and the Bible is written in High German.  Our students, from grade one to ten, get two to three hours of High German instruction per week.  Everything else is taught in English."

Duncan added, "They are great people and great families to work with.  It's about an apparent need.  Many parents were looking for a school that would teach High German, and many of our other schools in Palliser are looking at teaching some High German to the Low German community.  We now have, in Coaldale, John Davidson that's reopened as a Low German Mennonite school.  Hunstville is Low German Mennonite students mixed with the surrounding communities children. Certainly these parents are looking for education for their children, but for their children to be in the same cultures and traditions that they hold true.  We just try to support them in that effort.  It's just a matter of building relationships and trust."