and separate). These do not include the English school board's French immersion programs, which are intended for students whose first language was not French. Several alternative schools in Toronto are also operated by Toronto's public school boards. The oldest is ALPHA Alternative School, which opened in 1972. The first conference for publicly funded alternative schools in the Greater Toronto Area happened in November 2012. Ontario's Ministry of Education distance education program, the Independent Learning Centre, is also headquartered in Toronto. Secular Two public secular school boards operate in Toronto, the Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV), and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The former operates French first-language schools in Toronto, whereas the latter operates English first-language schools in the city. TDSB only operates schools in Toronto, whereas CSV operates as the school board for Toronto, the larger Greater Golden Horseshoe region, and the Ontario Peninsula. Both school boards were created in 1998, as a result of the Fewer School Boards Act, 1997. Prior to 1998, each municipality in Metropolitan Toronto had a public English language school board. The six school boards, the Board of Education for the City of York, the East York Board of Education, the Etobicoke Board of Education, the North York Board of Education, the Scarborough Board of Education, and the Toronto Board of Education, all operated under the Metropolitan Toronto School Board umbrella. The Metropolitan Toronto School Board served as the umbrella organization for the municipally-based school boards of Metropolitan Toronto from 1953 to 1998. As a result of the Fewer School Boards Act, and the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto, the six municipally based school boards were amalgamated to form TDSB. The assets of the former Metropolitan Toronto School Board were also amalgamated into TDSB. Prior to 1998, public French language schools were operated by the Conseil des écoles françaises de la communauté urbaine de Toronto (CÉFCUT). As a part of the Fewer School Boards Act, CÉFCUT was merged with other school boards from the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Ontario Peninsula in 1998, forming CSV. Separate Two public separate school boards operate in Toronto, Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). The former operates French first-language schools in Toronto, whereas the latter operates English first-language schools in the city. TDSB only operates schools in Toronto, whereas MonAvenir operates as the school board for Toronto and the larger Greater Golden Horseshoe region.