Trenton High School Might Not Offer Some French and German Classes Next Year

Classes like French and German might not be available for students for the 2011-12 school year due to reductions in state funding.

This topic was raised by a parent and retired English teacher, Diane Nowak, who spoke at Monday's board of education meeting. She said she was concerned because the district had not offered any warning that French and German classes could be canceled or drastically reduced.

Before now Trenton High School offered three world languages: Spanish, French and German, and each class had four levels. Students could then take a placement test for college and potentially be placed in a higher level during their freshman year at college.

Nowak has a son, Sean, who is going to be a junior in the fall and wants to continue to take French as he prepares for college. He is currently in the top 10 of his class.

Nowak said she felt the situation was unfair because her son, Mike, who graduated from Trenton High School in 2010, was able to enjoy several French classes including a class trip to France that he paid for himself.

"The French language program is over at Trenton High School," Nowak said. "I was shocked to find this out and very saddened and very frustrated."

Her son, Sean, had planned his four years of high school when he was a freshman and each year included an advancing level of French. There were a total of four classes available before now and each class was increasingly more advanced.

He had began putting aside money for the annual class trip to France, but Nowak said it likely won't happen for him.

The district director of curriculum, Ann Deneroff, said funding reductions are the primary reason French and German classes might not be available.

"Across the state all schools have had to take a look at all programming that they offer because of budget cuts," Deneroff said. "World languages were one of those. We don’t have the ability to run classes with 16 students anymore. If we have six students sign up for a class we cant offer it."

Deneroff said the number of students that sign up for French and German is far smaller than those who take Spanish. She said about 70 percent of students who take a foreign language take Spanish. All Spanish classes will be available for the 2011-12 school year.

Not all hope is lost for students who want to take French and German classes. Deneroff said the school has combined class sections in the past, meaning French 2, 3 and 4 could be combined into one class. This would give students a chance to further their education by offering one class to a wider audience of students.

The high school will be offering some sections of French and German in 2011-12, but Deneroff said she isn't sure which ones will be on the schedule.

"Those classes historically have had very small numbers and we had the ability to run small classes (in the past), but there are very, very few districts (now) that have the ability to run classes that small," Deneroff said.

In 2012-13, two years of a world language will become a requirement for graduation and Deneroff said that the new requirement might increase demand for French and German.

"When you make it a requirement more students have to sign up and hopefully, going forward, there will be a greater demand for French and German, but I still think by far more students will choose Spanish," Deneroff said.

Nowak said she believes the district should try a combination of French 3 and 4, so students, like her son, can continue their world language education.

"I realize we have money situations, we certainly have that, but by the same token classes perhaps need to run with fewer students just based on the kind of class it is," Nowak said.

Students usually get their class schedules in August one week before school starts, according to Deneroff.

"Our counselor and principal are working on the schedule continuously throughout the summer, and if changes happen over the summer and we have additional funding, bringing back teachers and subsequent courses is high on our list," Deneroff said.