World Language at Canton High School

by Lynn K. McMullin

Some of the issues and decisions surrounding World Language at the Canton High School have captured the community’s attention, so I’d like to try to answer as many of the questions as possible.


Why were Honors and Academic combined into non-weighted classes?

Let’s lay some groundwork.

1. First, the division of the World Languages into two tracks, Honors and Academic, began in 2002 and was continued until 2008 – 2009, when the levels were still distinct, but were being taught in the same classroom. Prior to 2002, there had not been any Honors and Academic tracking or weighting of grades. Tracking was begun in 2002 under the assumption that an Honors track would increase the number of students who took Level 5 and AP classes in French and Spanish.  As of 2008 – 2009, enrollment in these advanced levels had not increased. Last year, in fact, no students took AP French, and one student took AP Spanish through an on-line Virtual High School course. So, the rationale for tracking students in the first place never fulfilled itself, and in all likelihood has created the division we currently see among students. In Grades 7 and 8, there has never been any tracking in World Languages.

2. We must offer students the same opportunities in both World Languages. We cannot offer Honors and Academic tracks in Spanish unless we offer Honors and Academic tracks in French. Honors tracks receive quality points in configuring a student’s GPA. To offer quality points in Spanish and not French would give Spanish students an unfair GPA advantage over French students and thereby doom the future of French.  Likewise, we cannot offer students the opportunity to advance to an AP level in one language and not the other.

So, last February, when we were building the budget, we were faced with some very hard choices. Based on the 2008 – 2009 enrollment figures, and February’s course selection sheets, if we had maintained Honors and Academic tracking, we would have had seven under-enrolled World Language classes:

□ French II Academic – 9 students
□ French III Academic – 9 students
□ French III Honors – 11 students
□ Spanish IV Academic – 7 students
□ Spanish V and AP / Honors – 10 students
□ French V and AP / Honors – 5 students

In fact, the French V and AP Honors enrollment of five students was so close to the Board of Education’s class size limit that we monitored it weekly to make sure one or two students didn’t drop the course.

When we look at enrollments, we make decisions based on the district’s needs and very often are weighing one difficult choice over another. Do we support low enrollments at the high school and eliminate a section at Grade 5, for example? Should we let the class sizes in the elementary schools rise above 23 and 24? Should we let English and social studies classes at the high school rise to 26 and 27?  We have to look at what we call ‘course load’ very carefully. Should one high school teacher have 105 students in his/her course load and another have 60?

It’s not a secret that last year’s budget caused some reductions in school personnel. The decision to end tracking in the World Language department resulted in average class sizes of 18 students per class in that department. Maintaining tracking would have resulted in even smaller class size averages.  Level IV in both languages does have Honors weighting, and there is a commitment to maintaining Levels V and AP in both languages as well.  Students applying to the most competitive courses will have the opportunity to take the most rigorous courses in World Language in their junior and senior years.  Incidentally, the number of students in AP Spanish has increased dramatically to12 students.

What are we doing to meet the needs of all World Language students?

We are asking teachers to differentiate their instruction by researching new strategies, implementing these strategies in the classroom, sharing what works with their colleagues, and incorporating technology. The use of technology, through a virtual language lab called Virtuoso, (which will be available by January), is a key component. Virtuoso, a computer-based program, will allow teachers to select, listen to, and provide feedback to students as the students individually respond to oral language cues and assignments. The program also records the students' responses for later reviewing, as well. This oral language strategy is the key ingredient in achieving success for all, as the students’ written work is easily differentiated.

Has overseas travel been cancelled because the World Language teachers no longer want to bother taking the kids on trips?

Nothing could be farther from the truth; the teachers are remarkably willing to resurrect these trips. Before it approves the Saltillo, Mexico, trip, the Board of Education is simply re-looking at its policy regarding these trips to ensure students’ safety.

Parents, however, do need to understand these trips from a teacher’s perspective, especially since overseas trips are not owed to a student.  In education, we are trained to always act "in loco parentis,” a legal term meaning that a teacher must act "in the place of the parent." That is a weighty responsibility. I have taken kids on several overseas trips in my career, and I can't even describe the level of concern you have for their safety minute-to-minute. What if a child forgets and just steps of a curb in front of a taxi which is coming from the other direction in Europe? If something were to happen to a student, a teacher’s greatest fear isn’t ‘getting sued,’ as parents believe.  That's not what this is about. Imagine the sense of guilt, responsibility, and regret that would plague you indefinitely: "What didn't I do that I could have done to keep this student safe?" That's the burden of "in loco parentis." In light of what happened a few years ago, the WL department has made a remarkable recovery, has once again readily proposed trips, and is now waiting for the Board of Education to reassess its policy.

The district's issues are complex and the intention here is to explain that no one is out to hurt kids through the decision-making process. The opposite is true!  I often explain to people that our budget is so tight it’s not as if we’re not choosing between champagne and caviar. We’re choosing between bread and milk.