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West sophomore and parent urge district to restore AP French 5, criticize communication
Summary
Students and a parent told the Waukesha School District board that the district abruptly told students AP French 5 would be discontinued, leaving current students without the option to complete the full AP sequence and alleging poor communication with staff and families.
Kyra McCarthy, a sophomore at Waukesha West High School, told the School District of Waukesha Board of Education on March 12 that the district’s decision to discontinue AP French 5 will prevent a cohort from completing a rolling curriculum they began in middle school.
“The school district is stopping my education by only providing half of a curriculum,” Kyra McCarthy said during the meeting’s public comment period, describing that French 4 at West currently covers the first three units of the AP French 5 syllabus and that students expected to complete the remaining units the following year to prepare for the AP exam.
The concern centers on three alternatives the speaker said were presented to students: quit French, enroll in an online program (eAchieve) that Kyra said is not equivalent to in-person instruction, or travel to UW–Milwaukee for in-person classes. Kyra said travel was not a feasible option for a 16‑year‑old and warned that removing French 5 from the district reduces advanced placement opportunities across the district.
Jennifer McCarthy, who identified herself as Kyra’s parent, told the board the timing and communication around the change was poor. She said her daughter was pulled from a class without advance notice and given 24 hours to decide next year’s courses. Jennifer McCarthy said the students’ French teacher had not been told the course was canceled before students were notified and that district staff had not responded to multiple emails seeking clarification.
“We are asking that those of us that are currently enrolled in the French program be given the opportunity to finish out the full curriculum,” Jennifer McCarthy said, and asked the district to create a clearer process for consulting teachers and communicating options when course offerings change.
A third speaker, Paul Rees, described broader frustrations with communication at Waukesha West and urged the administration to address leadership and transparency concerns at the school level, saying he had attended board meetings for many years and seen both good and ugly moments in district decision-making.
Board members did not discuss or announce an immediate change to the course schedule during the meeting. The public comment concluded and the board moved on to the consent agenda and committee reports.
Why this matters: Students completing multi-year language sequences and families planning postsecondary course loads and applications can be affected when districts change advanced course availability midstream. The speakers asked the board both to reconsider offering AP French 5 to current students and to adopt clearer communication procedures when a course is discontinued.
What the speakers asked for next: Allow enrolled students to finish the AP French 5 curriculum and establish a process that informs and consults the affected teacher(s) and gives students adequate time to make scheduling decisions.
