Parents, students ask board to preserve West High Chinese program, say proposed enrollment threshold is unrealistic

Parents, students and community members urged the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education on Oct. 7 to preserve the Chinese language program at West High School, saying the district’s proposed enrollment threshold is unrealistic and would disrupt students who have invested years in language study.

Yin Liu told the board that the program historically could not meet a proposed goal of 180 students, with class sizes of 32 to 35. “Language learning is not like other core subjects,” Liu said. She and others emphasized that small classes are important for oral practice and proficiency and said eliminating the program would be disruptive to students working toward an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma or who have chosen West for its language pathway.

Speakers asked the board to pursue collaborative solutions rather than cancellation and suggested district-level options such as making world language part of graduation requirements to sustain enrollment and pathways.

Board members thanked the speakers and asked staff to continue community engagement about language programs. No vote or formal action on West’s language program occurred at the meeting. Staff noted the program concerns would be part of ongoing program-review and boundary discussions and invited written comments.

Ending — What’s next

District staff did not present a closure motion for the Chinese program at Oct. 7. The board directed staff to continue outreach and review of program enrollment and to include comments submitted during the program review process.