Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
RPS proposes phasing out Latin, reshaping German/French offerings and adding American Sign Language
Summary
District staff recommended phasing out new Latin enrollments, keeping lower‑level German while reducing upper levels, adjusting French and Spanish advanced offerings by enrollment, and launching American Sign Language after community engagement; the board will consider the course registration guide on Oct. 21.
District staff told the school board Tuesday that they recommend phasing out Latin for new cohorts, restructuring German, French and Spanish upper‑level offerings based on enrollment and launching American Sign Language (ASL) to expand equitable in‑person world language access.
“Natalia Benjamin, our Director of Multilingual Learning, said the district’s student survey (grades 8–11) showed strong interest: nearly 55% of students said they are interested in taking a world language, and American Sign Language ranked at the top of emerging choices,” Natalia Benjamin said during the presentation. The district reported the survey reached roughly 800–1,000 students in grades 8–11.
Key elements of the staff proposal:
- Phase out Latin for new cohorts after the current school year while allowing currently enrolled students to complete…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
