Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the German Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and students urge District 207 to reverse plan to discontinue German offerings
Summary
During public comment, multiple parents, alumni and community representatives urged the board to keep German in District 207, citing program longevity at Maine South, student success (AP participation, medals), feeder relationships and Illinois' upcoming two-year foreign-language graduation requirement.
At the board's public-comment period, more than half a dozen speakers requested that District 207 reconsider a proposal to discontinue German language instruction at Maine South.
“Heidi Oriama, who described herself as part of the District 207 Families for the Study of German Language and Culture, said German instruction should remain available, especially for students whose families use the language at home and who benefit culturally and academically.”
Karen Heine, a parent and Maine South alumna, told the board German has been taught at Maine South since the school's founding and that upper-level classes show strong enrollment: “The German language program at Maine South is solid at all levels with the current German 1 and 2 classes having between 20 to 30 students each,” she said. Heine urged the board not to let a teacher retirement be the primary reason for discontinuing the program and recommended offering German across the district’s three high schools.
Speakers cited student achievements and community ties. Krist en Wagner (transcript label) described multiple alumni who became teachers because of the program and asked the board to “pull the community together” to ensure sustainable interest. A representative from a longtime feeder program at St. Andrew’s said the private-school German program was never consulted and that discontinuing high-school German will disrupt established pathways.
Public speakers also referenced Illinois law requiring two years of a foreign language for high-school graduation beginning in the 2028–29 school year and said the district should expand — not reduce — language options in light of that change. Several asked the board to conduct a district-wide language-interest survey for current and incoming families.
The board did not respond publicly during the comment period; the chair reminded speakers that administrators would follow up on substantive questions if contact information was provided on the blue cards. No board vote or immediate action on the German program occurred at this meeting.
