Auf wiedersehen to German at SHS

Toujours Français, auf wiedersehen German.

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Published July 1, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Auf wiedersehen to German at SHS By SUSAN SMALLHEER SPRINGFIELD — Toujours Français, auf wiedersehen German. The Springfield School Board this week approved a change in the foreign language offerings at Springfield High School, backing away from an earlier plan to phase out French in favor of German. The departure of a longtime teacher to a full-time position at Hanover, N.H., High School, prompted the change, said Superintendent Zachary McLaughlin. McLaughlin said that German teacher Yuliya Ballou was leaving her Springfield .67 part-time German teacher job in favor of a full-time job. He said his policy is to let teachers out of their signed contracts if they have a part-time job and they are able to land a full-time job. Ballou used to teach Russian as well at the high school. According to a memo prepared for the board by departing Springfield High School Principal Bob Thibault, finding a new part-time German teacher would be next to impossible. Thibault recommended that the board restore French to the high school; the school board earlier this year had decided to phase out French. “The issue is what can we staff,” McLaughlin said. “Some kids will be disappointed.” “It will make people happy,” said board member Jeanice Garfield, referring to the restoration of French. “Go for it,” said Ryan Cooney, one of the two student representatives on the School Board. “It will be silly not to do it, go for it.” German will be effectively phased out. The school’s other world language is Spanish. Under the plan, there will be no beginning German offered at the high school, and those upper-level German students will instead access class using the state’s online course system. Thibault’s memo said by not filling the .67 German position and increasing the French position to full-time, the district would save about $44,000. But Thibault said there would be additional expenses, including having two guidance counselors working extra this summer to rework the language schedule — costing about $5,000 — and to hire a two-hours-a-day tutor and technology person to supervise the online students in the computer lab, a cost of about $7,500. The town will have to pay $600 per student who take German online. With the extra costs deducted, the net savings, he wrote, would be $33,000. During budget work earlier this year, the school had come to the conclusion that the high school was not big enough to successfully carry more than two different languages. “While German has a long history of being taught at SHS, that was during the days of 700-plus enrollment at Springfield High School,” Thibault wrote. “The market for finding a full-time French teacher is significantly better than that for a part-time German teacher,” Thibault added. Board Chairman Ed Caron said the School Board’s decision to phase out French had never been popular anyway, given the French Canadian heritage in Vermont, and the state’s proximity to Quebec. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160701/NEWS02/160709990