Saugus High to cancel Chinese program
School’s notification upsets parents with children enrolled in the four-year foreign language class
After 14 years, Saugus High School has decided to end its Chinese language program in the 2018-19 school year, according to a Jan. 25 email sent by the high school’s administration.
“The only thing that I know is that there was low interest in the class, so, because of that, it is planned right now to be discontinued,” said Dave Caldwell, public relations officer for the William S. Hart Union High School District.
The decision has frustrated and upset parents with children in the program, who say the four-year program and partnership with Saugus’ sister school Gaoxin No. 1 High School in Xi’an China has enriched the lives of students since its inception.
“Over 200 students have been exchanged between these two schools. I have two daughters currently enrolled in this program,” parent Erwin Hermann said. “A lot of parents and students, including myself, are very upset over this cancellation.”
Several parents and students, including Hermann and his two daughters in the Chinese program, attended the Hart district Governing Board meeting Wednesday night to protest this decision and express their concerns to Hart district administration.
“We plan on emphasizing how this program has changed our lives and bring attention to the admission issues,” Hermann told The Signal Tuesday night.
Other parents wanted to express their frustration to the Governing Board over the high school administration’s lack of communication about the reasons for ending the program.
“There’s no explanation given, and when my daughters and their friends tried to ask, they were told they couldn’t discuss it with them,” Hermann said. “My letter to the principal was never answered, and other parents I have spoken to were unable to get any answers from the administration.”
An email sent to parents in January states that students who want to continue pursuing Chinese as their foreign language requirement for university admissions would “need to explore options outside of Saugus High School.”
They were also invited to start a different foreign language program, like French or Spanish, to meet Cal State and UC admission requirements; however, parents of students involved in the Chinese language program said this is not a feasible option.
“As if you can simply drop a four-year Chinese Language Program after two years and pick up another language with just two years remaining until graduating,” Hermann said.
Hermann and other parents hope their pleas to the administration and the board will inspire Saugus High School to recant its decision to cancel the program.
In response to parents’ concerns at Wednesday evening’s Governing Board meeting, board President Steve Sturgeon said he would speak with district staff and see if there was anything that could be done to save the program.