The chances of an elementary school foreign language program returning to the Manhasset Public School district for the 2016-2017 school year does not appear good.
Two Manhasset school district officials said Thursday that they believe the Foreign Language in the Elementary School program is too time consuming and too costly to reinstitute after a 13-year absence.
“Because of significant time constraints and the cost we do not recommend a FLES program” said Charles Leone, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “What unit are we going to delete?”
Leone and World Language Administrator Laurie Lauria made a presentation to the school trustees of their analysis of the language program, which was eliminated after the 2003 to 2004 school year due to budget and instructional time constraints.
Lauria said a foreign language program in elementary school offers students “a taste of languages, so they can make an educated decision” when entering high school.
But, she and Leone said, a review of Shelter Rock Elementary School, which compared currently students’ schedule to those in 2000, showed that demands on students’ time had increased significantly.
The students’ days are already packed with instruction and enrichment programs and adding in another subject could make things increasingly difficult, Leone said.
“How do we maintain our forays we really pride ourselves in at Manhasset?” he said. “Something like this does have cost of it goes on.”
Leone and Lauria also said they compared the schedules of Shelter Rock Elementary School with 17 schools around Nassau County, as well as 11 schools in Suffolk County offering foreign language programs to see how other districts manage cost and time.
The analysis also offered rough models of how a program could fit into the Manhasset district with potential cost varying on languages and programs offered.
Lauria said the study was to see “where are we compared to other districts? The purpose of [a Foreign Language in the Elementary School program] would be to remain comparative to other schools, and continue to promise growth and opportunity for our students.”
Based on their findings around Long Island, Lauria and Leone concluded, the district should postpone adopting another Foreign Language in the Elementary School program.
According to the presentation, studies have found that children under 10 who learn have the opportunity to experience natural communication in a foreign language often with “native-like proficiency.”
While Long Island is a leader in the national trend of adopting Foreign Language in the Elementary School programs, according to the presentation, many districts on Long Island have “struggled to implement and maintain these programs due to budget constraints.”
School board members did not comment on the future of a Foreign Language in the Elementary School program in the Manhasset district.
