New Kensington-Arnold School District officials are looking to create an in-house program for English as a second language while phasing out the high school French program.
Jennifer Pallone, the district’s special education director, said the declining popularity of French and a rapid expansion of the number of students who speak other languages is behind the proposal.
“The district’s (English Learner) population is rising rapidly and requires expanded, sustainable staffing,” Pallone said in a report to the school board’s education committee. “In contrast, French enrollment has declined to levels that are no longer viable.”
According to Pallone, there were 16 ESL students districtwide in the 2023-24 school year. That number climbed to 29 last year and 36 this year. She anticipates between 35 and 43 ESL students next school year.
“Transitioning from French to a comprehensive K-12 English Learners program aligns district resources with current student needs and creates significant cost efficiencies,” she said.
New Ken-Arnold contracts with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit for ESL services.
The number of spoken languages coming into the district goes beyond Spanish, Pallone said, including Haitian Creole, Uzbek and various African languages.
“When a student comes into the high school in 10th grade and they have zero language exposure to English, either verbal or written, it has become really difficult to help make them successful throughout the courses because English Learners is a language immersion program,” Pallone said.
Meanwhile, despite efforts to increase French enrollment, class sizes ticked downward year over year, Pallone said. French II enrollment this year is at nine students, 10 in French III and one in French IV, according to Pallone.
There are 35 students enrolled in French I, but that’s due to students needing an elective, not because of increased interest in the French program, Pallone said.
“There were students assigned this class vs. actually choosing it,” she said.
If the plan is approved, the district would begin preparing for the phasing-out process this year.
Next school year, French teacher Stephanie Sakoian, who is certified to teach ESL, would teach one period of French III, one period of French IV and four periods of English Learners for students at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School, Pallone said.
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit would provide a K-6 ESL teacher next school year.
There would be no new enrollments for French I, and French II would no longer be offered, Pallone said. Students in French I would be able to transfer to Spanish courses.
In the 2027-28 school year, French would no longer be offered and Sakoian would teach K-12 ESL, Pallone said.
She estimates a cost savings of $110,000.
“The ultimate goal is to have our own teaching staff here that delivers the ESL services to our English language learners,” Pallone said.
Pallone said the phased plan complies with ESL service requirements; minimally disrupts scheduling for current French students; offers predictable staffing; is financially responsible; and is a strategic, long-term approach to support multilingual learners.
Superintendent Christopher Sefcheck said the school board will consider voting on the proposal at a 7 p.m. meeting Feb. 3, at the Valley High School board room, 703 Stevenson Blvd., New Kensington.
