The Redwood French program is receiving major cuts next year, causing concern among teachers and students wondering what will happen for current students taking French.

Currently all levels of French are offered, from introductory to Advanced Placement (AP). Students can progress through all four years of high school. However, the structure is changing and fourth-year classes won’t be offered next year. 

“Right now, across the entire district, and at Redwood High School, we’re seeing decreased enrollment. Along with decreased enrollment, we’ve had a decrease in requests for elective programs,” Principal Barnaby Payne said.

Mouna Harifi, head of the French department, said the district has already made their decision. “There will be no 7-8 or AP [French],” Harifi said, “They want one section of students per level.” 

The move towards online learning isn’t favorable by all either. “Online is terrible, it doesn’t cover the most important things, the way you speak, the history and the culture,” Harifi said.

 Both French teacher, Nicolle Plescia, and Harifi highlight the unfairness of this issue. Classes being cut means students are prompted to take them online which may sometimes be a high cost or inconvenience for many families. 

Harifi described the inequity of the situation, which Payne also echoed. 

“The school district has to find a way to support students that want to continue French,” Payne said.

 Language goes far beyond grammar and vocabulary. Plescia and Harifi stressed that having class in-person allows students to engage in culture, learn discipline and practice real conversations. 

“When you enter this class, you are on French territory,” Harifi said. “You learn discipline, you learn respect, you learn how to listen and how to be with others. You don’t learn that online.” 

Plescia said that she was concerned about the consequences that will result from these course cuts. “Kids who sign up for any language class should have access to a full four years of oral language. It’s a real shame, if we don’t have enough kids signing up, then we can’t offer that,” Plescia said.

 Besides cultural connections, both Harifi and Plescia said that language learning grants academic benefits. 

“Neuroscience shows that a student who learns a language is a better student,” Harifi said. “Studies have shown how learning a language develops your brain.” Students who learn languages are also given better opportunities later in life, she said. 

“Ivies are looking for a student who has a background in language,” Harifi said. “More than 400 million [people] are speaking French, if you want to be a diplomat or work in an international business you need to learn French.” 

As well as cutbacks in course offerings, class dynamics will change, with a possibility of an increased class size.  

“Nothing’s worse for instruction than that. You can’t give quality instruction, you can’t handle classroom management and you can’t give personalized attention. You can’t grade things effectively, you can’t teach effectively, especially in any language setting, there’s no opportunity ever for the kids to practice and talk, because there’s just too many of them,” Plescia said. 

Payne said that despite the cuts, Redwood is trying to keep up with the three year requirement. 

“As long as we’re offering French, my commitment is three years, because three years is what’s recommended by the University of California,” Payne said. 

Getting the community involved could also make a big change. 

“The voice of the parents in the community has a really big influence, if the parents in the community recognize the degree that there’s gonna be a real shift in their kids’ experience next year, maybe there could be some pushback,” Plescia said. 

Both teachers stressed about the impact on the community. 

Payne said he wants the district to explore ways to keep the program. 

“We’re going to have to be creative in the future to be able to maintain the program,” Payne said. 

He said there are possibilities for offering French at one school in the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD), which would be scheduled outside of school hours or making it a mixed class.