Technology Trend: Budget cuts for some schools to cut back

From SmartBrief:

Some schools in the U.S. are making bold investments in classroom technology, while others are scaling back, according to a survey by the Consortium for School Networking. Data show that more than two-thirds of districts have reduced spending on regular maintenance and replacement of equipment because of budget shortfalls. And, even if schools did invest heavily in new devices for the classroom, many teachers report that their school's Internet is inadequate to meet their needs.

You can view the full article here.

Have budget issues, particularly the potential adoption of technology impacted your language courses at all? 

Let us know what you think! Connect with us @C_LaCross

News: Col. district moves courses online

Staff members and parents in one Colorado school district are questioning a decision to cut three foreign language teaching positions in favor of online instruction. The move was one in a series aimed at reducing the district's budget, but still some wonder how technology will change the role of the teacher. Can online classes really provide the same level of quality as the traditional classroom? 

You can read more about this development here:

Col. district moves courses online

News: Newburyport, Connecticut revives some language programs

The Newburyport School Department, Connecticut, has received an unexpected increase in funds from the state, and is using these funds to reestablish Spanish and German classes at one of its middle schools. Those courses had been eliminated during a 2007 budget crunch. While this reestablishment is a great step forward, the program is still not what it was before, however school leaders remain optimistic for the future. "I think people are pleased we're moving forward," superintendent Marc Kerble said. You can read more about this exciting development here:

Newburyport, Connecticut revives some language programs

News: Fired for protecting German?

Recent reports suggest the departure of University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan resulted from her unwillingness curtail certain 'obscure' academic programs in liberal arts, namely German. In the articles, board members are said to believe the program is unprofitable and unsustainable. You can read the full article from Inside Higher Education below:

Fired for protecting German?

How do you view the board's decision?

News: Colorado district cuts language teaching positions

A Colorado district has cut the jobs of three foreign language teachers, and students instead will pay $150 per semester to learn a new language on the Aventa computer system. One of the laid-off teachers, to no avail, appealed the changes to the school board, citing the need for foreign language in the modern economy. Foreign language also helps with learning grammar, critics of the plan argue. Spanish is the only language in the high school that will continue to be taught by a teacher. You can read more about the situation in this district via the article linked below:

Colorado district cuts language teaching positions

News: Arkansas State Univ. considers dropping FL classes

Arkansas State University has already reduced its language offerings to four from six in the past four years, eliminating Swahili and Arabic. The university still teaches Spanish, German, Chinese and French. The elimination of Arabic is surprising as it is considered to be one of the current critical languages along with Chinese.

According to Yvonne Unnold, chairwoman of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, "we don't know what's going to happen," with regard to the future of the remaining languages at the school. The department struggles to fill some classes, and finding instructors with the required credentials is also proving to be a challenge. You can read more about the situation at Arkansas State University via the article linked below:

Arkansas State University reducing FL offerings

News: Budget cuts and program closures in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, a government mandate to make higher education more efficient is having a devastating effect on some language programs such as Portuguese. In recent years, Dutch high schools have not been teaching languages beyond English. Utrecht University, for example, has already been forced to close its Portuguese program. Many more closures are expected. You can read more about these unfortunate program closures via the article linked below:

Program closures in Netherlands

News: High school German club fights to resurrect program

In 2009 Tigard High School in Oregon started phasing out German language classe because of declining interest and budget pressures. However, the program could see a reversal of fortunes as group of students in Tigard's German club is now appealing to the school board to revive the program. In general, German language study in America has decreased, despite Germany's growing importance in the world economy. You can read more about the student group's efforts in the article linked below:

High school German club fights to resurrect program

News: Budget cuts threaten foreign language curriculum

A recent teacher survey provides some insight into just how many schools and districts are coping with the budget cuts to their language programs. Budget cuts have affected not just language and course availability but also personnel as many teachers in affected programs have been let go. There also appears to be a concomitant decline in teacher morale as reported in the article below. Has your program been affected by budget cuts? Please let us know what and how budget cuts are affecting your programs.


http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/03/a_new_teacher_survey_offers.html

News: PA school uses innovative to overcome funding woes

In Pennsylvania, the Bald Eagle Area School District  has devised several innovative ways to deliver Spanish lessons to students from kindergarten to fifth grade. Faced with a limited number of teachers to serve multiple schools, the district relies on a video program that uses puppets to enhance lessons and help young children learn Spanish. For older students, a teacher will record a lecture, adding in Spanish language skits, and will then make the finished video available online.

You can read more in the articled linked below:

PA school uses innovative to overcome funding woes

What are some other innovative and efficient ways programs can use to deliver language lessons?

News: FLAP funding cuts waste years of work

Last year, Congress eliminated the fifth and final year of funding for the Foreign Language Assistance Program, leaving an effort to develop foreign language assessments incomplete. Reactions among language educators have naturally been quite negative.  Marty Abbott, executive director of ACTFL, has said that " The rug has been pulled out from underneath these districts." You can read more via the article below:

FLAP funding cuts waste years of work

News: Budget cuts signal tough times for language funding

Congress recently passed a budget bill that resulted in a $27 million cut for grants to foreign language programs at public schools across the country. "What this cut does is pull the rug out from these programs," said Martha Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 

While many European languages such as German, French, and Russian have declined as a result of the budget cuts, so-called "critical" languages such as Mandarinand Arabic have continued to see increases in class enrollment and program development. 


How have budget cuts affected your language program?

News: Scotland cuts number of foreign language assistants

Scottish schools employ native speakers as part-time employees to help students learn foreign languages. However, in the past six years, the British Council Scotland has cut those positions by 80%. You can read more in the BBC article below:


Scotland cuts number of foreign language assistants

News: More FL Budget Cuts Looming

A recent article reports on the draft budget recently released by a U.S. House of Representatives committee includes about $2.4 billion in cuts to education programs, including $27 million for the Foreign Language Assistance program. Budget cuts are an ever present threat facing language programs in the U.S. You can read more in the article link below:












More FL budget cuts

Additional Link

News: Budget Cuts eliminate Latin Program at Colorado High School

Dakota Ridge High School in Jefferson County, Colo., will end its Latin program after this school year, 11 years after the curriculum began. Deep cuts exceeding $30 million the past several years have decimated languages, art and other subjects in the district, according to principal Jim Jelinek. The declining number of students taking Latin made it a target for cuts.You can find the full article in the Denver Post here:


Latin Program Cut in Colorado

News: K-12 Language Programs face budget cuts

Congress is debating cuts to the Foreign Language Assistance Program, which is the sole federal source of funding for K-12 world language courses.  Several government agencies have a shortage of personnel proficient in other languages which means the U.S. risks falling further behind in language skills if the funding is cut. For the full article, please visit the link to the Huffington Post below:


Foreign Language Budget Cuts

International News: Language Academy in Italy could close due to budget cuts

A recent article in The Guardian reports that the Accademia della Crusca could be closed as part of an austere budget under consideration in Italy. The Florence-based institute has served as the custodian of the Italian language since 1612, and receives nearly $275,000 in annual funding from the government. According the article, some government officials have said they are trying to get funding for the academy back into the budget, but the outlook is uncertain. The head of the institute said the Italian language will be deprived of an important protector if it is closed and schools will lose a valuable resource. For the full article, click the link below:

Italian Language Academy faces the budget axe

News: Indiana University seeks alternative funding

A recent article reports that Indiana University is searching for alternative funding for its foreign language programs after congressional cuts resulted in the loss of $1.7 million in federal funding. Congress cut $50 million from the Department of Education programs that support foreign language learning. IU offers more than 80 foreign languages, and its president was one of more than 80 university presidents who signed a letter asking Congress to restore the funding. For more information check out the following article:


IU seeks alternative funding for language programs

News: Report Calls for increase in Diplomatic personnel

A recent report from the foreign affairs council advises that the U.S. should be increasing its diplomatic personnel as well as the number of Arabic speakers rather than yielding to pressure for increased budget cuts. The full article can be found here:

Increase in Diplomatic Personnel vs Budget Cuts

News: Former Leaders Discuss Dangers of Cutting Language Programs

In a recent article of USA Today former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Senator Chuck Hagel discuss several issues and problems which the current trend of budget and program cuts for foreign language poses to the United States.

The full article can  be found here:


Former Leaders Discuss Language Program Cuts