A proposal to scale back Chinese and Latin language classes at Alexandria City Public Schools have drawn public concern as school officials prepare to make funding decisions.
The Alexandria City School Board discussed a proposal that would remove two middle school Latin teachers and one Chinese teacher due to low enrollment during a Jan. 27 work session.
The proposal calls for eliminating two full-time-equivalent Latin language teachers and transitioning the program to online instruction led by two remaining teachers. In the Chinese program, one teacher position would be eliminated, with three full-time-equivalent teachers and classes transitioning to a hybrid in-person and virtual format.
Under the proposal, one middle school level Chinese language teacher would teach at both George Washington Middle School and Francis C. Hammond Middle School.
ACPS Chief Academic Officer Pierrette Finney cited low middle school language enrollment numbers during the school board’s work session. Student enrollment “tends to decline as they move higher” within the languages, she said.
At George Washington Middle School, 27 students are enrolled in Chinese 1A, 22 students are enrolled in Chinese 1B, and eight students are enrolled in Chinese 2. Meanwhile, 26 students are enrolled in Latin 1A, 21 students are enrolled in Latin 1B and 18 students are enrolled in Latin 2.
At Francis C. Hammond Middle School, 10 students are enrolled in Chinese 1A, nine students are enrolled in Chinese 1B and six students are enrolled in Chinese 2. Seven students are enrolled in Latin 1A, three students are enrolled in Latin 1B and two students are enrolled in Latin 2.
The proposed cuts have received some criticism from teachers and families at recent school board meetings.
On Jan. 27, Ningwei Li, the Chinese language teacher whose position would be eliminated at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, said the remaining teacher would have to travel between the two middle schools.
Li attributed declining enrollment numbers to students being discouraged from taking a challenging language.
“I believe lower enrollment numbers are due to a lack of encouragement by counselors,” Li wrote in a public comment to the board. “On several occasions when there was no sub for Spanish class, students were sent to my Chinese class. They really enjoyed learning in my classroom and told me they wanted to take Chinese, but their elementary counselor told them Chinese is too hard to learn.”
Yan Huang, the Chinese language teacher at ACHS, said Li “is the kind of teacher who gave far beyond what is required to her students.”
“She paid out of her own pocket to provide food for students during holiday celebrations, bought classroom materials so students could complete cultural projects, and paid online subscriptions to better engage her classes,” Huang told the board on Feb. 5. “Many teachers have a tight budget, but many invested their own money and heart into their students, and now some of them might not even have a job next year.”
Middle school students have also expressed a desire to keep classes in person, Huang said.
“They want to choose Chinese or Latin because they want to take a challenging course with their teachers,” Huang said. “Please do not take this away from us.”
Page Warren, a Latin teacher at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, told the board on Feb. 5 that students earned achievements at the Virginia State Latin Convention in the fall, demonstrating their passion for continuing the program.
She said students have been discouraged from taking Latin after the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in class reductions.
“When adults believe all students can and should take Latin and the language is essential, students will sign up,” Warren said. “ACPS should invest in exceptional language programs that the community wants, especially Latin which our Founding Fathers could read fluently, and from their study of the classics gave them the idea to establish a republic with three branches of government, which all Alexandrians benefit from today.”
The school board received the Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal from Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt on Jan. 22 and is slated to approve it on Feb. 19. The final budget will be approved on June 11, which accounts for any changes to funding from the city government’s budget process.
School Board Chair Michelle Rief referred an ALXnow inquiry on the Chinese and Latin cuts to the ACPS Office of Communications. In a statement, ACPS said it “deeply values the dedication, instructional excellence, and student-centered approach demonstrated by our World Language teachers.”
“Decisions regarding course offerings do not reflect the quality, professionalism, or impact of individual educators,” ACPS said. “Rather, they are driven by system-level enrollment trends and long-term sustainability considerations.”
The district also said officials communicated with impacted teachers, principals, and school counselors about the decision.
ACPS had intended to inform students and families through the academic advisement process, but “the premature dissemination of information outside of this formal process limited our ability to ensure accurate, consistent, and complete communication,” according to the statement.
ACPS maintained it was not eliminating Chinese and Latin language programs, but rather providing alternative instruction to avoid a full cut.
“With respect to instructional delivery, we acknowledge—and agree—that in-person instruction is particularly impactful for language acquisition, especially at the middle school level,” ACPS said. “However, when enrollment falls below a sustainable threshold, online coursework becomes the only viable option to allow students to complete a sequence and maintain access to the language.”
