The Situation

Jefferson County Public Schools has recently withdrawn funding for multiple teacher positions at Eastern High School. One of the positions being removed is that of the sole Japanese teacher. This means the end of Japanese classes at Eastern High School, despite the fact that the Japanese program has been a vital part of the EHS community for over twenty years.

The Solution

We request that the Jefferson County Board of Education approve special funding for the Japanese teaching position at Eastern High School. Current and future Eastern students should continue to benefit from the incredible educational opportunities and career outcomes that Eastern's Japanese program provides.

The Rationale

JCPS has promised that ALL of its graduates will demonstrate mastery of the five Journey to Success competencies, one of which is becoming "Globally and Culturally Competent Citizens" through "fostering an understanding and appreciation of different cultures and perspectives." If district leadership intends to follow through with this promise to our students, then that means making a commitment to fund and support World Language programs. 

On a more basic level, when an already-existing world language program - such as the award-winning Japanese program at Eastern High School - is continuing to produce exactly the educational outcomes that JCPS claims to value, then the continuation of that program should be a financial priority.

Japanese students at Eastern High School participate in statewide language competitions, do penpal exchanges with partner schools in Japan, join the National Japanese Honor Society, have created a thriving Japanese Club, and even travel to Japan for bi-annual summer homestay trips. If Eastern loses its Japanese teacher, then all of that goes away. 

Graduates of the Japanese program at Eastern High School have gone on to pursue college degrees in Japan, to work for international companies, and to support our military as translators and teachers overseas. If Eastern ends its Japanese program, then those doors of opportunity will be forever closed to future Eastern students. 

Japan is currently the third-largest GDP in the world, not to mention an particularly important economic partner for Kentucky. Kentucky exports more than $1.4 billion dollars worth of goods to Japan annually; in return, Japanese companies have invested more than $5.3 billion dollars in Kentucky industries and directly created over 15,000 jobs for Kentuckians. Japanese language education has been vital to creating and sustaining these economic partnerships, and will only continue to become more vital in our increasingly global, increasingly interconnected world. American companies who have attempted to partner with or expand into Japan WITHOUT the assistance of Japanese translators have often failed spectacularly, such as the recent high-profile case of Wal-Mart losing $1.4 billion dollars with its ill-fated and culturally-blind attempts to expand in Japan. Wal-Mart could have avoided that outcome if they hadn't ignored the advice of Japanese translators and experts!

Ending the Japanese program at Eastern will directly deprive students of skills and opportunities that they need to be successful in Kentucky's economic landscape. That is the opposite of creating "globally and culturally competent citizens." 

Even the students who do not directly pursue Japanese-related careers have benefited enormously from studying Japanese at Eastern. These students have reaped the cognitive​ benefits of foreign language learning, such as improved focus, improved executive functioning, superior recall and retention, and better grades and test scores. They have also reaped the social-emotional benefits of language learning, such as gaining confidence in social settings, being able to better navigate interpersonal conflicts, and improved communication skills overall. 

The Japanese program at Eastern High School has changed lives. With the Board of Education's help, it will continue to change lives. We implore the Jefferson County Board of Education to approve funding for a Japanese teacher to remain at Eastern.