I am a junior at Roosevelt High-school in Seattle, WA- but this issue goes beyond me. Due to budget cuts and the removal of 2.5 teachers from our district, Roosevelt has opted to prioritize a non-AP precalculus option (amidst a sea of higher level math opportunities) over the AP Spanish literature class. AP Spanish literature offers a unique, language arts-based view on an AP Spanish class, and not only does it go lengths in allowing students to retain their language dexterity long-term, it allows for students whose first language is Spanish an opportunity to walk away from the class having accessed the same literary ideas that may be considerably more complex for Spanish-speaking students to study in an English centered language arts class. This class is uniquely special, but widely beneficial.

       If this decision is finalized, some students will have no way to obtain 4 years of a language class at Roosevelt because the entirety of our language department, aside from American Sign Language, has been slowly cut from the curriculum over the last 10 or so years. If this pattern continues, in my school and across the district, we will have no way to learn not only these languages, but form real-life connections to these countries. For some, these classes provide a real-life connection to these people and places and cultures across the globe- and should they be cut,  students may begin to lack this fundamental interpersonal understanding of the beauty found in the diversity of this big world. For others, these classes provide a vital connection to their own heritage & culture that is necesarry in making students feel like they belong in their own school environments. 

      The Seattle Public Schools district is one that truly believes these learning opportunities provide the necessary rigor for us students to challenge ourselves and prepare ourselves for whatever we may want to major, minor, or build real-life skills in. More importantly, the district speaks directly to the documented importance of providing and maintaining diverse, culturally-rich programs so as to provide students of all backgrounds the comfort, trust and acceptance that they deserve in their schools. Cutting this class will have a direct and immediate negative impact on only me, but my classmates, and my peers in & outside of Roosevelt.

     We, the students, are the reason why there is so much thought and care put into these decisions, and we will push to see that level of thought and care maintained for ALL of the members of our community.

     For this reason, we would love to work directly with you in figuring out how we can maintain these culturally-rich and academically rigorous language programs in our schools across the district.