Focusonrelatedarts

Focus on Related Arts

A Brief History of World Languages at CMS

French   Spanish   Latin   Japanese   Russian

When CMS opened in 1998, five languages were offered to 7th and 8th graders. As had been the case for so
many years at Exeter AREA Jr. High, one could walk through the cafeteria and experience a polyglot of
languages and cultures being practiced by the students. The ensuing international awareness brought the
students (and their families) to a heightened concern for peoples around the world. Additionally, the program
dovetailed nicely with offerings at Exeter High School. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Exeter High had an
unusually high number of students taking not just one, but two foreign languages.

“Modern” Trends

During the 1990’s many of the “modern” middle schools were abandoning academically-based foreign
language instruction in favor of a more brief “exposure” to one or more languages. The faculty at EAJHS,
supported by the parents, chose not to go that route.

In the years since CMS opened, however, there have been many changes. Two major factors have contributed
to a weakening of foreign languages offerings. First, key administrators (new to the district) seem not to have
shared our local values of language and culture. Without advocacy in “high places,” support for a strong, broad
program has withered.

The second major factor is one that was anticipated by the EAJHS faculty: team teaching. With all of its
obvious benefits, there was little opposition to expanding the number of teams upon moving to CMS. (EAJHS
had its first team in 1976; it used homogeneous and heterogeneous instruction.) However, the EAJHS
teachers knew that a fully-teamed school lost too much flexibility to schedule a rich variety of not only foreign
languages, but also dozens of other valuable experiences for the students.

A fully-teamed school, such as CMS, creates a very flexible situation for each individual team. Flexibility
across teams, however, is nearly impossible.

Down to Three, and Counting…

CMS now has only three languages. Indeed, it would have only two if parents had not raised a clamor last year
when Latin was quietly slated for elimination.   This is happening despite the call for expansion of foreign
language exposure to the sixth grade in the CMS Curriculum / Philosophy Visioning Report.

The nature of the classes is also very different. Since the classes are now open to any student wishing to take
them, the teachers must now gear their instruction to a much broader range of students. CMS clearly has
moved to an “exploratory” model, rather than the former academic model.

Questions:

Are students entering Exeter High less prepared to continue their study of foreign language?

If so, will they also be less likely to take a second foreign language at EHS?

Do EHS foreign language teachers need to revamp their expectations (and course content) to accommodate
the incoming CMS students?

Would many of the CMS students now permitted to take a foreign language be better served by spending that
time in reading (or math) instruction?

Has the CMS community lost much of its “polyglot” cultural awareness advantage?

This page offers insightful essays detailing the history
and evolution of selected curricula outside the core
subject areas of math, reading, science, and social
studies. The first case study examines the treasured
history of foreign languages in SAU16 schools,
particularly at the middle school level, and how these
valued classes have been de-emphasized and
watered down under current administrative
leadership. The second case study examines the
loss of Technology and Family / Consumer Sciences
facilities in the construction of our new $50+ million
high school.

The New $50+Million Non-Comprehensive Exeter High School

No Shops, No Home Economics Kitchens

An Exeter High student wishing to take wood working or a foods and nutrition class must not only board a bus
over to the Seacoast School of Technology (SST), but must also expect his or her schedule to be adversely
impacted.

The new Exeter High School is not a “comprehensive high school.” This means that, despite the $50 million
cost, the building cannot accommodate key courses enjoyed for years by, not only EHS students, but by
students in high schools across the country. The underlying principle is, of course, if you want students to afford
themselves of a broad range of important courses, you must offer them at a convenient, well-equipped location.

Impact on Student Opportunity and Enrollment

It should come as no surprise that a far smaller number of EHS students are taking Technology (shop, industrial
arts) or Family and Consumer Science (home economics) classes this year.
The two courses requiring students to go to SST have dropped precipitously. Advanced Foods has gone from
30 last year to 12 this year; Basic Foods from 90 to 31. Meanwhile, enrollments for all Family and Consumer
Science courses not requiring cooking facilities (“lab”) have increased.

Specific numbers for Technology courses are rather murky because some course names have changed. Last
year Metal Technology and Power Technology each enrolled over 30 students. This year those courses are not
even offered, but a new course Power & Wood Technology (at SST) opened with 24 students. Total enrollment
dropped from over 60 in two courses to 24 in one course.

How Did This Happen?

It appears that two factors appear to have created this unfortunate situation. It could perhaps be inferred that,
First, a decision was made early during the discussions of a new high school. Administrators and school
board members believed that voters would not approve a proposal that exceeded $50 million. Starting with
that arbitrary figure, they worked backwards to find what they could build with that amount. Corners would have
to be cut. Unfortunately, the “corners” would be selected according to who would complain the least. Sports
stadium with artificial turf? Band? Not popular areas to cut. But technology and Family & Consumer
Science… With little threat of a vocal outcry, these programs requiring large rooms, plumbing, electricity, and
specialized equipment were quickly jettisoned.

It could also be surmised that the second major factor suggests both ingenuity and intrigue. SST already had
fine facilities and was just a short bus ride away. But it appears little consideration was given to students being
unwilling to spend school time on a bus or having their schedules compromised. (Teachers learned of these
plans, but their concerns were dismissed. Because of recent experiences, they knew better than to speak up
too loudly.)

This apparent lack of administrative foresight took on an entirely different meaning when a little-known fact
emerged: the Superintendent and at least some Cooperative School Board members have been quietly
planning to make SST a 4-year “stand alone” vocational-technical high school. Rather than remaining a part of
his or her “home high school,” a student would attend SST full time. As in some other states, students would
have to choose: between a comprehensive high school or one with a much narrower range of curriculum,
faculty, and student body.

Questions:

Who decided to make SST a 4-year school (and limit opportunities at the new EHS)?

Has the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board voted to pursue a four-year program at SST?

Has the ERCSB publicly discussed the pros and cons of the matter?

Have teachers or students been asked?

Have parents or the community been asked?

Has the Superintendent or other key administrators been involved?

This website is independently produced by and for the benefit of parents and taxpayers of SAU16. It is not affiliated with and does
not represent views or opinions of the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board or SAU16 Administration.

This website and all of it's pages and links is a good faith attempt to provide the community with a
centralized location of background information about changes that have occurred at our schools,
and namely, CMS. It is not intended to attack anyone personally. If anyone sees anything
contained in this good faith representation to be factually incorrect or derogatory in any way,
please contact us immediately and we will review it and change it if this has accidentally occurred.