Sayonara for Japanese classes?

CROWN POINT | Crown Point High School may eliminate its Japanese foreign language program due to a lack of enrollment.

Several parents and students have expressed concern about the announcement from Principal Eric Ban last week. They worry students would not be able to take the fourth year of the Japanese class, which counts for college credit as well as toward an honors diploma.

Ban said Tuesday all classes are driven by enrollment.

"We haven't made any hard decisions about the class," he said. "We're going to look at the needs of our students. Our master schedule is like that at other high schools. It's based on kids signing up for the classes. We're going to evaluate what we're going to do with the Japanese program. Any kid who needs a fourth year language will be able to get that."

The high school currently offers Japanese, Spanish, French, German and Latin to some 2,600 students.

Some schools are taking advantage of the Rosetta Stone Classroom, a language-learning software designed for grades kindergarten through 12 and higher education institutions around the country.

Stephanie Sample, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Education, said the state changed the definition of a "textbook," leaving the door open for innovative ideas like this.

Drew Trost, assistant principal at Hammond-based Bishop Noll Institute, said the school is in its third year of using Rosetta Stone. He said students can choose from 39 languages and take up to two years of classes. Students take the class during the school day in the computer lab and also can access the material from home. Trost said they can choose to earn a grade or a pass/fail credit. The school also offers traditional classes in Mandarin Chinese, French and Spanish.

The Rosetta Stone program also is used at Hebron Middle School where Principal Lori Pavell said about 80 to 100 students have gone through the program.

"We use it in the High Abilities Program," she said. "Students in sixth, seventh  and eighth grade can take  French or Spanish through the Rosetta Stone. We offer German in the building."

The program is offered for a nine-week period to 17 to 25 students during the fourth-period enrichment hour. The class is offered in the computer lab with students using a headphone and a microphone. The students use a self-paced curriculum with a teacher in the room to monitor their progress.