Say Yes to Italian at ESM

Deborah Kolod, President, East Syracuse Minoa Board of Education, Members of the Board of Education, Dr. Donna J. DeSiato, Superintendent, Ed Ames, Principal, Central High School, Judy Morgan, Executive Director of Curriculum, Accountability and Ind Instruction, Kelly Sajnog, Principal, Pine Grove and Kathy Southwell, Director of Teaching and Learning


We the undersigned would like to express our concern and dismay at the decision to not offer Italian I to students at Pine Grove Junior High for the second straight school year. In August 2010, although students had signed up for Italian, they received letters informing them they had been assigned to another language. Recently, when Pine Grove 7th graders were selecting their courses for 8th grade, Italian wasn't among the choices. Without Italian I classes, the program cannot survive as there will be no future students to sustain it. Pine Grove students should have the option to choose Italian rather than having the decision made for them.


Italian is the fastest growing European language in New York State and there is tremendous support from educators and politicians throughout the state to keep Italian in our schools. For many years, the Italian program at East Syracuse Minoa Schools has been a source of great pride. It has the second highest enrollment after Spanish and ahead of French. This year, there are slightly more students taking the Italian Regents than the Spanish Regents.

During the last month, alumni, parents, current students, and future students have come forward to voice support for retaining Italian in the ESM curriculum. These people have articulated a variety of reasons for the reinstatement of Italian I classes. Alumni have described how Italian has helped them in their college careers and in their work life. Other alumni recall how important it was for them to take Italian while they were at ESM. Parents have come forward who want their children to have the opportunity to take the language, in some cases because of ethnic pride and in others, because they themselves did not have this option when they were in high school. There are many current students who are excelling in Italian and have won awards and scholarships. And lastly, there are younger students at Pine Grove who are eager to have the chance to study Italian.


We would appreciate your support for the continuation of the Italian I classes. East Syracuse Minoa in the quest to go from a good school district to a great one needs to recognize the value of the Italian language as a vital tool in a global society and to respect the accomplishments of past and current students as well as the academic aspirations of future generations.