Addie Gleason

Senior Gael Crane and sophomore Will Gonsior write “the time is always right to do what is right” in German for their Black History Month door decoration. Gonsior took German because of his interest in the country’s culture and history. “Germany has a very rich history, and I love studying history. A lot of our culture and our ideas can be traced back to Germany, especially language,” Gonsior said.

“Guten Morgen, Studenten!”

German teacher Christie Staszcuk’s face fills the SMARTBoard screen as she Zooms in from Parkway Central, with the only four students in West’s combined AP German 5 and Honors German 4 class watching. A substitute teacher oversees these students when Staszcuk is teaching virtually from the other high school, as she switches schools daily. However, this day is different. As students wait attentively for class to start, Staszcuk waits to break the news: the German program is ending.

“[My initial reaction was] disappointment and concern for my students. I am a Parkway graduate, took German in high school, and it played a big role in who I became. Hearing that my kids wouldn’t have a chance to do that too was very upsetting,” Staszcuk said. “My next biggest concern was what would happen to my students already in the program. I wanted to make sure that they all had the same opportunities we promised them and that other kids in other languages would have.”

Principal John McCabe explained this decision in an email to families of German students, noting that the German program will no longer allow new students to join the courses.

“Over the past five years, enrollment in German language classes has been steadily declining. We have been monitoring this trend and adjusting the staffing needed as appropriate. Given these continuing trends, Parkway will begin to phase out the German program over the next several years,” McCabe said in his email.

However, students already enrolled can finish the course sequence either in-person or virtually, depending on staffing availability. Already, staffing issues have led Staszcuk to teach at two high schools rather than one.

“With the lack of [provided] resources that are important to the German program, the quality of education has been affected for many years now,” German 4 student sophomore Will Gonsior said. “It makes me feel bad for all the future kids who won’t get to learn German, which is an amazing language. Germany is a great country [to study] because it helps you learn a lot more about English and know where English came from.”

The district will also be removing Latin at the middle school level. District efforts are now focusing on developing the quality of existing programs, leaving students with four language options at the high school level.

“It’s a shame that German and Latin [will not be] offered. We’re missing an opportunity for kids who need a smaller community within our big high schools. German and Latin have always been that opportunity, that consistent teacher, group of classmates [and] set of expectations that come with being in a smaller program is something irreplaceable,” Staszcuk said. “I love being able to build relationships with kids year after year, and only being able to be in the building with [students] one day a week is not ideal. We’ve succeeded in many ways, but I hate splitting my time because I don’t feel I am there enough for [my students]. I want to be able to continue to be there for those students.”

In addition to splitting her time, Staszcuk now shares a classroom with French teacher Blair Hopkins. German students learned of this change on the first day of the school year, walking into a classroom decorated for French classes rather than German.

“I’m honestly really disappointed. When I first started taking German, it was the only language that seemed fun. It was a lot of fun and pretty similar to English. It was the only language I could stick with. Now they’re getting rid of that option for so many other people; they’re limiting those people’s options,” AP German 5 student and senior Gael Crane said. “I like the [German student] community because it feels closer, and you get to know people more than the bigger [language] communities.”

Staszcuk is working with district principals to ensure German students enrolled in the program still receive quality education and can obtain college credit through the University of Missouri-St. Louis or AP test, as she believes the equal opportunity for students is important.

“Spanish, French and ASL are great, but [German and Latin] are different. We’re missing out on opportunities for those kids, which I find especially sad. We’re in a global society; we should be teaching more languages in high school,” Staszcuk said.