No room for ASL 3

The foreign language department offers a variety of languages, including French, Spanish, and Mandarin. All three of these classes offer a 1 2 and 3 course, but there is one language where that is not an option.

American Sign Language was added to the Mount Vernon curriculum last year, and is extremely popular. Over 400 students applied to take the class the first year it was offered, and even now class sizes are above 30 students in each class. Even though all other foreign languages offer a 1 2 and 3, including Mandarin, which was added only this year,  ASL 1 and 2 will be the only choices next year. Juniors who are relying on ASL language credits to graduate with academic honors will be forced to take two semesters of a different language their senior year or take ASL 3 online.

The decision to continue only offering introductory courses was made by Dr. Robbins and Mr. Roach, who stated that “[His] goal is to meet all the needs and interests of our students when it is financially feasible, and adding that staff position is not financially feasible.”