Elementary School World Language Program Under Review

The future of world language instruction in Madison elementary schools is under review, and the district has established a World Language Task Force to evaluate the program, according to an announcement from the district.

All members of the community are welcomed and encouraged to complete a brief survey to help guide the recommendations made by the committee.

The survey can be found at: http://www.madisonpublicschools.org/worldlanguagesurvey. It will be active until Nov. 24.

In addition to feedback from parents, students, teachers and community members, the task force has researched programs in 20 comparable districts and considered recommendations from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Since January 2012, students in grades 3-5 have used the Rosetta Stone online language program for approximately 30 minutes a week for Spanish instruction.

Before using Rosetta Stone, Madison employed two full-time, certified Spanish teachers who delivered 40 minutes of instruction once a week to all students in grades 1-5. That program was cut in 2010 because of budget constraints, the district said.

The task force is comprised of principals, supervisors, teachers and board of education members, and is led by K-12 Supervisor for World Languages Stacy Snider and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Matthew Mingle.

Survey questions ask which grades should have instruction, do you believe the Rosetta Stone program is successful, and which languages should be offered.

Spanish, French, Italian and Mandarin Chinese are offered at Madison Junior School and Madison High School.