[J-Info] FW: Save the Japanese program at Inglemoor High School!

[Akiko Iwata via J-Info]

Hello,

Japanese language education in the Northshore School District is in a very difficult situation. We would greatly appreciate it if you could help by signing the petition below. Please feel free to circulate this widely.

Thank you,

Akiko Iwata

From: Washington Japanese Teachers <watjinfo at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 7, 2024 10:00 AM
To: Washington Japanese Teachers <watjinfo at gmail.com>
Subject: Save the Japanese program at Inglemoor High School!

Hello WATJ members,

Here is the follow-up for the Inglemoor High School Japanese Program. Could you please sign the petition and spread the link to others? Thank you!

Chikako Misener

Hello again,

I have an update from the Northshore School District Japanese teachers.  It is as follows:

Here is a link to the petition to sign and share.  https://change.it/sC7LPHD6Rw<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/chng.it/sC7LPHD6Rw__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!nxCZdvlqO6QLpNML3vUGUpYtnYqgoIvRDW_9FlvdpXwIr3GcrQx7jxKWRJ9upMJM8zpDy49lHtIByfo$>

"The Japanese program has been facing a reduction in the number of classes offered even before the fiscal crisis was realized at Northshore School district. When the previous teacher moved to another district in Washington, the Japanese program was the one to be chosen to phase out at IHS. For the 2023-2024 school year, although student interest was there, first year Japanese was not offered. This effectively began the demise of this vibrant program.  As a part of the Pacific Rim, an area replete with a large Japanese community, Japanese culture, Japanese businesses, and Japanese sites, we need to maintain the Japanese Program. In this area, you can find Japanese staple foods and snacks at everyday grocery stores.  We have students who have been influenced by Japanese culture even more so than other cultures through games, manga, anime, our local professional baseball team, and their local bento shop. We make our school diversified by being the only non-western language to be offered in our district. While we believe other programs are also valuable and necessary, we want to preserve the Japanese programs here in Northshore for our students and to help demonstrate our efforts to maintain a strong relationship with our Japanese Sister Cities, Sister Schools, and business partners. Please help us revive the Japanese program at IHS and all Northshore schools for our future generations."

It is my understanding that the Japanese program at Bothell HS will remain as is for next year.  The North Creek HS Japanese program will still offer levels 100-400 but with less class periods, however the principal is willing to offer more periods if more students sign up for it.  The Woodinville HS Japanese program is up in the air I believe and the Inglemoor HS Japanese program is already being phased out even though there were students interested in Japanese level 100. The teachers are asking for your support of their program but letting Woodinville HS and Inglemoor HS and the district office know how important the Japanese program is to us. You can also sign the petition or make a post in a facebook group or help in another way that you feel comfortable.


Thank you,
Christina Isaacs
425-381-3106
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/pipermail/j-info/attachments/20240508/3b3e9f81/attachment.html>