North Allegheny presents world language review as parents press for Asian languages

North Allegheny School District officials presented a curriculum review of the district’s world language program at a May 15 work session as parents used the public comment period to push for adding Asian languages, especially Mandarin Chinese.

Marcy Good, world language department chair, told the board the department’s year-long review focused on levels 1–5 across middle and high schools and recommended eight actions to strengthen pathways and assessments. Good highlighted partnerships that allow students to earn college credits in honors 4, honors 5 and AP courses, and she noted awards including a 2020 PEP award and recognitions for the German and French programs. “This program not only increased enrollment in our upper level languages,” Good said, “but students have experienced great success with transferring credits to colleges.”

Why it matters: The presentation emphasized continuity of instruction and student choice — including ensuring level 1 courses are offered in the high school each year so students who enter after scheduling are not forced into a single language option. The department identified key obstacles to adding new languages: limited staffing, uncertain student demand, and costs for start-up and professional development.

Board members pressed for clarity on data and implementation. Mr. McClure noted that recommendation number 3 appears in the full report even though it was absent from the slides; Ms. Hardy asked whether clubs might partially address student interest, and Good confirmed several extracurricular language clubs (Asian Student Community, American Sign Language and an Italian club) are active. Board members and staff discussed that 55 to 75 new students historically enter NAI after initial scheduling, a factor that can change course demand and complicate master scheduling.

Public comment centered on calls for Asian-language offerings. Parents and community members said neighboring districts offer Mandarin, Japanese and other Asian languages; several described successful local startup stories. Lucy (Liangpui) Zhang said the current program “is a West language program,” arguing the omission of Asian languages is inconsistent with the department’s stated global philosophy. Sherry Hsu described a nearby district that began Mandarin in-person instruction and, after initial low enrollment, expanded to become its most popular language course. Lan Dang urged the district to develop teacher pipelines and university partnerships to address staffing gaps, citing the University of Pittsburgh partnership model used by some districts. Eva Sheehy, who identified herself as a certified Chinese teacher and a district parent, said adding Chinese would help students connect to family language and culture and improve well-being.

At least one parent raised a separate, consequential administrative concern: Ram Kalpafi said his daughter’s high-school-level courses taken in middle school were omitted from official transcripts after the district migrated to PowerSchool in August 2023, which he said affected her cumulative GPA and scholarship nominations; he told the board counselors had offered to provide letters and that administrators were working on an updated transcript but that the issue remained unresolved during his remarks.

What comes next: No votes were taken at the work session. Multiple items discussed in reports — including the world language recommendations and public concerns around Asian language offerings and transcript corrections — were slated for follow-up at the district’s regular meeting on May 22. Board members signaled interest in verifying enrollment figures, clarifying the full report’s recommendations and exploring pragmatic steps (clubs, partnerships, pilot programs) that could be pursued while staffing and budget constraints are assessed.

Ending: The board heard the presentation and a sustained public push for Asian-language options but made no formal commitment at the work session; staff and board members indicated further review and potential action at the May 22 meeting.