Becton music to stay part-time, French gets the ax
The Becton Board of Education opened its April 9 meeting by recognizing senior Michael Molino as Student of the Month. Molino will head off to college come fall having already decided to major in French.
But he could be Becton’s last Francophile, thanks to a school budget that will eliminate French I and might eventually reduce the foreign languages Becton offers to Spanish and Italian.
"The French language has profoundly changed who I am," Molino told the Board during public comments. "I walked in here four years ago as someone with no interest in language. The French program opened my eyes to something new."
Though the school’s budget retains French II-IV, the move to eliminate French I likely means that the board will phase out the remaining levels as students complete them.
Becton world languages teacher Louise Clarke worried that cutting the number of languages offered from three to two would hurt the high school’s ability to draw students.
"We may lose students to private schools if we don’t offer three languages," Clarke warned, adding that the drop in languages could also hurt student-athletes who need certain classes to qualify to play for NCAA teams in college.
Board President John J. Ondrof and Becton Superintendent James Jencarelli defended the decision, saying that the school was in negotiations with the "Virtual High School" consortium that would allow Becton students to take many foreign languages—including rarer offerings like Mandarin—through Web-based classes.
Jencarelli added that the hi-tech option would be in line with the state of New Jersey’s evolving curriculum standards.
"In the next few years, New Jersey will likely be requiring students to take an online course before they go to college," Jencarelli said.
Molino and Clarke joined a score of parents, teachers and current and former students in criticizing the board’s budget, with much of the opposition centering on the board’s decision to continue funding the music program on a part-time basis.
"The people you see standing before you have come together because we share a passion for music," said band student Patricia Blacker. "Maybe this room contains a future music teacher, or a future rock star."
"We know you have a problem with budgeting," added Blacker. "But what we need is time. Time to develop. Time to improve."
The music program was slated to be cut altogether last year, but last-minute appeals from members of the community persuaded the board to halve the program instead.
Corey Moore, the high school’s lone music teacher, listened to the entreaties of his students before rising to read his own statement.
"Our first year as a part-time program has been a challenging one," said Moore. "I have found that I have not been able to provide students with the level of instruction I have in previous years. We are not able to cover as much literature, or to perform as complex material."
Moore, who teaches music part-time in 7th and 8th periods, blames large class sizes for the lack of individual attention. Some music students in attendance reported that it had been four to six weeks since they had last received individual lessons.
"I have had three lessons this year," said band treasurer Katie Shelly. "Kids coming up from 8th grade have had the same number of lessons as me."
"Imagine 32 students in any class," added Moore to illustrate the point. "Now put instruments in their hands, or better yet, noisemakers."
Superintendent Jencarelli said that there was not sufficient interest among incoming students to justify a full-time program.
"I can only go by the numbers I have here," said Jencarelli, noting that he expected the band to grow by only a few students in the upcoming year.
Becton graduate and former band member Richard Krajunus disagreed.
"Don’t you think the lack of interest is the result of the lack of program? Maybe it’s the funding that is changing the numbers and not the numbers that are changing the funding," said Krajunus.
