The Unit School District 304 board will study the feasibility of offering a foreign language program in all of its elementary schools.
The Geneva district currently offers five levels of Spanish and French for 8th graders and high school students, culminating in advanced placement credit for college. German was recently added as a language choice, and Latin is available in a cooperative program with Batavia High School.
The board is considering several alternatives for providing formal foreign language classes for elementary and middle school students.
Among them are bringing in an outside agency to conduct the classes, or conducting the classes through the Parent Teacher Organization.
Officials must look at busing issues if pupils were to stay an extra 15 minutes after school, extra teacher pay for the additional assignments, cost of equipping classrooms and the feasibility of trimming time from other daily activities to allow for the language study during the school day.
The board is expected to continue discussions at a meeting in early April.
