Questions about what will happen to the American Sign Language program at HMHS next year have been increasing over the past few months, and many students are unsure what’s happening to the class come next fall. Although there have been rumors that the class is shrinking and budget cuts are the cause, these explanations do not tell the whole story. On discussing how enrollment affects the program, Mrs. McHale explained that “Every year it varies, sometimes we have 3 sections of ASL run, some years we have 4 years of ASL run…it just depends on the number of students that sign up.” This year, there is only enough enrollment in the class for three periods instead of four, and although it does not impact the students who take the class, it does impact the teacher. 

Mrs. Gravinese has been working at HMHS for twelve years. At the time of her interview, she shared that there are around thirty students already signed up for ASL1, so they are going to reduce the course to three periods instead of four. She acknowledged that “With the reduction, it does come with a salary reduction. It does come with being ineligible for benefits.” So if she were to resign, it would become extremely hard for the school to find a replacement, putting the program at risk. Beyond the concerns about staffing and enrollment, misconceptions about the value of ASL have also affected perceptions of the program. One common belief is that colleges do not accept ASL as a world language. “All of the Ivy League schools do [accept ASL], Harvard has a program, for instance,” she explains, “I think the way it’s presented to students when they’re trying to pick their classes and the way students are digesting it are two different things… [the school] wouldn’t even offer it if it didn’t count as a language.”

Although questions about the future of the ASL program at HMHS remain, current plans show that the program is continuing next year. The reduction reflects enrollment trends rather than a lack of value or recognition from colleges.