As of recently, all Italian students and Italian club members were informed by Ms. Francesca Minisola, the Italian teacher at ERHS, that the school is closing the Italian program. This has been the most upsetting announcement we have had in Italian. After fighting to have an Italian 3 class for this school year and looking forward to having an AP Italian class next year, as well as getting new books for our curriculum, Ms. Minisola and all of her students have been left empty by this decision of the school and the county.
The devastating decision of the removal of Italian in the language department was taken in place due to the school’s “-$600,000 deficit.” While Italian isn’t the only department being reduced from Eleanor Roosevelt High school many people, including students, teachers, and parents, are upset with the decision of their favorite class and teacher being taken away. The decision was “ based on projected enrollment and course requests.”
Many are disappointed and saddened by the news of Italian being discontinued. Students are trying to find possibilities to not let this happen and still have hope on preventing this from happening. We asked a couple of students how they felt and we heard back from them by telling us that they will miss the class and especially the Prof. Minisola. They claim that it’s unfair. They told us that taking Italian was the best thing they ever did because they learned many things and the teacher made the whole experience good because of how loving, fun, and caring she was towards the students and her job. They talk highly of her and the class and many students wanted to take her class next year and some were excited for AP Italian and hearing the news just broke their hearts.
Some students have also expressed concern about how this decision will affect those who still need a second language credit to be able to graduate. Alison Mejia, an 11th grader at ERHS, is in one of these situations. Since she is a junior, she doesn’t have the time to be able to take 2 levels of language classes. She mentioned that she is “mad, especially because next year is my senior year and because of this decision I cannot complete my language credit and will have to complete one during the summer and take the second level next year.”
Other students like Samantha Cruz and Xavier Deras, both 11th graders at ERHS, expressed that Italian “has been an amazing experience” and that Prof. Minisola “had a different energy from other teachers.” A parent of a student at ERHS recounted her experience with Prof. Minisola during Back to School Night, noting that “when I met Prof. Minisola, she was my favorite out of all your teachers because her aura was just so energetic and youthful, and it shows how much she loves her job.” Xavier, being a student who had never taken Italian and met Prof. not too long ago, recognized the positive impact she had on the school and her students. He felt hurt by the decision because he planned on taking Italian next school year and said that the Italian program seemed more enjoyable than many other classes.
As some students planned to take Italian next year, especially with the new AP Italian course, but now they will not be able to have the chance to. In an email sent from Danzson Celdran-Taylor, an 11th grader at ERHS, to Dr. Barnes, over 260 students and families support keeping the program. He had described Prof. Minsola and “one of the most loving, caring and kind teachers we have here at Roosevelt” and explained that many students felt “robbed of an opportunity to learn and evolve as people.”
Though Dr. Barnes emphasized that the decision was “based on dollars and data, not emotion,” this decision makes people think that the school cares more about the money and data aspect of the school and not the students’ enjoyment and experience, as many of them still believe that the loss of Italian will negatively affect the school community.
An 11th grader mentions how “I can say that I will definitely be affected, big time, by this decision since the Italian class and Prof. are sometimes the only reasons I get the motivation to come to school and stop me from staying home and sleeping in.” They also said that “Next year, being my senior year, will be very tough since I have found so much enjoyment in this class and was looking forward to taking AP Italian and being happy to see my favorite teacher every day.”
The Italian Ball was one of the final events we would have with Prof. Minisola, and it was such a fun and memorable day with some of our favorite teachers, Prof. Minisola. Xavier said that “The italian ball was pretty memorable, I wish I had taken italian, it seems more enjoyable.” and Alison mentioned how “The Italian Ball was pretty enjoyable and I could tell many others enjoyed it as well.” Not only was the Italian Ball a fun experience, but the overall class and time we had with Prof. was fun.
She was very helpful in giving life advice, as said by a student at ERHS, “Last year was a very tough time for me and I was not in a good head space or doing the best in Italian or other classes, but still, through that Prof. helped me a lot, and she always made it known that she will always be in my corner and I can go to her whenever I need to talk to someone.”
Although the future of the Italian program at ERHS is coming to an end, students and parents continue to express how meaningful the class and club have been to the school community. For many students, Italian was more than just a language class, it was a place where they felt welcomed, supported, revived, and connected to others. The space Prof. Minisola, created with her classroom and herself, will never be forgotten by those who had her for many years, knew her for a little bit, and got to get close to her during this school year. All the ERHS students, parents, and staff who had the chance to meet Prof. Minisola will never be able to forget her. As students of hers, for years, we thank Prof. Minisola for being there as a teacher, mentor, friend, and family, in a way.