Elementary students at Waterville Central School could some day know both American Sign Language and Spanish before they head to junior high.
During talks for the 2018-19 budget, WCS Board of Education members asked for a long-term proposal to offer languages to younger students. Studies show younger children pick up new languages faster than older students; first exposure to a language other than English at WCS is in seventh grade, when students take either Spanish or French.
Memorial Park School Principal Maureen Gray and Junior-Senior High Principal Nick Rauch are putting together the proposal. At last week’s Board of Education meeting, they asked some questions to better understand the direction the board sees this going.