Ninth grader Shelby Gan commutes up to 40 minutes from her home in Kaysville to attend West High School in Salt Lake City, drawn by its renowned Mandarin Chinese classes and International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Having previously lived in Logan, she and her family made the move with hopes of diving into a culturally enriching education that speaks to her heritage.
“A lot of people around the world use it, and it’s very useful to learn it,” Gan expressed, highlighting her commitment to staying connected to her Chinese roots, as both of her parents are immigrants from China.
However, the future of her motivation to study Chinese has become uncertain after the school announced plans to phase out its Chinese program next year due to low enrollment.
In a recent statement, officials reassured that all traditional Chinese offerings will still be available for the next school year, but the program faces an unpredictable outlook thereafter.
This uncertainty leaves students like Gan in a precarious position.
Since enrollment in the IB program, which requires advanced language courses, only begins in their junior year, her plans to take advanced Chinese classes as part of it are now in jeopardy.
Gan’s mother, Yin Liu, emphasized the value of the IB program, explaining, “IB is harder, and why do you do IB? Because you want to take the challenges.
You want to practice your time management skills, not just as a high school student, but for your life.”
As for the program’s status, new Principal Wayne Culley noted that Chinese courses have been struggling with student interest, ranking as the second-lowest among the six languages offered at West.
Only Arabic has seen fewer students enrolled. Interestingly, the Arabic teacher’s dual role leading French classes has resulted in a larger overall student cohort.
Culley also pointed out the high demand for Spanish courses, suggesting possible staff shifts, including replacing the Chinese teacher after the academic year with someone in another subject area.
“The school could use another Spanish teacher and we could use smaller class sizes in some of our general education classes,” Culley explained, reflecting on the ongoing staffing challenges at West High.
Previously, the school benefited from external funding from a nonprofit to help cover the Chinese teacher’s salary, but it is unclear how long that support lasted.
The reasons families choose West High for its Chinese program vary.
Some are eager to connect with their heritage, while others, including those preparing for full-time missions with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, see language skills as vital.
The pursuit of an IB diploma, particularly with Chinese as a chosen language, is a significant factor for many students.
Parents like Zac Imel and Karen Tao view West High as an exceptional opportunity for their son, Jiajia, who wishes to combine learning his family’s language with completing the IB program.
“We really felt like we kind of struck gold with West,” Zac shared, expressing concern over the potential loss of the program.
His wife, Karen, added, “We were blindsided.”
While some families learned about the potential phase-out from guidance counselors, a formal email communicated the decision on April 24 without prior public discussions.
Following the announcement, parents and administrators have met multiple times to engage in dialogue.
District spokesperson Yándary Chatwin confirmed that all languages with sufficient student interest, including Chinese, will still be offered during the 2025-26 school year, but the program remains in jeopardy beyond that point.
Chatwin mentioned, “It’s really a difficult decision to make to consider cutting a language that means so much to so many people.
It’s not due to lack of valuing that language or the communities who speak it, but rather trying to meet the needs of our students with very limited resources.”
School district board member Ashley Anderson, representing the West High area, stated that the board does not have control over specific course offerings at individual schools.
The situation raises concerns for the 83 students who have registered for Chinese classes next year.
Some students, particularly those nearing graduation, can continue their studies unaffected.
However, students like Gan and Imel must now reconsider their options: to remain at West, hoping to see the program survive, or pivot to learning another language more quickly to stay on track with IB requirements.
Another alternative is to transfer to another school where Mandarin and IB classes are available.
Currently, no other public high school in Salt Lake City offers IB Chinese courses, although Skyline in Millcreek and Hillcrest in Midvale do.
Gan has indicated she might switch schools or figure out a way to learn another language rapidly.
Imel’s parents intend to keep their son at West, as he enjoys the school’s basketball program and the other elective courses.
Culley reiterated his commitment to exploring possibilities to sustain the Chinese program amidst these challenges.
image source from：https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/05/26/west-high-school-will-end-chinese/
