Although the U.S. Department of Education reports that over 13.3 million students study Spanish in high school, there is another language at KHS a growing portion of the student body is saying “ja” to. Whether it is due to family ancestry or an interest in the culture, the KHS German department said roughly 260 students will be taking German this year, and this number is likely to grow.

Celia Rose, senior, began learning German in seventh grade after trying several different languages in sixth grade. Rose said her siblings influenced her to take German since they enjoyed the class.

“I knew that in high school, German students are eligible for the GAPP program, which is an exchange program, and that is something I wanted to do,” Rose said.

While the German American Partnership Program (GAPP) continues to entice students picking a language, it is not the cause of the increase. According to Eric Hasselschwert, KHS German teacher, enrollment in German has tripled at both middle schools in the past two years and a total of 100 KHS students will be taking German II this year. Hasselschwert attributes the growth to both the popularity of the teachers at the middle schools and a willingness of students to connect with their past.

“The general population [of Kirkwood] still has a lot of German heritage,” Hasselschwert said. “So for a lot of these kids, it’s their way of connecting with their roots. That’s what motivated me [when I took German].”

Hasselschwert thinks one direct cause of the spike is a new German teacher at Nipher Middle School, Jacob Singleton. Last year, Singleton ended up teaching 94 kids in seventh grade alone due to his work recruiting new students. Hasselschwert said the Nipher administration was so shocked by the number the principal walked down to Singleton’s room and interrupted a class to tell him. Singleton said the prior efforts of teachers in the German department are also responsible for the increase.

“The awesome teachers and students in this program (and in this district) had already created such an amazing space to teach that, when I arrived, I was greeted by an optimal place for language-learning,” Singleton said.

This year, German I is not being offered at KHS in an attempt to manage the rise in German learners. Hasselschwert said that if this trend continues, it could eventually cause a problem, as there are currently only two full-time German teachers at KHS, including Hasselschwert.

“Well, you know, there’s a hiring freeze,” Hasselschwert said. “[The German teachers] are full. We will have to have another German teacher in the next year or two. And it is my understanding that a German teacher is hard to find.”

Dr. Michael Havener, KHS principal, said that he was aware of the increase. He thinks either the German staffing would need to be bumped up or that students might not get their first choice of a language.

“I do not think and highly doubt the second [option] would happen, but with staffing concerns it could,” Havener said.

Regardless of potential setbacks, Singleton hopes the German program continues to grow. He said he will keep working toward giving his students meaningful opportunities for them to use in the future.
“Simply put, I enjoy it when my students in Kirkwood grow in their German abilities,” Singleton said. “When they say their first full sentence that they made up, ask a question, or have a conversation about a new topic, the joy is easy to see.”