Fossil Ridge High School students who have taken language classes worry about the effects of Poudre School District’s decision to remove the world language graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2029.

District officials said the change allows students more opportunities to take different electives. 

“A diploma from Poudre School District comes with integrity, rigor, and a reputation of excellence,” the Board of Education said in an email announcing the change. “Proposed revisions to PSD’s graduation requirements aim to ensure that it also comes with personalized options.”

Current high schoolers like junior Sreeja Bandi, like the new opportunities opened up by the classes. 

“I grew up in a bilingual household,” Bandi said. “For me I already felt like I had a good understanding of different cultures and though I really enjoyed my French classes, having more flexibility in credits to take more science classes would have been a nice option.”

Senior Bela Lorey, who took Spanish in high school, thinks the foreign language requirement should stay. 

“It gave me a world view with different cultures,” Lorey said. “But I think that it definitely gave me some sort of foundation, not only culturally but with English grammar as well.”

Fellow senior Avery MacKenzie worries that removing both the humanities and the world language requirements will hurt future students’ cultural awareness.

“I think it’s important that people get a worldview, and without those classes, I think the range and uniqueness of classes will greatly decrease,” MacKenzie said. “It’s about the future of the school system; without either of these classes, students will be missing out on a very beneficial cultural experience.” 

In addition, some worry that students will not realize most colleges prefer students take at least two years of a foreign language. 

Sophomore Lily Capes said seniors applying for college in the future may be forced into taking those classes at the last minute. 

“I feel like it’s taking away from the future success of students,” Capes said. “For students that don’t plan super far out, I think there would be panic, if the school system didn’t make an effort to make students aware of what colleges want.”

Thanks to the new changes students will have the opportunity to pursue what interests them most and prepare for life post high school.  

“In the end it’s a matter of choice,” Capes said. “The requirements give you an opportunity to pursue what you find most interesting, which is something that can really help high school students prepare for the future.”