Due to budget cuts and low enrollment, Chinese is being added to the growing list of languages that are no longer available to take at South High. After 53 years of the Chinese program being a staple at South High, it will end with the 2024-2025 school year.
Dingman Yu, who has been the Chinese teacher at South for over 28 years, was recently informed by South administration that starting next year, he would not be teaching any Chinese classes but instead teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. South High was the first high school in Minnesota to have a Chinese program. The program started at South in 1972, after President Nixon made his historic visit to China, ending a 25 year isolation period between the two countries.
For decades, Chinese was one of the most popular classes at South, with Yu saying “For many years, I had to teach 6 hours a day with no prep, because the enrollment was so high.” At its peak, Yu said there were over 140 students enrolled in the program, with numbers today falling to under 30. This year, he only has 3 Chinese hours and two hours of ESL. When asked what his reaction to learning that the program was going to be cut was, he said, “It was kind of anticipated by me because of the low numbers in my classes. My three hours of Chinese have a combined 27 students.” When asked why he thinks the numbers dropped so much over the years, he said, “I don’t know if it is because students’ motivation is gone, or if students’ interest has shifted, or if it’s something else.”
Even though Yu anticipated the loss of the program, it is still a huge loss for South. “It is pretty sad because over the years, I have built this program. We’ve had a lot of exchange programs with Chinese schools and students, and I have led 15 student groups to China, as well as teaching thousands of kids here at South, so [the loss of the program is] pretty bad.”
The Chinese program is just one of many programs getting cut due to budget cuts at South over the last few years. This includes German and Latin classes, as well as many arts and music electives. It is really sad to see the loss of these programs for the South community, especially because South used to be known for its diverse language options and unique electives.
South High Grad • May 14, 2025 at 12:50 pm
A real pity. South used to be well known especially for its broad range of language classes–it was often known as the language magnet school, and offered more languages than any other school in Minnesota: Spanish, French, German, Russian, Latin, and Chinese in the 1980s; with Ojibwe added in the 1990s, I think. This made South competitive with even the best private schools in the area for talented, motivated, high-achieving students.
Please do an article on language study at South: do all students take languages? Is there a graduation requirement to do so? Do colleges expect them? Which languages are being studied (50% Spanish? 35% French? what’s the distribution?), and why?
Sally Hackett • Apr 19, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Today I discovered “The Southerner” and South High. (April 19th article about USAID, then April 8th article about the cancellation of Chinese language classes).
It seems you have offered a wealth of classes!
I am sad to hear of any cancellations. The history of your school must be incredible.
Your state legislature should supply additional funds to keep all programs running.
Thank you for the staff and students responsible for your achievements,
Sally Hackett