Skoro oni budut govoryat po russkii v zalakh v "Timpview High School."
In other words: They will soon be speaking Russian in the halls at Timpview High School.The Provo School Board has given Principal Kay W. Laursen approval to begin offering Russian language classes at Timpview. Laursen said the school conducted a survey three years ago to see which foreign languages students would be interested in taking other than Spanish, French and German. First choice was Russian, second, Japanese.
"Our greatest competitor in the world is Russia in many ways," Laursen said. "The Cold War has been going on for many years. We hope that it is warming. I think there will be great opportunities careerwise for kids that can speak Russian.
"I feel that there is a crying need for students who can speak the language," he said.
Farrer Middle School also is planning to begin Russian language classes next fall. And teachers from several other Provo District schools - including Provo High and Dixon Junior High - have been taking a Russian language class sponsored by Brigham Young University in preparation for teaching the foreign language at their schools.
BYU helped Timpview start Japanese language classes two years ago, Laursen said. The cost of the teacher was split between BYU and the district. About 150 students have taken the class. Provo High also offers Japanese classes.
"We haven't had the funding and the trained people to start Russian, but we do have a candidate now," Laursen said.