After much anticipation from students and parents, Irvington High School has finally established Hindi as an official language course, making Irvington the first California public high school to offer Hindi as a world language. Taught by Ms. Sarna in Room 52, Hindi 1 is a class that introduces students of all grades to the basics of the widely spoken Indo-Aryan language. This year has also marked a transition away from the French program.
The current Hindi 1 instructor, Ms. Sarna, originally taught for Madhu Bhasha Kendra (MBK), a non-profit organization and institute offering accredited Hindi lessons to students in the Bay Area since 1987. Many students at Irvington have taken accredited Hindi courses from MBK, prior to when the class was offered on campus. After seven years of dedication and perseverance, MBK curriculums for Hindi 1, Hindi 2, and Hindi 3 were finally approved by the UC system back in 2007. Along with MBK’s affiliation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), this decision allowed Hindi curriculums to be implemented as high school courses. Not only has Ms. Sarna been a member of MBK since 2008, but she holds a Ph.D in Hindi literature and a diploma in Hindi to English Translation from Punjab University. In addition to teaching Hindi 1 during 3rd period at Horner and 4th period at Irvington, Ms. Sarna is a Hindi instructor at Stanford University.
There was a lot of debate surrounding the decision to implement Hindi as a language course at Irvington. During a Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) Board of Education meeting on December 13, 2023, the board discussed the addition of Hindi as a new world language program pathway due to appeals from Indian American families, with a majority of the interested coming from students and parents at Irvington High School and Horner Middle School. After much debate, the FUSD School Board voted in a 4-1 decision to approve a three year pilot program for Hindi at both Irvington High School and Horner Middle School on January 17, 2024.
Although Irvington is welcoming Hindi 1 as its newest addition to the foreign language department, French 3 was removed as a course offered on campus. The removal of French 3 was speculated to be a result of the integration of Hindi 1, which was argued to take resources from other UC approved A-G courses at Irvington. However, it seems this is not the case. “The French teacher left in the summer shortly before school started. Luckily, we [found] another French teacher from Mission, so we were able to keep French 2,” said Assistant Principal Howell, “I don’t think it’s Hindi replacing French at all. I don’t see it that way.”
The French program is planned to be permanently terminated as of next school year due to declining student enrollment and teacher shortages despite plans for a four year program. Currently, only French 2 is available, taught by Madame Sartori in Room 52. Although French 3 was removed, students interested are now able to take the course at Chabot College under instructor Carren B. Parish. “We would love to offer all the languages, but there wasn’t interest there.” explained Principal Hicks, “There was way more interest in Spanish, Chinese, and Hindi right now than there was in French.”
Despite the discontinuation of French, the Hindi program has plans for future expansion with both Irvington and Horner offering Hindi 1 and Hindi 2. Furthermore, Hindi 3 is scheduled to be offered at Irvington during the 2026-2027 school year. After the 3 year pilot program concludes, Hindi will likely become a permanent world language course at Irvington and expand at other high schools in FUSD.
