According to MCPS, students in this county alone speak over 184 languages. On the RM website and MCPS countywide website, there are seven foreign language translations available. These translations include Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese.  

Some students and parents believe that regardless of their native language, they deserve to ensure they have accurate information on education. “I think it’s really good and it’s really important because a lot of students have parents that do not speak English. And if they are able to have that translation, they can be on top of what happens in school, what they need to know, what they need to do to help their student excel in school,” freshman Candice Dondon said. 

To accomplish this, the RM website has introduced foreign language forms, in addition to ensuring that announcements are repeated in Spanish and flyers are translated in multiple languages. The goal of these translations is to give access to information to community members who do not speak English or are more comfortable in another language.

RM teachers feel that having several available languages on the RM website and in person embraces the diverse population of MCPS so that no one is left behind because of a language gap, while also benefiting those who are interested in learning new languages, allowing them the ability to widen their language acquisition. “The students of this next generation coming up really need to speak two languages or even three languages,” Spanish teacher Laura Hodge said. “At Richard Montgomery, we offer Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese and Sign Language, which is a pretty great start for students entering the workforce in the next generation.”

Additionally, Sra. Hodge has alternative ideas for promoting the availability of foreign languages. “For me, travel is a great way to open doors and open eyes,” she said. “If we can encourage travel at spring break or in the summer, and incorporate it with community service, that would be even better so that the kids are actually involved in the community and the culture.”

Overall, the RM community hopes that extending the availability of foreign languages is continued outside of just RM, with focus on more variability in languages if possible. “A lot of students don’t only speak Spanish, Chinese and French, they also speak Italian or Portuguese,” Dondon said. “If we have a wider spectrum of [languages] in RM and also just in MCPS, I think it’ll make a lot of students fulfill their educational needs and happiness.”