In a long article by Larry Gordon, published on September 15, the Los Angeles Times [2] reports that Californians are worried about the fate of the AP Italian.


The education director Anna Chiaratti, of the  Italian Consulate in Los Angeles, told the newspaper that interest in saving the AP Italian is strong in California too: "I think Italian culture is appreciated in this part of the country," she said.

The L.A. Times reports:

Boosters of the Italian exam complain they were not given enough time to recruit high schools and students.


"Give us a chance," said Ida Lanza, who teaches Italian at San Pedro High. "We just got started. Give us at least six years to see if we can get more students in here and more students taking the test."


The large Italian American community in San Pedro's port neighborhoods, boosted by students of other ethnic backgrounds, especially Latino, helps to fill Italian classes at that public high school. Even there, however, not enough students take fourth-year AP Italian to meet the minimum for a separate class.


So, in a classroom bungalow decorated with maps of Italy and posters of Puccini operas, Lanza enthusiastically leads a combined course of 21 students in third-year Italian and 11 in AP Italian. It takes juggling to keep both groups on track across the central aisle that separates them, but she makes it work.    ...

- Click here to read the whole article - [2]