PINE BUSH, New York — Administrators at an upstate New York high school are apologizing after the Pledge of Allegiance was recited in Arabic on Wednesday morning, offending some students and their families.

In an online letter, officials at Pine Bush High School explained that students were supposed to give the pledge in different languages to celebrate National Foreign Language week. But they acknowledged the controversy that has divided students because the pledge was not done in English.

“We sincerely apologize to any students, staff or community members who found this activity offensive,” the statement said. “In our school District the Pledge of Allegiance will only be recited in English as recommended by the Commissioner of Education.”

The statement from the school said the Pledge of Allegiance was read “in different languages this week” to “promote the fact that those who speak a language other than English still pledge to salute this great country.”

School Superintendent Joan Carbone said that the district received complaints from residents upset that the reading was in Arabic, including from parents said “they lost family members in Afghanistan.”

Andrew Zink, Pine Bush’s senior class president, normally reads the morning announcements, said that he consented when a teacher asked another student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic. There were talks about having the pledge read in Japanese, French and Spanish this week as well.

Others supported the Arabic reading. A senior at the school, Miranda Monroe, told the Times Herald-Record that it was “wrong to discriminate – the whole thing is wrong.” Pine Bush’s senior class president, Andrew Zink, who agreed to allow the reading, said he was aware of the fallout that the reading would incite. “I knew many wouldn’t support it,” he said.