Memento mori: Change to NHS Latin Program Prompts Discussion

December 2, 2024
• Since Latin 1 was removed from course schedules this school year, a former NHS Latin teacher fears the language program is being phased out. School officials are fighting back against that assumption.

Citing a lack of enrollment, the Needham Public Schools decided to drop its introductory Latin classes this school year. The move lead some to question whether the language is dead, or if they are open to resurrecting Latin 1 again.

Former Latin teacher Lauren Downey resigned this past August after 18 years teaching Latin — 15 of those spent at Needham High School. In her time at NHS, Downey witnessed the rise and steady fall of Latin students, as well as a perceived lack of support from school administration, she said.

The latter contributed heavily in her decision to leave NHS, Downey said, when about a dozen incoming freshmen enrolled in Latin 1 were directed to enroll in another language program. This school year, Latin 1 is not offered.

By removing Latin 1 from the course list this year, Downey contends Needham Public Schools is phasing out the Latin program, since underclassmen will not be exposed to the curriculum this year. NPS administrators deny that’s the case.

The change in the Latin schedule, she said, “lacks transparency,” leading her to pen an op-ed in the Hometown Weekly and share a longer essay on LinkedIn.

“This year, there’s no Latin being offered to ninth graders. So next year, potentially you’d only be teaching the two classes of people who have moved up, and then you wouldn’t be teaching Latin 1 and Latin 2,” Downey said in an interview.

Four Latin classes are currently offered: two classes of Latin 2 and one class of Latin 3 and 4, respectively. At the time of her departure, Downey taught five classes, she said.

When Downey joined NHS in 2009, about 95 students took Latin, she said. Those numbers shot up to more than 300 over several years, prompting the need for another full-time Latin teacher and a part-time teacher, she said. But enrollment dwindled about eight years ago, until her last year of teaching, when Downey had 105 students taking her classes.

This year, just 62 NHS students are learning Latin, according to NHS Principal Aaron Sicotte. Comparatively, about 945 students currently take Spanish, 233 take French and 109 take Mandarin, Sicotte wrote via email. NHS requires all students to complete two years of the same language in order to graduate, said Elizabeth Zajac, the K-12 director of world languages at NPS.

The decline in Latin enrollment over the last decade is consistent across neighboring school districts, Zajac said.

“Students in the pathway are continuing through. We have it in the program of studies, it has not been removed,” Zajac said of Latin. “We have seen a decline in Latin enrollment. I mean, students just haven’t selected it at the rate that they used to. And we don’t totally know why that’s true, but we do seek to provide programming that’s responsive to the needs and interests of the community.”

Insufficient enrollment in a course sometimes prompts NHS to remove it from the course list in a given year, Zajac said, which is a common practice. “You can imagine you’re not going to run a class with five kids in it,” she said. Zajac said a given course could come back the following year. Deciding which courses will be offered is an involved process that takes place over the spring and summer.

German classes were previously offered at NPS, but are no longer.

Both Zajac and Sicotte emphasized that NHS plans to continue its Latin program.

“We have run Mandarin 1 one year and maybe not the next. We have run French 1 one year and maybe not the next. Same with Spanish 1 Honors, maybe not the next,” Zajac said. “And this year, it turns out that we didn’t run Latin 1, but Latin 2, 3 and 4 have continued on, and our students will indicate to us what they want to do when we go through the course selection process.”

Downey said she believes the decline in enrollment stems from a lack of administrative support for the Latin program. In previous years, Downey would visit seventh and eighth grade classes to introduce them to Latin and inspire them to take the class in ninth grade. Trips to Rome with her Latin students also generated interest in the program, she added, though planning those excursions is a lot of work.

Downey argues that 12 students in Latin 1 “should have been enough to offer a class,” since some students add Latin to their schedules during the add-drop period.

Latin attracts a unique type of student: the creative kids “who can really imagine a different world,” Downey said. Her classroom provided a haven for students inspired to take a supposed “dead language” but one that Downey feels is eternal.

“It speaks to a different kind of learner, and I think those are the dreamers,” Downey said. “Those are the kids who are just doing their own thing and happy to do their own thing, and Latin was always a really safe space for those kinds of kids.”

After sharing her thoughts on social media, Downey received an outpouring of support from Needham students and families concerned about Latin’s future at NPS.

“If nothing else comes of this, if there are no changes made, it is very touching to have past students reach out and tell you how meaningful and how impactful your course was for them,” Downey said. “So much of teaching is — you don’t know that. It’s so delayed.”

Apart from grammar and syntax, Latin students also learn about Roman history and culture, which is what NHS junior Adam Ganetsky enjoys about the program. This is Ganetsky’s third year in the Latin program, and there are about 20 kids in his Latin 3 class, he said.

Ganetsky said his friend’s freshman brother wanted to take Latin 1 but couldn’t this year, which was a disappointment. Ganetsky initially enrolled in Latin because of his interest in the origins of English words.

Despite a possible uncertain future for the program — and no confirmed class trip to Rome — Ganetsky still plans to take Latin 4 his senior year. He lamented the lack of Latin 1 this year.

“I think it’s a really great program,” he said.

Needham elementary school students can take Spanish as early as kindergarten, with French and Mandarin options starting after sixth grade, Zajac said. Ganetsky took Spanish before switching over to Latin in high school.

Zajac reaffirmed that “the world languages program is thriving in Needham.”

“Latin has always been a smaller program compared to the Romance languages. That’s been true over time, and so the drop-off is perhaps more notable in that space, specifically in the last several years,” Zajac said. “But the students in Needham High School are also very fortunate to benefit from wonderful science classes and other unique electives that they’re really excited about. There’s just not enough time in the day depending on what their personal interests are.”

Downey and her Latin students took a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston last year for a Renaissance exhibit, and over the years, students in her classes celebrated Saturnalia — an ancient Roman holiday — and partook in Olympic-style activities and prop gladiator fighting.

For the new Latin teacher, Downey said she hopes there is an organized effort for them to visit Pollard Middle School to speak with students about Latin and generate their interest in the language. She said she has not been in touch with the new teacher.

Though NPS administration shared their support for the Latin program, Downey cast doubt on those assertions, saying she is “not sure I would agree based on past evidence.” While the district said Latin 1 could be offered again next year, Downey is not so sure.

“I hope they make a liar out of me,” Downey said. “I really do.”