Latin Vanishes From Some Connecticut High Schools, But Strongholds Remain

From http://www.courant.com/community/suffield/hc-suffield-latin-0925-20110923,0,1667094.story

Latin Vanishes From Some High Schools, But Strongholds Remain
By KIM VELSEY
September 23, 2011

After Suffield High School's Latin teacher retired in June, the district struggled in vain to find a full-time replacement for the nine students — out of the high school's nearly 900 — still enrolled in Latin.

A few weeks after school started, the district discovered that one of its third-grade teachers was certified in Latin and could hold office hours and a Saturday class. But the independent study will only be offered to students already in the program.

If Suffield High eliminates Latin, it will follow in the footsteps of many other schools in north central Connecticut — both Enfield high schools and Suffield Academy, a private school, are phasing out their programs; Windsor Locks doesn't have a program.

But nil desperandum, never despair, say Latin enthusiasts. The language, though officially dead, has managed to survive for millennia. While it fades in some pockets of the state, it continues to thrive in others, like Glastonbury and West Hartford High schools, the Norwich Free Academy and Edwin O. Smith High in Storrs, said Roger Travis, an associate professor of Classics at UConn.

Read the full article at http://www.courant.com/community/suffield/hc-suffield-latin-0925-20110923,0,1667094.story