Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Languages topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
North Hills parents and students urge board to keep middle‑school Latin as district reviews program
Summary
At the April 3 North Hills School District Committee meeting an eighth‑grade student and a parent urged the board not to cut the district’s middle‑school Latin offerings; district staff presented enrollment data and possible alternatives but recorded no formal vote.
Samuel Humphrey, an eighth‑grade student, told the North Hills School District Board of Education Committee on April 3 that the district should not cancel the middle‑school Latin program because it “increases your English skills, critical thinking, as well as problem solving.”
The remarks came during the public‑comment portion of the committee meeting, when Jody McLaughlin, the mother of two North Hills students, also urged the board to “reconsider the removal of the Latin program,” saying Latin benefits both high‑performing students and those with hidden learning differences such as dyslexia or visual processing disorder.
District staff said they are reviewing the middle‑school program because enrollment has been low. Dr. Williams summarized a five‑year review of Latin enrollment and told the board that at the high‑school level the five‑year total of students taking Latin has ranged from a low of 34 to a high of 50. He said Latin 1 at the high school hit 27 students in 2022 and has typically been about 24 students.
Dr. Williams said the district would continue to offer Latin at the high‑school level for students already enrolled; those courses remain available. For middle‑school scheduling, he described a possible shift to a trimester model for world languages if Latin sections are reduced: seventh‑grade students would receive shorter exploratory experiences in French, Spanish and German so all students see three languages before choosing a course for the following year.
The administration also said it would explore options commonly used by districts that do not offer Latin, including adding courses in medical terminology or legal terminology and promoting a high‑school “language enrichment” course that focuses on roots and affixes.
No formal motion or vote on eliminating middle‑school Latin was recorded during the committee meeting. Dr. Williams said scheduling decisions are driven by student course registration and section demand and that the district would continue to analyze enrollment data before making any change.
Board members did not take a final action on the program during the April 3 meeting; the record shows the matter was discussed in the education portion of the agenda and that staff will use enrollment data and program alternatives in future scheduling decisions.
