January 17, 2023 by Ciara Meyer (’23)
Saratoga Springs High School (SSHS) Latin students’ love of their program can be summed up in one simple phrase: “Sumus Famila.” It’s the program’s unofficial motto, and it translates to “we are family.” “We’re all so close,” said senior Meghan Fairley, “we all feel like we are a family.” When that family realized their program was being cut, they were devastated.
Elthea Sadlon, known to her students as “Magistra,” Latin for teacher, found out the program was ending on December 15—the day after she submitted her retirement letter. “Deciding to retire was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make,” says Magistra Sadlon. “I want to acknowledge and thank all the wonderful young people with whom I have worked over the years. Working with students is the part that I will miss the most.”
Those students aren’t ready to give up quite yet. Sophomore Ben Rosan created a “Save the Latin Program 2023-24” petition on change.org, which has garnered over 450 signatures from current and former Latin students alike. “I started the petition to save the program completely as an expression of my love for the course,” Rosan said. “It seemed so unfair to me that the course was being removed. I decided I wouldn’t let the program go without a fight.”
Beyond the petition, students attended the January 10 Board of Education meeting to speak about the issue and try and save the program. “We all really want to keep it alive,” said Fairley. “When we found out that the program was no longer being continued, we were very upset—all of the Latin kids.”
Principal Michelle Tsao cites the low enrollment in the course is a main reason for it being cut, but some Latin students attribute this lack of interest to external factors. “To my knowledge SSHS is only ending the program because they believe there is too little interest to be worth keeping the program and hiring a new teacher,” said Rosan. “What they seem to be ignorant of or refuse to acknowledge is that the sole reason that enrollment in the course is low is because students are discouraged from taking the course by guidance officers.”
Fairley cited Covid as a reason for low enrollment, saying, “because of Covid, we couldn’t get the information out to the middle schoolers about the program.” Beyond just Covid and discouragement, Rosan says students may simply opt out because Latin starts later than other languages. Unlike French and Spanish, students can only begin taking Latin in ninth grade. Now that the Accelerated Latin 1/2 program has been cut, students can only graduate at the Latin 4 level—in French or Spanish, they can work their way up to a level “5.”
Despite the inconvenience of starting late, Fairley, Sadlon, and Rosan believe the program is well worth it. Sadlon cites Latin’s “innumerable benefits,” which she says include, “improvement in English skills such as reading, writing, and speaking; improvement in the ability to analyze material; gaining an appreciation for what the ancient world has to teach us all; in being desirable candidates for colleges and universities; in becoming a well-rounded person.”
And it’s not just students entering the high school who will lose access to those benefits—it’s students currently in the Latin sequence. “The poor kids in it right now, they can’t continue to take it. Which is hard because some kids dropped their other languages to take it,” said Fairley. And without sufficient language credits, Fairley notes that those students “can’t get their Advanced Regents Diploma.”
The administration is hoping to provide a path forward for those students, but it’s not set in stone. “Upon learning that the teacher is retiring, and due to a projected lack of Latin-certified teachers, it was decided to allow Latin 3-5 continue, as long as there is student interest and a qualified teacher to take on the classes,” said Principal Tsao. “We are moving forward with seeking out a teacher to teach those in Latin 3-5 next year.”