Breaking News: Latin Program Eliminated for 2019-2020 School Year

The East Latin Program will be eliminated for the 2019-2020 school year.

The removal of the program was announced Monday, March 4, and according to senior IB Latin student and Latin Club president Nat Nitsch, the enrollment for next year is too low to justify having a part-time Latin teacher in the building. However, Shawnee Mission South and Northwest, both of which have strong programs according to Nitsch, will continue their respective Latin Programs.

Nitsch sees this to be a huge loss for the East community as Latin students statistically score higher on standardized tests, and specifically at East, Latin provides many leadership opportunities for students through the Latin Club. To increase interest, Latin members went to Indian Hills and spoke to 8th graders about the benefits of taking the class.

Despite Latin Club’s efforts, the enrollment has seen a steep decline over the past few years, ultimately leading to East’s decision to discontinue the program.

The administration is looking into options for current Latin students, which include taking an online Latin course or commuting to another school for Latin class, according to Nitsch, who expressed her concern with the administration earlier today.

But Nitsch doesn’t think any of the options are good options and is encouraging students and parents to reach out to the administration.

“It is a bigger loss than East realizes,” Nitsch said.