A few years ago, I was given the green light to create a blended, self-paced Latin 1­­­–3 curriculum.  

Why?

Institutionally, I saw that changing our current Latin curriculum into a blended course would help in two ways — staffing and spacing. As a full-time Latin teacher with four courses on my schedule, I had a total of 15­­­–20 students, whereas one of our English, Math, or Science teachers would have about that many students per class. Combining levels 1­­­–3 of Latin would create a class more in-line with our other teachers’ student load. Furthermore, it would free up two periods that a classroom would otherwise be in use. For our campus, where space is always tight, this too was a boon. 

This move also essentially condensed 1 FTE into .5 FTE allowing the school to continue its Latin program, despite significantly lower enrollment rates than French or Spanish, while allowing me to transition into the technology department without creating a teaching gap. 

More importantly to me, though, was the flexibility and ownership it imparted upon students coupled with the critical skills that it fostered. 

How?

The course has evolved over the years — tweaked to take into consideration my…