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There Is a Shortage of Certified Latin Teachers: Please Spread the Word!

August 8, 2015

by Ronnie Ancona and Kathleen Durkin

There is a shortage of certified Latin teachers in the United States. Latin teaching positions at the precollegiate level sometimes cannot be filled for lack of qualified applicants. In New York State, for example, where we both teach, in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, Latin was named specifically as a language with a teacher shortage by the United States Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (http://tinyurl.com/mwgdr9j). Not filling a Latin position can result in one of several negative outcomes: the end of a Latin program, the inability to start one, or difficulty with sustaining one. None of these situations is good for maintaining strength in classics at the precollegiate level, where many of our students are first introduced to their excitement about our field. While the shortage does not affect every part of the country equally, it is sufficiently widespread to pose a Read more …