How appalling that the Belchertown school system chose to eliminate its middle school Latin program, effectively hobbling the high school program (“Schools nix middle school Latin class,” July 12).
How appalling that it sees the enrollment of 12 ambitious and curious students as a low-interest problem, rather than an investment in the town’s young leaders and, indeed, in the town’s own future. How appalling that it would rather offer an “exploratory course” in multiple Romance languages, a concept lacking in seriousness and substance, than a serious academic subject that has expanded young minds and world views for centuries.
How appalling that it would allow for the appearance of mistreatment – if not actual mistreatment – of its language faculty and destabilize the trust of parents and students in the school district’s leadership. By doing all these things, Belchertown makes a statement about the kind of place it is and wants to be. And that is discouraging indeed.
Katerina King
South Hadley