a Guide
1. Identify a School
Identify the public and parochial middle schools in your area. Ideally, the school you select will be located in close proximity to your high school to enable you to get there in time for an after-school session. You should select a middle school that does not offer Latin as a second language. 7th and 8th graders are the ideal age group for your class.
2. Contact the Principal
Contact the principal (or activities director) of the school you’ve selected. Attached is an email template that you can modify and use to make an introduction, and gauge the possible interest and willingness of the school to participate in such a program
3. Get a Meeting
Once you have found an interested school, you must set up a convenient time to visit the middle school, meet the principal and teacher moderators (who will oversee your class), and take a tour of the school — particularly the classroom you will be teaching in.
4. Set a schedule
Establish the schedule of the Latin class. It is very important that you work with the school to set a convenient time for the students who will be participating as well as one that you can commit to! The after-school time is ideal because all of the students will be at the site so it will be convenient for them and their parents. The class will run for approximately one hour and will meet once per week.
Make certain that the time you commit to is realistic for you and any other high school students that you may be partnering with. You must secure after school transportation from your high school to the middle school and make sure you are there at least 15 minutes prior to the start of your class. Send out the full semester schedule for the Latin class for approval by the middle school principal and teacher moderators.
5. Advertise
Create fun and catchy marketing flyers to generate interest in your Latin class that will be posted around the middle school and emailed out to the families of current 7th and 8th grade students. You can modify the attached forms or create something similar that suits you.
6. Check-in
Follow-up with teacher moderators to make sure that you have at least 10 interested students and make sure not to exceed 15 students for your first section. If there is great demand, you may need to recruit more kids from your high school to co-teach with you so that you can accommodate more middle schoolers. This would be a good problem to have!
7. Prepare
Get the names of your participating students and the email addresses of them and their parents, so that you can make an email distribution list to be used throughout the duration of the course. Write and send an introduction email to the kids in your class welcoming them and letting them know how much fun the class will be!
8. begin!
You are all set to begin teaching your first Latin Class to middle schoolers in your area! Make sure to download and review all lesson plans prior to class and print out any maps or materials you will need for that class. Also, try to bring snacks! I found that some candy, chips, or donuts served as the ideal ice breaker!
Good luck and please stay in touch to let the community of young Latin teachers know how your experience went!