Spanish and French Removed from Elementary in Favor of Greek and Latin

Adios Spanish, au revoir French! Marlboro Township elementary students will no longer be learning these romance languages in fourth and fifth grades.

Sharon Witchel, Director of Special Projects, Grants, and School/Community Relations for the district said fourth and fifth grade students will now learn Greek and Latin.

The changes to the World Language program at the elementary level will promote vocabulary skills, according to Witchel. Curriculum will focus on root-word meanings as well as prefixes and suffixes.

According to Witchel, the new languages will be integrated into the Language Arts curriculum. Middle school students will still have a choice of French or Spanish.

World Language by grade:

• Kindergarten: American Sign Language
• First grade: Mandarin Chinese
• Second grade: Spanish
• Third grade: French
• Fourth and Fifth grade: Latin and Greek

Parents with questions about the new curriculum and invited to district budget presentations, where Superintendent Dr. David Abbott will be available to answer any questions.

• Tuesday, April 2 – 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Marlboro Middle School auditorium
• Wednesday, April 3 – 9 a.m. at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School media center

Tell us: will Greek and Latin be beneficial to elementary students?