Instead of memorizing lines from Virgil's Aeneid, for example, students can now read Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" in Latin. Other Latin teachers mix in lessons on Greek and Roman government. Some have students build Roman tombs out of clay, while others encourage students to talk about current events in Latin.

"We read stories about Romans with soap opera type characters, in their own words. We read what they wrote about life, love, politics and depression," said Lindzey, a junior high school Latin teacher in Austin, Texas. "It's thrilling."

Some 60 percent of English words come from Latin, which is why educators like Lindzey say it helps students with vocabulary. Latin also has a simple, consistent and logical grammatical structure, which makes it useful in helping students learn to read or understand English grammar, which is much more complex.

"We can't say that all English words are based on Latin or Greek, but a whole lot of them are," Macfarlane said. "If you can understand how Latin works, you're way ahead in understanding how English and other languages work."

At Uintah High School in Vernal the Latin class filled up so fast the school had to open a second section.

The class was the idea of former deputy Uintah County attorney Wes Baden, who has volunteered to teach it for free.

"I don't think Latin would be coming to Uintah High School if we didn't have someone volunteering to teach it," said Principal A.J. Pease. "We're so tight with money, I don't know if we even would have considered it."

Costs are the greatest challenge those who promote Latin face, Lindzey said. Her organization tries to recruit new Latin teachers each year.

"Right now, everybody's budget is tight, and they don't have enough Latin teachers," she said. "When a Latin teacher retires, they're hard to replace."

If Latin doesn't help students improve test scores after a few years, it will most likely be cut, Pease said.

Like Baden, Zarndt volunteered to teach Latin this year. Zarndt, Provo High's German teacher, grew up studying Latin and Greek as a student in Switzerland, where she learned that both languages presented what she calls a "world view."

The Romans were conquerors, she said, while the Greeks were creators. These philosophies are reflected in their languages. By studying Latin, she told her students on their first day, they would learn to see the world in new ways.

"I'm so glad you're investing in yourself and giving yourself this gift," she said. "You will discover constellations in your spirits you didn't know were there."

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E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com